Portrait: special guest - Edward middle-class person
Origin: Seen again Objective is / Et 2004
By meeting men of ground having a strong experience on the approach of the Eastern countries, Objective is follows its reflexion on the development of the French-Russian current of business. We met EDWARD BOURGEOIS, Representative Russia-CIS in the International Direction of ANVAR (the French Agency of innovation).
OE: What is the mission of ANVAR?
EDWARD BOURGEOIS: ANVAR has as mission to support the effort of innovation of the creators of firms, Pme-Pmi and research laboratories, notably by sharing inherent financial risk in the transfer of technology, in the perfecting of a product, technique or new service, in technological element.
OE: How declines this mission worldwide?
E.B.: ANVAR, set up a strategy of international cooperation with his counterparts to make easier the access of the innovative SMEs for the broadest possible markets and to optimise their investments in R&D. On this occastion she leads two types of cooperations: technological, to favour the emergence, partnership, accompaniment and financing of innovative plans, and institutional, in which ANVAR brings its know-how in support of innovation in the different countries.
OE: What place do you grant in Russia in this policy of cooperation?
E.B.: Russia is part of eight priority countries for ANVAR, in the same capacity as the United States, Canada, Brazil, India, China, Israel, Morocco, and Tunisia.
OE: How is it translated in practice?
E.B.: A statement of intent was signed on March 17th, 2000 in Moscow between ANVAR and its counterpart in Russia, FASIE. She plans principally to develop and to co-finance of a co-ordinated way common technological plans between Russian and French PMI. This is made easier by the intervention of group of dealers: consultants, members of network EUREKA. ANVAR has moreover a fund of valuation of Russian technologies, to use for the offer of type transfer, set up by the ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The installation of an international civil volunteer of the ANVAR in Russia since November, 2002 allowed to intensify the emergence of technological plans between Russian and French PMI.
OE: How much plans were initiated? And what is the current flux?
E.B.: Twenty-five plans are currently at different stadiums of progress, since the catch of contacts initial up to the technological and commercial partnership. The flux of new plans is around a dozen a year.
Among the " success stories ", it is possible to name the partnership between the French society ROBOBAT and the Russian CONTEX Santa Barbara society, which was translated by the realisation of an innovative software of calculation of metallic structures for the building.
Or else, the partnership between French FENSZY and Russian TOMBOV which ended in the perfecting of masks of security burns down. Always in the field of hygiene and of security, a technology of decontamination of air by electric current, perfected by the Russian society POTOK, was developed and commercialised successfully in Europe by the French society AIRINSPACE.
OE: What are difficulties met during the installation of such partnerships?
E.B.: Difficulties can be linked to problems between the individuals, but most often them are linked to the fragile character of innovative PMI, always without financial and strategical solidity to go to the end of plans.
Paradoxically, it is especially of the French side that is most problems and reasons of failure. It sometimes happens that French PMI is in compulsory liquidation some months after the beginning of the partnership.
OE: In spite of these difficulties, are the perspectives of cooperation positive?
E.B.: Yes, and they are him especially since Russia introduces a still widely unexploited potential. Except the big firms, it exists about 40 000 Russian PMI of technology, often coming from public research, which is the game preserve of potential technological cooperations with French PMI.
And cooperation is really made in both directions, the Russian societies being also interested by Western technologies that can be commercialised on the local market. Recently, a society of Kolsovo (in the suburbs of Novossibirsk), which exploits successfully an Austrian licence for several years, demonstrated its interest for a technology of assemblage of linen panels conceived in Transfer. A Russian agroindustrial group claimed to be person concerned by a technology of manufacture of pasta offered by French PMI.
OE: What is the strategy implemented by the French authorities, and by ANVAR, to take the best advantage from this technological potential?
E.B.: First of all, France tries to avoid the phenomenon of brain drainpipe which is translated by a true loss of the scientific and technological capacities, in aid of country as the United States. Europe has any interest, on the contrary, to fix on place the technological resources of Russia with which it maintains links very strong in interdependence and in cooperation.
As for the strategy of partnership as such, the objective of ANVAR is to intensify cooperation at the same time by methods, and by sectors; by methods on one hand, with the installation of the partnership ANVAR FASIE, and of a French-Russian network of transfer of technology, organised around an electronic grant of exchanges of technologies and of group of private and public partners giving Russian and French PMI of their expertise. ANVAR also intervenes to promote the European dimension of cooperation across the quality-label EUREKA, the opening of Russia in the European network of centres relay of innovation (SHOUTING), and the French-Russian participation in the sixth PCRD. Without forgetting demonstrations such FRANCETECH 2003 which allow to the actors of cooperation to meet to take stock of the situation on the accomplished advances, and to define future directions.
By sectors on the other hand, ANVAR concluded a partnership with the Russian consortium BIOMAK to develop cooperation in the sector of biotechnologies. Another partnership is under consideration with the association RUSSOFT which regroups about fifty Russian PMI in the sector of NTIC. Other actions were initiated in the field of the new materials, with the support of the International Centre for Science and Technology (CIST) based in Moscow, or in nanotechnologies.
O.E.: How is France in comparison with other European countries in technological cooperation with Russia?
E.B.: France occupies a good position, but some countries are ahead of time such Germany, Italy or Finland.
If they look that at the number of partnerships concluded between Western firms and CIST, who is of use as interface for a hundred of institutes of advanced research Russian, two French firms only, FRENCH ATOMIC ENERGY AUTHORITY and Aerospace industry, against a dozen big German firms are found. Finnish as for them is very active in the region of St. Petersburg, for obvious geographical and historical reasons, but also due to a dynamism which is peculiar to them in technological material.
O.E.: To finish could you say to us some words about your personal course, and how you came towards French-Russian cooperation?
E.B.: My interest for Russia is ancient. I began learning Russian it is it thirty years old, with the very good textbook of Nina Potapova. I began my career to Rh ne-poulenc as representative for agreements and licences, and I was rather fast led to take care of international plans. In the eighties, I was delegated in ANVAR for international relations, and I contributed to the installation of the first European programmes of technological cooperation. It is only after the fall of USSR and the opening of the countries of the Soviet ex-block, that I was made responsible for developing relations with these countries, in the first rank of which appears Russia. Today, the interest for these countries is confirmed and gives real perspectives, as part of an increasing political and economic integration with Europe.
Twenty-five plans are currently at different stadiums of progress, since the catch of contacts initial up to the technological and commercial partnership.
It is especially of the French side that is most problems and reasons of failure.
If the number of partnerships concluded between Western firms and CIST is looked, two French firms only, FRENCH ATOMIC ENERGY AUTHORITY and Aerospace industry, against a dozen big German firms are found.
For more ample information on the activities of ANVAR in Russia, refer to following Internet address:
Article writes by Alexander Kateb
Origin: Seen again Objective is / Et 2004
Written by admin one June 21st, on 2006 with no comments.
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