Innobasque is the new agency launched from the presidency of the Basque Government in order to merge different entities that existed before. Innobasque absorbs 100% of the rights & duties that Eurobulegoa has hosted and performed.

Innobasque, the Basque Innovation Agency, is a not-for-profit association set up to coordinate and promote innovation in all fields in the Basque Autonomous Community, and to foster the entrepreneurial spirit and creativity.

Innobasque is made up of the agents of the Basque Science, Technology and Innovation Network, private companies, public Basque institutions, official representatives of Basque management and workers and all kinds of organisations connected with innovation.

Its operational model is based on activities that promote the values and attitudes associated with innovation in the Basque society, on actions that spread the image of an innovative Basque Autonomous Community to the outside world as an advanced centre for RDI, as well as on activities that generate the dynamics for innovation in Basque companies and organisations.

Eurobulegoa has been merged into Innobasque creating its Internationalisation Area. This department is in charge of the internationalisation strategy of the R&D programmes for the Basque Government. Its aim is to develop Technology and Science systems and Research Programmes.

It complements the functions of the Association for the Promotion of Industry (SPRI) and the Government itself, by executing the functions of:

- Evaluation: Instrument for the evaluation and monitoring of research projects for the Basque Government and in particular those aspects related to international projects. Evaluation criteria are increasingly demanding presence in international programmes as a means to demonstrate excellence with external indicators.

- Programme planning: In charge of proposing regulation compatibility and convergence with European guidelines as well as looking for areas of specialization that will complement those covered by the European Community.

- Programme internationalization: Acting as a project office to analyse, benchmark, capture opportunities for improvement, organize workshops and involve government officials in mid- and long-term programme decisions.

The Department of Internationalisation, former Eurobulegoa, has extensive experience in ERA-NET (it coordinates MANUNET and participates in COMPERA, SMART GRIDS and INNET (INNONET) as a full partner. It has also participated, and participates, as third party in MNT, ETRANET, EUROTRANSBIO and ERNST).

http://www.innobasque.com