Member State Board on Digital Entrepreneurship

Strategic Policy Forum:

A Roadmap for Digital
Entrepreneurship

2nd meeting of the Member State Board

Brussels, 26 September 2014
John Higgins
President, Strategic Policy Forum on Digital
Entrepreneurship
Alessandro Cenderello
Date: in 12 pts EY
 Agenda

 The Strategic Policy Forum: update on activities

 Overview on the actions of the Draft Roadmap

 Discussion on Roadmap actions per theme – new

suggestions

 Presentation by Member States of relevant policy

initiatives

Date: in 12 pts
The Strategic Policy Forum: update
on activities

Date: in 12 pts
 Aim & Mandate

Aim
 Support the EU’s ambition to accelerate the digital transformation of
its business landscape, targeting companies and start-ups from all
sectors;
 Reinforce the dialogue among stakeholders and create a vision, a
long & short term strategy and identify concrete actions;
 Advice the EC and promote the development of digital
entrepreneurship policies in MS.
Mandate
 The priority activities of the Strategic Policy Forum are:
 Identifying new business opportunities for jobs and growth;
 Removing the most significant barriers;
 Raising commitment and actions among the key stakeholders.

 The forum is expected to create a roadmap report that:

 Sets the state of play of digital entrepreneurship in the EU;
 Identifies the key challenges and stumbling blocks;
 Shapes an EU vision, strategy and roadmap with recommendations for
concrete actions to be implemented by the European Commission.
Date: in 12 pts
 The journey of
the Forum

2014 2015
1st Forum 2nd Forum 3rd Forum 4th Forum 5th Forum
28 Feb 2014 2 Jul 2014 28 Oct 2014 Q2 2015 Q4 2015
Setting the scene, Discussing the Presentation of Updating and Presentation of
MEETINGS

meeting most important Mid-term report further the Final report

participants, themes and first elaborating ideas
selecting Working identification of from the Mid-term
Groups actions report

Working Interactive Interactive Interactive

Group sessions with sessions with sessions with
sessions Forum Members Forum Members Forum Members

WG
REPORTS

Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate

reports reports Mid- reports reports
Final
term
report
report

Development of the Roadmap and Action Plan to boost Digital Entrepreneurship in Europe

Date: in 12 pts
 Identification of
Actions

How were the actions identified?

In close collaboration with the Strategic Policy Forum members the
following activities were undertaken:
Creation of themes
to group the selected

Mid-Term Report
Identification
of specific and actions
concrete
Validation of actions per
theme
the themes with
Forum members
Interactive
sessions to filter
the most
important Interactive sessions to
opportunities filter the most
and barriers relevant actions on:
• Impact
Creation of themes
• Innovativeness
around the selected
opportunities and • Concreteness
barriers • Duplicability (focus is
on new actions)
Identification of
opportunities and
barriers
Date: in 12 pts
 Next Steps

Moving forward towards the mid-term report

 Incorporate feedback received from the Member States Board on the

presented actions;

 Set up workshops with sector experts of four sectors (Manufacturing,

Healthcare, Education, Creative Industries);

 Exhaustive research and interacting with subject matter experts on

the selected actions.

Date: in 12 pts
Overview on the actions of the
Draft Roadmap

Date: in 12 pts
 Overview of the
actions

Roadmap and Action Plan to boost Digital Entrepreneurship in Europe

Creating a successful digital Skills to lead the digital Regulating in the

ecosystem transformation digital age

Action 1 - Blueprint for the Action 5 - Integrating digital in

Action 7- Training for regulators:
creation of successful digital business and management
a Digital Boot camp
ecosystems education

Action 8 - Observatory and

Action 6 - Recognising digital
Action 2- A “Call for Action” for crowdsourcing of ideas on
leaders and boosting the figure of
digital hubs regulatory obstacles to digital
the Chief Digital Officer
transformation

Action 3- Supporting digital

Action 9 – The “Digital Test”:
investments: combining financial
assessing the impact of
instruments with mentoring and
regulation on digital business
supporting services

Action 4 - Promoting mobility and

exposure of digital entrepreneurs
to international markets, and
creating opportunities for young
digitally skilled people

Date: in 12 pts
Discussion on Roadmap actions
per theme – new suggestions

Date: in 12 pts
 Creating a successful
digital ecosystem

Creating a successful digital ecosystem

To enhance the competitiveness of European digital enterprises, by giving

them access to networks, resources and research institutes across the EU.

Ideas for action

 Action 1: Blueprint for the creation of successful digital ecosystems

 Action 2: A “Call for Action” for digital hubs
 Action 3: Supporting digital investments: combining financial instruments
with mentoring and supporting services
 Action 4: Promoting mobility and exposure of digital entrepreneurs to
international markets, and creating opportunities for young digitally skilled
people

Date: in 12 pts
 Creating a successful
digital ecosystem -
Ideas for Actions

Action 1: Blueprint for the creation of successful digital

ecosystems

Objective:
 Integrate the local development strategies (e.g. “Smart cities”
initiatives) with the objective of boosting business transformation and
growth through digital technologies.
How:
 Definition at EU level of a “blueprint for a successful digital
ecosystem”:
• Building upon lessons learnt by successful European “digital
hubs”;
• Acting as a roadmap for policy makers and stakeholders.
 Encourage cities and regions to adopt overarching strategies and
assume a coordinating role.

Date: in 12 pts
 Creating a successful
digital ecosystem -
Ideas for Actions

Action 2: A “Call for Action” for digital hubs

Objective:
 Create world-class networks, sharing resources, knowledge and
expertise and make them available across the borders for European
SMEs.
How:
 Creating a pan-European network of digital hubs (using
resources under Horizon 2020 to support cooperation);
 Setting up incentivizing mechanisms (such as an EU wide
competition among hubs).
Expected result: Triggering a “creative entrepreneurial fever” at local
level, empowered by the digital evolution.

Date: in 12 pts
 Creating a successful
digital ecosystem -
Ideas for Actions

Action 3: Supporting digital investments: combining financial

instruments with mentoring and supporting services

Objective:
 Enhance digital investments among SMEs through a coordinated and
comprehensive approach, combining funding with support services.
How:
 Strengthen access to funding, by:
• Prioritizing the theme in the EU regional development
policies, and creating funding schemes addressed to support
the digital transformation of existing companies;
• Helping entrepreneurs and businesses gain access to risk
finance, loans and equity investments (e.g. by earmarking
the EIB and the EIF to this objective).
 Promote access to other resources and support measures: smart
support actions like mentoring, coaching, and support services.
Date: in 12 pts
 Creating a successful
digital ecosystem -
Ideas for Actions

Action 4: Promoting mobility of digital entrepreneurs and

creating opportunities for young digitally skilled people

Objective:
 Promoting access to international markets for digital entrepreneurs, and
opportunities for digitally skilled people.
How:
 Two work-streams:
1. Pan-European programme aimed at boosting the international
mobility of digital entrepreneurs and supporting the scaling-up and
internationalization of digital enterprises.
2. Matching the needs of companies looking for skills in the digital
domain, with the needs of unemployed “digital” natives,
through job placements, apprenticeships, traineeships.
Possible synergies with the Youth Guarantee scheme, Erasmus for
Young Entrepreneurs.
Date: in 12 pts
 Creating a successful
digital ecosystem -
Points for discussion

Points for discussion:

 Are these actions bold enough and efficient?
 Which other proposal?
 Which the possible issues?

 Is the implementation of a Blueprint for an action to be taken at the

national, local or regional level? Does your national strategy
envisage that? Which instruments can be mobilised?
 How could MS support digital investments through regional policies
and instruments?
 Do you already provide for supporting services (training,
mentoring)?
 Which instruments could you use to support the cooperation among
digital hubs?
 Can you mobilise existing instruments to favour these exchanges
among entrepreneurs? Do you already implement actions in this
field?
Date: in 12 pts
 Creating a successful
digital ecosystem -
Relevant Initiatives

Name: Latvia IT cluster

Country: Latvia
Description: The Latvian IT Cluster groups Latvian SMEs involved in the digital business. The aim is
to increase the competitiveness and grow exports of IT services. The second aim is to bridge the
digital gap through the promotion of collaboration between companies and with universities.

Name: Bucharest Tech hub

Country: Romania
Description: TechHub creates spaces around the world for tech entrepreneurs to meet, work, learn
and collaborate. TechHub provides physical and virtual spaces that enable technology startups.

Name: Forum Virium Helsinki

Country: Finland
Description: Development of digital urban services that make travelling and living in the city easier.
The services can be used with mobile devices and they are an integral part of their urban
environment.

Name: Innovation Hub - Smart city

Country: Malta
Description: The MITA Innovation Hub will serve as a venue where future web entrepreneurs and
innovators will have a number of software and cloud technologies, and support programmes, to
choose from for their projects.

Date: in 12 pts
Presentation by Member States of
relevant policy initiatives:

France: Gerard Emond

Ireland: Stephen Brennan

Date: in 12 pts
 Creating a successful
digital ecosystem -
Points for discussion

Points for discussion:

 Are these actions bold enough and efficient?
 Which other proposal?
 Which the possible issues?

 Is the implementation of a Blueprint for an action to be taken at the

national, local or regional level? Does your national strategy
envisage that? Which instruments can be mobilised?
 How could MS support digital investments through regional policies
and instruments?
 Do you already provide for supporting services (training,
mentoring)?
 Which instruments could you use to support the cooperation among
digital hubs?
 Can you mobilise existing instruments to favour these exchanges
among entrepreneurs? Do you already implement actions in this
field?
Date: in 12 pts
 Skills to lead the digital
transformation

Skills to lead the digital transformation

To enhance the ability to develop digital strategies and lead digital transformations, by
developing education programmes which combine management, creative and digital
competences, and developing new professional profiles, such as the Chief Digital Officer.

Ideas for action

 Action 5: Integrating digital in business and management education

 Action 6: Recognizing digital leaders and boosting the figure of the Chief
Digital Officer

Date: in 12 pts
 Skills to lead the digital
transformation - Ideas
for Actions

Action 5: Integrating digital in business and management

education

Objective:
 Combine digital knowledge with core business and management skills.
How:
 Integrating “digital” as a key component of:
• Entrepreneurial training and business administration courses;
• Vocational training courses and lifelong learning programmes
offered at the workplace;
• The curricula of the Public Administration Schools.
 The EC and MS representatives, Business schools, Universities, Public
Administration schools, the Industry should all work together to develop
harmonized education and training programmes across the EU MS.

Date: in 12 pts
 Skills to lead the digital
transformation - Ideas
for Actions

Action 6: Recognising digital leaders and boosting the figure of

the Chief Digital Officer

Objective:
 Development and empowerment of specific professional profiles, able to
guide companies and organizations through the opportunities offered by
digital technologies.
How:
 Recognising and promoting the Chief Digital Officers (CDO) as the
new key figures in enterprises.
 Steps to follow:
• Gaining a better understanding of the role and the development of
the CDO professional figure;
• Designing a European wide training plan for the development of
digital leaders.

Date: in 12 pts
 Skills to lead the digital
transformation -
Relevant Initiatives

Name: Update of curricula

Country: Bulgaria
Description: The goal of the activities under this project are to update curriculums in universities in
order to correspond to the real market needs. Research and analysis of market needs and creating
links between business and academia.

Name: University Technology Enterprise Network (UTEN)

Country: Portugal
Description: The aim of the UTEN is to increase the competences in technology and
commercialisation. The UTEN engages with scientific and academic institutions throughout Portugal to
emphasise technology transfer and commercialisation on an international scale.

Name: The e-competent teacher project

Country: Slovenia
Description: The e-competent teacher project aims to support teachers, school ICT administrators
and heads of schools to improve their competences and set standards.

Date: in 12 pts
 Skills to lead the
digital transformation
- Points for
discussion

Points for discussion:

 Are these actions bold enough and efficient?
 Which other proposal?
 Which the possible issues?

 Given the current education and training systems across the EU,
which are expected to be the most relevant constraints for the
adaptation of the education offer to the digital area?
 Do you have already experience regarding the profile of the Chief
Digital Officer? How are SMEs coping with the needs for these skills?

Date: in 12 pts
Presentation by Member States of
relevant policy initiatives

Poland: Stanislaw Dyrda

Date: in 12 pts
 Skills to lead the
digital transformation
- Points for
discussion

Points for discussion:

 Are these actions bold enough and efficient?
 Which other proposal?
 Which the possible issues?

 Given the current education and training systems across the EU,
which are expected to be the most relevant constraints for the
adaptation of the education offer to the digital area?
 Do you have already experience regarding the profile of the Chief
Digital Officer? How are SMEs coping with the needs for these skills?

Date: in 12 pts
 Regulating in the
digital age

Regulating in the digital age

To bring legislation closer to the digital reality and its evolution, improve the digital
awareness among regulatory and policy making bodies, and ensure that the impact on
digital business is carefully considered when a new legislation is put forward.

Ideas for action

 Action 7: Training for regulators: a Digital Boot camp

 Action 8: Observatory and crowdsourcing of ideas on regulatory obstacles
to digital transformation
 Action 9: The “Digital Test”: assessing the impact of regulation on digital
business

Date: in 12 pts
 Regulating in the
digital age - Ideas for
Actions

Action 7: Training for regulators: a Digital Boot camp

Objective:
 Modernise the practices of the public sector and foster the
digitisation of services.
How:
 Upgrade digital skill-set in public administrations and promote a
better understanding of digital business, through intensive training
programmes, i.e. “digital boot camps”, aimed at:
• Providing digital knowledge and improved ability to use digital
technologies;
• Increasing awareness on the trends which are re-shaping business
operations and strategies.

Date: in 12 pts
 Regulating in the
digital age - Ideas for
Actions

Action 8: Observatory and crowdsourcing of ideas on

regulatory obstacles to digital transformation

Objective:
 Remove the obstacles that Regulation (at EU and MS level) can create
for digital business and digital transformation processes.
How:
 Creation of an EU Observatory on regulatory barriers for digital
business with the following main characteristics:
• Gather authorities at EU and MS level and experts from the
industry and academic domain;
• Work as a permanent task force.
 Establishment of an EU platform for the collection of input and
feedback on digital transformation and regulation-related issues.

Date: in 12 pts
 Regulating in the
digital age - Ideas for
Actions

Action 9: The “Digital Test”: assessing the impact of regulation

on digital business

Objective:
 Assessing the impact of new measures (or regulatory revisions) on
digital enterprises or digital transformation processes.
How:
 Introduction of a “Digital Test” in the Impact Assessment analysis
(similar to the “SMEs test”), tools and methodologies (e.g. set of
indicators for the assessment of impacts on digital business).

Date: in 12 pts
 Regulating in the
digital age – Initiatives

Name: Internet policy task force

Country: US
Description: Task force to conduct a comprehensive review of the nexus between privacy policy,
copyright, global free flow of information, cybersecurity and innovation in the internet economy.

Name: Slovenian internet forum

Country: Slovenia
Description: The Slovenian internet forum is appointed with the objective of promoting an open and
inclusive dialogue between all groups interested in key policy topics.

Name: Ministry of Administration and Digitization of Poland

Country: Poland
Description: A new ministry with the word “digitisation” was created in 2011. The focus of this
ministry is on: developing broadband infrastructure, supporting the development of web content and
services and promoting digital literacy among the citizens.

Date: in 12 pts
 Regulating in the
digital age – Points for
discussion

Points for discussion:

 Are these actions bold enough and efficient?
 Which other proposal?
 Which the possible issues?

 In terms of regulatory barriers to digital business, which are the

most critical areas to be addressed?
 How can regulatory process be adapted to better taken into account
a fast changing business environment? Are consultations and
instruments for the crowdsourcing of ideas valid options?

Date: in 12 pts
 Themes for further
discussion

Single Market for Digital SMEs

 Promoting Interoperability between national e-Tendering/e-

Procurement portals
 e-Procurement can encourage the digital transition among SMEs, by
promoting the shift towards widespread digital transactions
 e-Procurement can also represent a significant lever to boost the
creation of a Single Market for Digital SMEs.
 Indirect and positive consequence: ability of European companies
to do business across borders by leveraging on digital technologies.

 What have you done in your MS to ensure interoperability?

discussion
Points of

 To what extent e-procurement and interoperability can boost digital

uptake and cross-border digital business?
 How the cross-border accessibility of e-procurement can be
improved? Date: in 12 pts
 Themes for further
discussion

Competitive exploitation of big data

 Value creation is increasingly dependent on enormous amount of data

collected, analysed and used for business operations.
 Big data platforms are crucial for enterprises to leverage on digital
technologies and generate value
 Challenges:
• Shift of the control power from traditional industries to digital
platforms;
• Need for clear measures and rules on ownership of data;
• Creation of possible de facto monopolies.

 Which actions should be taken to address the issues related to the

discussion
Points of

access, use and ownership of industrial data?

 Are you considering specific measures to ensure a level playing field
in your country?
 Is there scope for an EU action in this field?
Date: in 12 pts
Presentation by Member States of
relevant policy initiatives

Netherlands: Paula de Winter

Date: in 12 pts