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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - N-Supp_INNO-17 (Innovation Enhacement Management service and Key Account Management within EEN Niedersachsen 2017-2018)

Teaser

Within the N-Supp Inno project, the Enterprise Europe Network consortia in Lower-Saxony helps companies (SMEs) to bring innovative ideas to commercial success on international markets. Innovation support services are open to all kinds of businesses. Our network experts are...

Summary

Within the N-Supp Inno project, the Enterprise Europe Network consortia in Lower-Saxony helps companies (SMEs) to bring innovative ideas to commercial success on international markets. Innovation support services are open to all kinds of businesses. Our network experts are prepared to assess which services are suited best to fit the specific development phase of the business: Innovation awareness, innovation capacity building and innovation management.
Within this N-Supp Inno project, the partners focus on innovation capacity building and innovation management: Our services include:
• innovation audits
• strategy advice
• advice on technology marketing
• advice on access to finance for innovation
• links to local and regional innovation stakeholders
Regarding the Innovation management, we help companies to adapt their businesses plan, manage their innovation activities and align their innovation strategy with other business processes.
N-Supp-Inno experts
• perform an innovation management capacity and gaps assessment (NBank innovation audit or innovation health check) in close cooperation with the senior management
• develop an action plan with the client to tackle identified gaps
• help to implement the action plan
• indicate paths for further development
Furthermore, the EEN Lower-Saxony experts provided key account management services to businesses benefitting from the Horizon 2020 SME instrument. We
• help beneficiaries identify coaching needs and select suitable business coaches
• facilitate the coaching process
• empower beneficiaries to successfully conclude their project
• plan the next development phase
The consortia conducted 54 EIMC (Enhancement of Innovation Management capacities) audits and four KAM (key account management) services.

Work performed

During the project period more than 1200 companies from Lower Saxony were informed about the funding opportunities of the SME-Instrument via Info Mailings and Information Events. To highlight one activity to promote the SME Instrument: As part of the Opening Ceremony of the EEN brokerage event “Technology Cooperation Days” on HANNOVER MESSE 2017, Dr. Bernd Reichert held a speech on the SME Instrument funding opportunties for highly innovative SMEs.
About 80 Companies got detailed information and individual advice about the SME Instrument. From these 80 companies receiving individual advice and Information, twelve companies prepared and submitted a proposal for the SME-Instrument while receiving intensive support by the N-Supp Inno Consortium. Out of the eight submitted proposals four cases where selected for funding. (FlexBio GmbH, Qlex GmbH Inoq GmbH and Omnibot GmbH) which means that there is a deviation from the expected number of funded cases for the period of the NSupp_INNO-17 contract (seven were planned).
In 2017 and 2018 the consortium executed 54 EIMC services, six cases more than planned. The Enterprise Europe Network Innovation Management service was noticed and recognised in our region and within the host organisations. Cooperation with regional networks and stakeholders was strengthened.
As all Enterprise Europe Network Consortium partners in Niedersachsen offer COSME activities and EIMC services, there is a smooth and well rehearsed signposting, respectivly cooperation between staff working on EIMC and / or on COSME activities. This counts for advisery, marketing during events, public relations, cooperation with regional stakeholders and so on.
Direct impact is documented in the Merlin system. To summarise main impacts, these are: Securing or creation of working places, improvements of the innovation management structure and processes in the companies, helping to define and develop strategies in terms of digitalisation and business modell innovation. During the audits or as a follow-up of the audits and EIMC servivces we cooperated with regional stakeholders: regional public bodies, Innovation managers of the chambers of trade and industry, the Innovationszentrum Niedersachsen (https://www.iz-nds.de/) and with new initiative www.mitunsdigital.de. Further impacts were the detection of new technologies and marktes, Integration of technology, marketing innovation.

Final results

The EIMC and KAM services are very value-added services of the EEN and an important stage within the journey of a SME in Lower-axony supported by the Enterprise Europe Network .
More than 80% of the audited companies were interested in additional services. These were offered by the members of the consortium either in the framework of activities and consulting services for the Enterprise Europe Network, or against the background of their respective host organizations and their inherent activities.
In coherence with the scale up activities and project, EEN Lower Saxony strengthened cooperation with accelerators, start-ups centers and won several start-up companies ready to grow internatinally as clients. EIMC services were served to several young companies like QLEx; this is a yound scaling up company which won SME Instrument and got KAM services.
Quite a high number of EIMC cases led together with internationalisation services to ASOs. Further services provided were:
- Access to finance
- Identification of suitable national and/or international distributors
- identification of partners for joint development activities
- identification of regional/ national support programs and funding schemes
During the recent project period, the project consortium managed to provide complex innovation-management enhancement support actions to 54 companies of Lower Saxony. These consulting services assisted the benefitting SMEs to increase their knowhow, helped them to strengthen their entrepreneurial competitiveness and thus, their market position leading up to an increase of job security and an improved socioeconomic milieu in Niedersachsen.

Website & more info

More info: http://een-niedersachsen.de/.