The Factories of the Future Progress Monitoring Reports – what it is and how to contribute
Through the contractual arrangement with the European Commission, EFFRA has the duty to monitor the outcomes and the impact of the Factories of the Future PPP to ensure it is achieving its goals and continues to be industry-relevant. EFFRA therefore collects information based on templates provided by the European Commission. This information is then compiled into the yearly Progress Monitoring Report.
The following main and common KPIs have been identified:
- Mobilised private investments: To understand and capture/show the level of industrial engagement within a given cPPP, including actual expenditure related to individual projects
- New skills and/or job profiles: To understand how job profiles and skills are being created and developed within the activities of the cPPP. Giving explanations on impact on job creation beyond individual projects would be a particular asset.
- Impact of the cPPP on SMEs (in Euros and a qualitative analysis): To understand the impact of the activities on SMEs
- Significant innovations: To understand the technological outputs of the cPPP
Then there are other KPIs that are specific to some of the contractual PPPs. For the FoF PPP these are:
- Reduction of energy use and CO2 emissions
- Reduction of waste
- Reduction in the use of material resources
- Patent applications
- Standardisation activities
The collection of information for the FoF progress monitoring report by EFFRA is organised in two components:
- Data about the Mobilised private investments KPI is collected by requesting project participants (in particular companies) from the FoF consortia to fill out an Excel form, The requested decomposition of the financial data and the associated guidance have been provided by the European Commission.
Completed forms should be sent back to the EFFRA office to both Željko Pazin and Chris Decubber (mail addresses on https://effra.eu/team). The EFFRA office will handle this information with the upmost care and confidentiality. Single company data will not be shared and only completely anonymized and aggregated data will leave the EFFRA office for further use in reports for the European Commission. Note: The form is not specific to one project but it is specific to one organisation (and therefore it can cover more than one Factories of the Future project)
- Data about the new skills and/or job profiles, the impact on SMEs, significant innovations, as well as the other additional PPP specific KPIs are collected on project or project result/demonstratror level through the EFFRA Innovation Portal. More guidance on this is available here. (In order to value the effort that is required for providing the information, this process is integrated with the public promotion of the outcome and impact of your project)
More information about the interpretation of these three common KPIs (extracted from a EC guidance document that was sent to all cPPP associations) in included here below.
More guidance about three common KPIs (extracted from a EC guidance document that was sent to all cPPP associations):
New skills and/or job profiles
“This KPI considers new skills and job profiles created or forecasted within a reasonable timeframe in the future. References to the Horizon 2020 legal texts would put this timeframe to three years beyond the end of Horizon 2020.
While indicated in many contractual arrangements as discrete jobs created, the immediate job creation at the end of a project may be difficult to identify.
However, it is important, also in line with the Skills Agenda for Europe, that the cPPPs present their contributions beyond individual projects to how job profiles and skills are being created within the activities and sectors covered by the cPPP, the number of workforce affected in the European Union and forecasts of its evolution on the employment markets. Relevant questions should also be a part of a questionnaire. In conclusion, the reply should include all jobs, profiles, and/or related skills that stem from cPPPs. The reply should also include the number of complete new job profiles established in the projects. In the event of very recently established cPPPs, a brief explanation of when significant impact is likely to occur should be included in the report.”
Impact of a cPPP on SMEs
“cPPPs should choose between two options: The preferred option should clarify the actual turnover of cPPP participants. The goal is to understand the economic evolution of the SMEs benefitting from the Strategic Research Agendas/Roadmaps under each cPPP. Relevant data on the development of the turnover of SMEs should span throughout Horizon 2020, with the year 2014 as the baseline. The link between the activities of a cPPP and this evolution should be explained, in particular if it differs from developments at a macroeconomic level.
The data on the turnover of companies, and in particular SMEs, may be difficult to aggregate and analyse. If so this should be explained. Instead of addressing directly the turnover, an alternative option would be to map the SME community represented within the cPPP in question. The community would by nature be much smaller compared to the first option. Data on the evolution of the number of SMEs, size distribution, and company age would give an overview of the SMEs that are members of a cPPPs as well as those that are benefitting from the cPPP funding.”
Significant innovations
“This KPI concerns all developed foreground, tangible and intangible assets, that have a marketable or at least an exploitable value, including products, processes, instruments, methods, and technologies. It should involve all items directly linked to the cPPP projects as developed foreground, as well as any new foreground beyond the scope of the project that is linked to the project results (most likely through IP). Information on innovations ready to be taken to the market would be an asset given that the EU seeks opportunities to stimulate more interest by investors.
Also other activities could be considered to carry value added, especially at lower technology readiness levels, such as advancement of a certain technology, clustering, and standardisation. However, the measurability must contain some exploitable value. As an example, a (part) contribution to an industrial standard which has an intrinsic value as a method on the market would count as an innovation. Part of the data would be available through the Commission systems from the project reporting, we propose supporting any assessment through other information sources, with the Commission data available. This may include the Innovation Radar.”