Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - EIIRCBG_H2020 (Establishing services Enhancing the innovation management capacity of SMEs in Bulgaria)

Teaser

The main objective of the project was to contribute to the implementation of the European policies in the field of innovation management capacity building in SMEs and their implementation in Bulgaria, resulting in effective and efficient investments in novelties leading to...

Summary

The main objective of the project was to contribute to the implementation of the European policies in the field of innovation management capacity building in SMEs and their implementation in Bulgaria, resulting in effective and efficient investments in novelties leading to growth and quality jobs.

Most of the innovative Bulgarian companies are included in the global supply chains. In a few cases, their management describes this process as “participation in the innovation chain”. Partners are mostly from EU and their cooperation contributes to the European added value.
The companies contacted by the Bulgarian consortium could be divided in two groups: (1) ones which have heard about IMP3rove or similar tools, they have collected preliminary information and are willing or ready to go through assessment of their innovation management capacity, and (2) companies which have never heard about any innovation assessment criteria – they require much more time to be convinced. In the second group there are companies who have rejected EIMC services. Some of the companies that have gone through the IMP3rove assessment, have expressed interest in having a second round of this assessment.

Currently, the consortium has clear approach and process identification for meeting project objectives successfully.

Specific objective (i) - to identify issues with regards to creation of added value in companies benefiting from grants by Horizon2020\'s SME instrument.

Specific objective (ii) - to help Bulgarian SMEs to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of innovation processes by helping them improve their innovation management and to potentially become beneficiaries of European support to research and innovation.

Specific objective (iii) - to launch about 23 service packages, KAM and EIMC services, amounting altogether to up to 161 consultancy working days.

Work performed

Number of SME Instrument beneficiaries – 0 beneficiaries contracted within the reporting period. With this in mind, the consortium focused exclusively on delivering EIMC services.
The consortium has launched EIMC services with 14 companies, each consultancy package commencing with IMP3rove assessment of the client’s innovation management capacity as a starting point.
The consortium has 11 IMP3rove assessments completed, most of them followed by a workshop and an Action Plan agreed upon with the client. There are 2 full 7-day packs delivered.

The majority of the service packs delivered thus far, range between 0.5-5 days each. At this interim stage of theirs it is deemed by the consortium partners too early to identify and summarise the tangible results in the client companies. Given the partial completion of these services and more support still to be delivered to these clients, the ultimate tangible results are yet to come over the next project period (2015-2016) when all service packs launched are to be completed and finalized.

Final results

The action is expected to gain better understanding on EU innovation support policies and their implementation in practice. SMEs invest in innovations, leading to growth and quality jobs.

The 14 beneficiaries of EIMC services in total, were assisted towards improving their internal innovation management processes and interaction with external factors, gaining knowledge about funding opportunities for their specific needs, finding new markets and increasing sales.

Given the limited time for the implementation of the project by the project partners, the majority of the 7-day packs were only partially delivered. Hence results and impact for the majority of the project clients are yet to come once the service packs are completed. It may often be the case that tangible results and impact may crystalise even well beyond the time span over which the 7-day support has been delivered.

Website & more info

More info: http://enterprise-europe-network.bg/en.