Spinverse Founder and Chairman Pekka Koponen elected as President of new European Association of Innovation Consultants

The European Association of Innovation Consultants (EAIC) was launched on 5 November 2020. What originally started as an informal working group in September 2019, was formalised by the members as an association that now gathers more than 40 members active across Europe. The aim is to foster the discussion on common interests with a possibility of future collaboration and actions. Founder of Spinverse, Pekka Koponen, was one of the founding members of the earlier working group and we are glad to see him elected as President of EIAC.

Created as an informal gathering in a working group back in September 2019, today the members formalised the association that gathers 42 members across Europe. A board of eight members as well as a president were elected.

On the occasion of its first meeting, the Board elected Pekka Koponen as President of EAIC. Welcoming the decision, Pekka said: “Innovation consultants play an important role as the glue and catalyst between European innovators from largest enterprises to growth companies and academic organisations. We transfer latest information on public funding to our clients, help them build and raise funding for their innovation and manage resulting projects and ecosystems professionally for new business, other impact and finally, competitiveness of European industry that keeps the whole innovation system running. EAIC also stands to make sure that our members do their work with strictest code of ethics and professionalism, always walking the extra mile needed for success.”

As the Association is now established as a formal entity, its objective is to become the voice of European consulting companies specialised in Research, Development & Innovation (RDI) financing and management.

The association aims in particular to:

1. Create synergies between members to promote the added value their professional services bring to RDI collaborations in Europe and carry out actions of common interests and benefits for its members. ​
2. Enhance a positive image of European professional innovation consulting companies by ensuring and maintaining high professionalism and ethical values among members.​
3. Represent the EAIC towards European institutions and stakeholders to defend the specific expertise and professionalism of EAIC members and acknowledge the increased project impact they deliver to the European research community
4. Identify common issues and goals of its members and pursue them in a coordinated manner on a national level by contributing to national concertation and enhancing direct dialogues with the different representations of the EU Member States. ​
5. ​Facilitate knowledge sharing on best practices and information between members on the latest evolutions in the European RDI ecosystem. ​
6. Foster the participation of the private sector to European RD&I programmes for stronger impact and exploitation of results. ​

​Since September 2019, when they first decided to work together as an informal working group, the members of EAIC have initiated several actions, such as:

• The launch of a Manifesto to support Professional project management in Horizon Europe to better recognise the added value of innovation consultants. It has already been signed by over 168 organisations;
• The adoption of a Code of Conduct, signed by all members to promote ethical behaviour in the sector;
• The development of two EIC Accelerator position papers to provide feedback on the planned evolutions of the programme under Horizon Europe. 

The EAIC recently elected eight board members. Their role is to further formulate the structure of EAIC activities. The eight Board members are: 

• Luc Ragon – Benkei, France
• Virginie Robin – Euronovia, France
• Alejandro Alvarez Alvarez – FI Group, Spain
• Nilay Yalcinkaya Yoruk – Intract, Turkey
• Diego Soro – Soros Gabinete, Spain
• Pekka Koponen – Spinverse, Finland
• Marie Latour – Zabala Innovation Consulting, Belgium
• Xavier Aubry – Zaz Ventures, Belgium

Read the original press release by EAIC here.

About EAIC

The European Association of Innovation Consultants (EAIC) gathers active Innovation Consultants in the field of European research and innovation projects. The group aims to facilitate exchange and promotion of best practices and success stories, as well as to uphold professional skills and expertise in European RDI projects. Today the group gathers 42 members, active in more than 18 countries around Europe. www.eaic.eu

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