The Chairman of the FNR Management Board, Mr Yves Elsen, and the President of Luxinnovation, Mr Raymond Schadeck, welcomed the enhanced cooperation between the two institutions, which are pillars of the national innovation system in Luxembourg, in order to improve the visibility and performance of their actions and services. By combining their efforts in several key areas, the FNR and Luxinnovation wish to encourage innovation in companies and support the socio-economic exploitation of the results of the public research sector. In this context, the development of public-private partnerships (PPP) in research projects, in Luxembourg and Europe, is a powerful tool fostering innovation. In order to respond to the increasingly competitive economic environment, the Luxembourg government has developed specific support measures to stimulate PPPs.

After the official signing of the agreement, Mr Marc Schiltz, Secretary General of the FNR, and Mr Jean-Paul Schuler, Managing Director of Luxinnovation, presented the five areas covered in this key partnership. In addition to a continuous exchange of information, the two partners will focus on the promotion of the financing instruments of FNR and the Ministry of Economy that support cooperation between public and private sectors - and contribute to a better coherence of these instruments. They will also focus on cooperation within the European Commission’s framework programme for research and innovation (including ERA-NETs, Horizon 2020, AAL and Eurostars), representing Luxembourg in these international and European organisations, promoting RDI to national actors (public research organisations, large companies, SMEs and the general public), promoting RDI in Luxembourg on an international level and optimising the use of the results of the public research sector.