Download here
Smart Guide on Innovation Based Incubators (IBI) (PDF-10MB)
20 Case studies : 10 Innovation Based Incubators + 10 Innovative Start-Ups (PDF-1,48MB)

After over 25 years of practices and policies lessons have been learned on the concept of innovation-based incubators (IBI), in other words "Business & Innovation Centres" (BICs) !.

It is nowadays possible to understand what are the key elements of their success, what to take into consideration when a region, or a local territory, is thinking to resort to this tool to strengthen and carry out policies for innovation and SME support, and, mostly, what to do and what not to do when positioning, engineering and organizing an IBI.

Hence, the aim of the Smart Guide is to provide the local stakeholders of a region including the Managing Authorities of Cohesion Policy Funds an insight on the scopes of IBIs and on the paths and steps needed to set up successful ones.

This Smart Guide is addressed to them. It is composed of two parts, the first one highlighting the conditions to meet, the actors to gather, the services to develop, the costs to face and the targets to measure, to create successful IBIs, the second one describing study cases which have been analyzed in Europe and beyond.

As Deputy Director General of DG Regio, Katarina Mathernova says in his foreword:  

"It is an easy-to-read guide for those directly involved with delivering innovation in the regions - those who create and design the projects that make innovative business strive, that bring new entrepreneurs to the market place, and that help to transform ideas into action.    

We are proud that the European BIC Network, launced in the mid 80s under Cohesion Policy, is now an independent organisation globally recognised for its expertise in incubation processes andthe provision of high quality services to businesses and innovation.  This guide owes much totheir existence." 

This guide has been prepared by the EBN Quality Team and published by the European Commission - DG Regio in partnership with DG Enterprise.

Donwload here the Smart Guide on Innovation based Incubators in PDF (10MB) and the 20 Study cases (PDF - 1,48MB)

This guide is also available on EC - DG Regio website : 
 http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docoffic/working/sf2000_en.htm