Establishing services enhancing the innovation management capacity of SME´s in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein

ended

The four partners Investitionsbank Schleswig-Holstein (IB.SH), TuTech Innovation GmbH (TuTech), Wirtschaftsförderung und Technologietransfer Schleswig-Holstein (WTSH) and IFB Hamburg (IFB) are part of the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) consortium in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein and established a well-known regional one-stop-shop for all EU-related enquiries for SMEs and regional stakeholders. For the period 2017-18 core objective is to expand the client base and deepen the level of assistance by offering the new service of “Key Account Management” (KAM) and “Enhancing SME Innovation Management Capacity” (IMC). Aim is to face existing lack of innovation management capacity in small and medium sized companies (SME) and support their innovative activities in order to creating economic impact. The guiding principle is that the services are tailored to the needs of the identified regional innovators and innovation systems. In this context the KAM is targeted at beneficiaries of the SME instrument under Horizon 2020, the EIMC addresses other highly innovative SMEs. The EIMC helps companies to establish effective innovation management systems that enhance the realisation of growth opportunities. The KAM focuses on those weaknesses which endanger the success of the funded project. It assists in finding specialised coaches and establishing a coach-client relationship. Both approaches aim to raise the company´s competitiveness and profitability. In the framework of the project the consortium acquired user licenses for the IMP3rove tool in order to assess gaps and needs of the SMEs. In this context senior staff of the EEN attended training to ensure that the tool is used correctly and the assessment exercise complies with the envisaged EU standard. In addition the participation in training courses gives the chance for a best practice exchange with other EEN colleagues and is of great benefit for the consortium.