Report: Tekes, one of the world's leading innovation-promoting organisations, is performing well
Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, is performing well and ranks among the world's leading organisations promoting innovations.Tekes' activities have boosted research, development and innovation and enhanced their quality.
A report by the international Technopolis Group, published on 6 June in Helsinki, appraises Tekes as a creator of the solid basis for Finland's economic growth.
Tekes, tasked with promoting the development of trade and industry competitiveness by means of technology and innovations, is providing 550 million euro of funding for research, development and innovation this year.
Enterprises must renew themselves continuously, in order to succeed against intensifying international competition. This renewal objective is integral to Tekes' new strategy.
- Tekes is targeting more funding at growth companies aiming at international markets and the development of radical innovations. Bold and open-minded change is the prerequisite for leading the way in the present business environment, including in the case of Tekes, emphasises Jyri Häkämies, Minister of Economic Affairs.
The evaluation also studied Tekes' role in the innovation system. According to Technopolis, Tekes should not be merged with other public financing organisations, such as Finnvera. Instead, the division of duties between actors in the field should be clarified.
Because Tekes' support for large enterprises is valuable for a number of reasons, including small and large enterprises and cooperation in research, support for large enterprises should not be terminated. Most Tekes funding allocated to large enterprises is channelled to SMEs and for public research purposes, through subcontracting.
Tekes operates efficiently in comparison with corresponding international organisations, but the assessment and selection process of financing applications must be expedited. This is particularly important for start-ups and small growth companies. The latest focus areas of Tekes' operations, i.e. development of services and working life, boost innovations. According to the evaluation, these should be linked more closely to Tekes' other activities.
Technopolis is a European specialist in political research and consulting, and a leading international provider of various evaluations. Tekes' evaluation was commissioned by the Ministry of Employment and the Economy.
The evaluation can be read on the Ministry's website at www.tem.fi/publications
TEKES presentation GV (pdf) (319.2 KB)
Tekes evaluation - comments by Tekes (pdf) (691.6 KB)
Comments of Minister Jyri Häkämies about Tekes evaluation (pdf) (627.2 KB)
Further information:
State Secretary Jouni Hakala, tel. +358 10 606 2662
Director General Petri Peltonen, MEE, tel. +358 50 626 63