1. Analysis of the current state of affairs and identification of development trends in the ICT field www.arcfund.net

2. Project Details (1/3) Goals: Overview of state of affairs and development trends in the ICT field Analysis of recent government and company policies in Bulgaria in the ICT sector Innovation activities of the Bulgarian ICT sector Identification of potential market niches for Bulgarian ICT companies www.arcfund.net

3. Coverage: National Classification of Economic Activities 2003 & 2008 (NKID 2003 & KID 2008) / NACE rev. 1.1. & NACE rev. 2 Time period: R&D expenditures & import/export analysis: 2003- 2010 legal framework analysis: 2000 – 2011 global trends analysis: until 2020 Project Details (2/3)

4. Methods analysis of statistical data: import/export; R&D expenditures and personnel; company statistics in-depth interviews with company managers e-delphi, etc. Results (deliverables): final report, incl. collected data as electronic spreadsheets Project Details (3/3)

5. R&D in the ICT sector in Bulgaria Assessment of official statistics through: own micro study among ICT companies collection of data on: turnover, R&D expenditures and personnel, autonomous R&D unit, etc. [n.a.] / availability of data expert evaluations validating NKID (NACE) code reaching threshold of up to 75% of the total market Preliminary Results (1/3)

6. Findings 3 to 5 time smaller amounts of business R&D expenditures & R&D personnel Reasons: incorrect NKID / NACE code Not accounting R&D expenditures R&D – expenditures for future periods Lack of incentives and sanctions High administrative burden Lack of corporate innovation planning Preliminary Results (2/3)

7. Advantages of the Bulgarian ICT sector: Access to telecommunication services and high speed internet 2010 World Competiveness Yearbook, IMD: Bulgaria is 53 rd in general competitiveness, but 3 rd in ICT investment, 6 th in the average internet user speed; 12 th in the export of services (mainly ICT) Bulgarian branches of major global ICT companies Genuine Bulgarian companies working in niches markets establishing own brand or product on the international markets new model of innovation activities, which combines outsourcing and corporate entrepreneurship Preliminary Results (3/3)

8. THANK YOU! Todor Galev todor.galev@online.bg ARC Fund www.arcfunbd.net