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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - EEN Scotland EIMC (EEN Scotland EIMC)

Teaser

Summary

Europe2020, (and H2020), moves the innovation agenda towards tangible outcomes: towards the creation of new goods and services with concrete global market potential. The projectâ€™s underlying objective is to contribute to this agenda, encouraging smart inclusive and sustainable growth by increasing effective investment in innovation linked to profitable exploitation in international markets.

Scotlandâ€™s SMEs innovation performance has traditionally been under par, with average levels of innovation activity and low BERD: below the EU average and in the bottom half of regions in the UK. A recent Innovation Review carried out by Scottish Enterprise (SE: Regional Development Agency) paints a more optimistic, emerging picture: showing that Scottish Enterpriseâ€™s innovation support is having a positive impact. Scotland has moved to Q1 of EU28 for Innovation Active, and innovative businesses surveyed have achieved strong turnover growth with Returns on Investment (ROI) of Â£15 for every Â£1 invested. To continue the momentum, on-going support is needed to build the capacity of Scottish SMES to innovate efficiently (improve their innovation management capacity) and successfully; to do so with international ambition at the heart; and which leaves them with a footprint for sustainable future growth. Coaching and mentoring are important enablers in this respect.

The projectâ€™s specific objective is to ensure that Scottish SMEs with international innovation and growth ambitions are empowered by unlocking their full growth potential through better internal innovation management capability and tailored mentoring and coaching. The aim is to support SMEâ€™s international competitiveness through the exploitation of new or enhanced products, process or service through improved innovation efficiency.

To this end, the project will seek to improve the innovation performance of Scottish SMEs, both for beneficiaries of the SME Instrument (through the Key Account Management service: KAM Service) and for the wider SME innovation base (through the innovation management capacity building service: EIMC Service).

Work performed

Over the 2017 2018 period 79 cases were completed:

-10 SMEI beneficiaries were mentored (KAM/coaching support) In addition, 15 SMES directly mentored by EEN Scotland under the COSME contract received SMEI Seal Of Excellence awards in 2017-2018. 12 of these were Phase II candidates and 3 were Phase 1.
-69 SMES were supported to increased their innovation management capacity, through Improve Assessments and Innovation Management Master Classes, complimented by business innovation coaching were applicable (supported through Scottish Enterprise).

All Scottish SMEi beneficiaries have been supported through COSME (EEN Phase 3 services) as well as being linked into the full range of support available through Scottish Enterprise. The EEN Scotland team has worked closely with all the implicated coaches, introducing them to the host structures company account managers and specialist teams. Holistic all round support has been made available to all our SMEi beneficiaries. EEN Scotland has also supported its Scottish Seal of Excellence companies.

In providing EIMC services, Enterprise Europe Network Scotland has helped support Scottish SMEs to increase their capacity for achieving international growth through innovation and through managing their innovation process effectively. In achieving this we have worked in smart, high performing â€˜accountâ€™ teams, providing the level of expertise required by the Scottish company as they grow and scale.

Final results

Over the period, the EEN Scotland team has provided intensive, tailored support (linking them investors, funding, international opportunities, innovation partners) to its existing SMEI winners , as well as to its Seal Of Excellence awardees. In addition more Scottish SMEs were targeted for the building of innovation management capacity of services (through Improve assessments, Innovation Master Classes/workshops). The offer of business innovation coaching was also extended to support innovation and innovation management capacity building beyond SMEI winners.

Our Implementation Strategy (IS) centres on the principles of strong integration with the regional business support ecosystem, being an integral part of the strategic delivery of our host structure. Holistic all-round support has been made available to all our SMEI, Seal Of Excellence and Innovation Management Capacity building beneficiaries: this means that EEN Scotland work hand in hand with other innovation and investment support teams across Scottish Enterprise, as well as with the Scottish Investment bank, InnovateUK Challenge teams and other key partners to deliver results for our client SMEs. We have adopted a â€œTeam Scotlandâ€ approach to supporting our companies, a rigorous segmentation of our client company base and a high potential SME targeting strategy (including intake filters and needs/gaps analysis). The objective is to improve the innovation and international performance of Scottish SMEs: building their innovation, international and growth capacity and increasing their competitiveness in global markets. Following the approach of the IS has paid dividends with an attributable â‚¬23 million additional revenues for EEN SMEs clients over 2017 -2018. We have built a strong SME pipeline for further activity and growth in the future.

These Innovation Management Capacity services have provided a catalyst for EEN Scotland to further integrate into the regional/natioanl ecosystem and host structure provision, and to define a more centred, holistic approach to serving our clients. The additionality and value-add of EEN Scotland have been brought into sharp focus, allowing us to define a highly tailored service across our client base (H2020 and COSME) supporting our SMEsâ€™ innovation, international and growth ambitions. The smooth integration of the H2020 support with the broader COSME activities (linking innovation to international markets, access to finance, building international value and supply chains, linking to lead customers, collaborative innovation and international partnership development etc) is highly appreciated by our client companies as well as our business and innovation support partners and colleagues.