Essential Web 2007

A cool event put on by Library House in London last week.

The event’s agenda was shaped to provide a picture of the status and temperature of the web scene in Europe and Israel. The majority of the time at the event was given over to sessions featuring a mix of upcoming and hot web companies - some were pre-funded, raw start-ups, others were well-funded and well-known.

This LINK provides a background to the companies taking part. Some neat work, guys.

Understanding FP7

John, my Pingar partner based in the UK, is contracted to the European Commission as Technology Expert, Rapporteur and Assessor for requests for funding of R&D and commercialisation projects in the European ICT sector.

John’s work includes working with the Sixth & Seventh Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development (FP7 & FP7). FP7 is the European Union’s chief instrument for funding research over the period 2007 to 2013.

This week, he is on duty in Brussels carrying out this task.

I have been trying to work out where New Zealand and New Zealand business fits into all this. To help, I have been accessing the main FP7 portal. I have found a list of International Co-operation Partner Countries. It makes interesting reading.

There is another interesting list of ‘other’ countries missing. They are Associated Countries – countries with science and technology cooperation agreements that involved contributing to the framework programme budget. Is New Zealand one of these? I don’t know. It is important that I should.

I am presently working my way through a number of ‘Guides’ provided by the European Commission to help me understand how FP7 works. They can be accessed here. They are reasonably technical, but they are covering off some of the questions I have about how to co-operate with others in this Programme. Its scope is wide, its budget is massive. And at € 54 billion over the next seven years, I mean massive. It’s important for research and development here that New Zealand is involved. You can view the FP7 launch Press Release here to start understanding what it is all about.

It's 7.35am in Tauranga

I still find the idea of watching midweek soccer (Liverpool v AC Milan - Champions League Cup Final from Athens is live on Sky at present), whilst eating breakfast weird. Back in London right now, it would be Wednesday evening, the Black Lion in West Hampstead and a pint of Fullers.

I had the same feeling earlier, reading Rod Drury's latest diary entries from Wales. He talked about the revelation of speaking to people focused on building a Knowledge Economy, co-ordinated Agency planning, digital infrastructure and the fact that people don't use the word 'Export'. In the UK, he says, all the talk is about participating in the global economy. Sound familiar? - (see previous blog posts)

New Zealand exports. Things like logs, dairy, beef and sheep body parts.

In a Knowledge Economy, you do not export. You do not disengage from the global economy and say - 'hey, this is a great New Zealand SaaS application...let's export it'. In the global Knowledge Economy you engage, you partner, you participate. In the global Knowledge Economy, you access a market of hundreds of millions of users. That's as it should be.

Sitting in Tauranga right now, eating a bowl of weet-bix, London really does seem a long way away.