Data mining : knowledge and technology flows in priority domains within the private sector and between the public and private sectors

With the amount of digital data created and stored increasing day upon day, the opportunities offered by big data - paired with the development of novel data management, storage and analysis tools - are almost endless and promise to revolutionise many sectors. In fact, it is quite clear from the scientific literature that most of the gains to be made from the use of data mining are to come from the exploitation of big data. In the EU alone, an estimated 1.9 % in economic growth (i.e. a GDP increase of EUR 206 billion) could be achievable with big data analytics by 2020. In this context, this DATA MINING study, commissioned by DG RTD aims to thoroughly examine the benefits, feasibility, cost-effectiveness and validity of data mining, as well as big data, in strengthening the evidence base for R&I policymaking. The study characterises the potential benefits of innovative data-driven approaches to enrich the evidenced-based policymaking process in R&I, Six case studies, on selected EU-context R&I policy issues, are analysed. The case studies focus on innovation in the private sector and explore topics such as the determinants of fast-growing enterprises (small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)) and their impact on the economy.