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• 1:About EARTO.
• 2:About RTOs.
• 3:Key Contacts.
• 4:List of Members.
• 5:Membership.
• 6:Publications.
• 7:Newsletter.
• 8:Working Groups, Task Forces.
• 9:Annual Conferences.
• 10:EARTO Innovation Prize.
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• 12:FP7 Support Services.
• 13:Useful Links.
• 14:EARTO Meeting Facilities in Brussels.
• 15:How to find us.
• 16:Members Area.

About RTOs

Research and Technology Organisations

Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs) are specialised knowledge organisations dedicated to the development and transfer of science and technology to the benefit of the economy and society.

RTOs make a vital contribution to strengthening Europe's economic performance by supporting product and process innovation in all branches of industry and services - in firms large and small - as well as by developing technologies which contribute to improved living standards and higher quality of life.

RTOs contribute in many ways to our individual and collective well-being. They provide technologies for averting or curing the often negative environmental effects of contemporary socio-economic development, and for supporting more sustainable modes of development. They contribute to major advances in health care, educational provision, housing, and transport, and perform important tasks in technical standardisation and health and safety regulation.

RTOs build bridges between basic research and industrial applications. They are innovative and competitive problem-solvers for all sectors of industry and services. They are technology developers, adapters and transfer intermediaries, helping to ensure more effective exploitation of research by the enterprise sector. They are state-of-the-art technology specialists providing expertise which customers do not possess or cannot afford individually to maintain in-house. They are generic and sectoral know-how suppliers, fashioning multidisciplinary solutions fitted to the needs of specific industries and trades, traditional sectors and SMEs.

A Changing World for Research and Technology Organisations

Several major trends - keywords are "open innovation" and "globalisation" - are affecting what RTOs do and how they operate.

The globalisation of trade means that new products, processes and services must often compete from the start on world markets. Protected home markets are disappearing. Countries that once imported technology are now exporters.

The acceleration of technical development is shortening the time span between idea and innovation. "Time to market" is ever shorter.

New products, processes and services require more and more sophisticated technologies. Specialised knowledge, "unique" research and demonstration equipment, and multidisciplinary integration of technologies are increasingly what innovators need. And demand is evolving beyond technology to integrated business solutions.

Changing demand for research and technology services is profoundly affecting RTO organisation and operations. Public research institutions are being privatised or given quasi-private status, and are being encouraged to increase their commercial activities. Private organisations have taken over tasks previously in the public domain. Competition has increased. The customer benefits.

It is partly a reflection of these trends that RTOs' relationships with their client firms are increasingly strategic and recurrent, and that the market for their specialised knowledge and services is increasingly international.