Council adopts conclusions on strengthening knowledge valorisation

The Council has adopted conclusions on 'strengthening knowledge valorisation as a tool for a resilient and competitive industry and for strategic autonomy in an open economy in Europe'.

The main aim of the conclusions is to reinforce the various ways of supporting knowledge valorisation, taking stock of recent initiatives and the guidelines for strengthening knowledge valorisation and makes proposals to fill in the gaps in the European innovation landscape.

Knowledge valorisation is a powerful tool to boost the competitiveness of our industry and to improve the life of our citizens. We cannot afford to allow the wealth of our knowledge to remain in the laboratory and not becoming concrete projects for our society. Only by getting the most out of our research and innovation will we be able to compete on the global stage and take the lead in the future knowledge-based industrial revolution.

Willy Borsus, Vice-President of Wallonia, Minister for Economy, Research and Innovation, Digital, Agriculture, Urban Planning and Spatial Planning 

Content of conclusions

Knowledge valorisation is the process of creating social and economic value from knowledge obtained from research and innovation. This is achieved by transforming data, know-how and research results into products, services, solutions and knowledge-based policies that benefit society.

The Council conclusions approved today focus on strengthening knowledge valorisation capacities through funding tools, policies and frameworks and through reinforcing the network of intermediaries and facilitators in the innovation landscape. They also address to the need to develop a culture of knowledge valorisation by fostering collaboration between research and industry and by improving training programmes for entrepreneurship and innovation in all disciplines.

Background

Knowledge valorisation has been a recurrent topic for discussion by the Council at its research meetings. In December 2022, the Council adopted a Council recommendation on the guiding principles for knowledge valorisation, and in December 2023 ministers held a policy debate on 'Research valorisation as a tool for economic and industrial recovery and resilience'.