Access to advanced facilities, expertise, data and testing environments can be essential for turning research and innovation into market-ready technologies and solutions. However, companies—particularly start-ups and SMEs—may face difficulties identifying relevant infrastructures, understanding access conditions or navigating contractual and intellectual property arrangements.
To address these challenges, the European Commission has adopted the Charter of Access for Industrial Users to Research and Technology Infrastructures. Developed in the context of the European Strategy on Research and Technology Infrastructures and the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy, the Charter aims to make Europe’s research and technology infrastructures more accessible to industry and strengthen their contribution to innovation, scale-up and competitiveness.
The Charter establishes six guiding principles for improving industrial access:
- greater visibility and simplified access to services;
- transparency and quality;
- clear contractual arrangements;
- appropriate management of intellectual property;
- tailored support for companies;
- stronger cooperation and access to data across infrastructures, sectors and borders.
Intellectual asset management is particularly relevant in this context. Collaboration between companies and research infrastructures can involve existing IP, newly generated results, know-how and data. Clear arrangements concerning ownership, access and use of these assets can reduce uncertainty, facilitate collaboration and create stronger foundations for subsequent exploitation and market uptake.
The Charter also places emphasis on tailored company support and stronger cooperation among infrastructures, potentially allowing businesses to access complementary capabilities across regions and sectors rather than navigating individual facilities in isolation. This can contribute to more connected innovation ecosystems and strengthen the pathways between research, technology development and industrial deployment.
Organisations can voluntarily endorse the Charter and signal their commitment to facilitating industrial access. The Commission is also collecting good practices from research and technology infrastructures, while an interactive map provides visibility of endorsing organisations and their facilities.
Overall, the Charter represents another step towards strengthening the conditions for knowledge valorisation in Europe, helping connect research capabilities with companies that can further develop, scale and bring innovative technologies to market.
Factsheet: Charter of access for industrial users to research and technology infrastructures