Final Report Summary - RUSMECO (Enhancing Russian SME collaboration and business development through Communities of Practice)
The ultimate aim of the RUSMECO project was to enhance Russian Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) collaboration and business development through communities of practice considering in a great extent their political, cultural and economic context. The aim was achieved by dint of an integrated approach in which instruments (methods, techniques and software tools) and training were adapted, developed, applied and validated. Strong focus was laid on restructuring the Russian industrial sector by enhancing the competitiveness of Russian SMEs at a national and international level. RUSMECO focused on SMEs in Russia which engage into innovation and Research and development (R&D) activities.
The specific objectives of the project were to:
- pursue a research into current practice of Russian SMEs in business development and collaboration;
- identify gaps amongst current Russian SMEs practice and western European standards;
- pursue a research into the further development of the Russian SME sector and provide recommendations for the Russian government;
- identify success factors and barriers concerning the transferability of western European management approaches to Russia;
- develop methods for improving business development and collaboration of Russian SMEs;
- develop software to support virtual collaboration of SMEs;
- set up a model collaboration network amongst Russian SMEs;
- validate RUSMECO hypotheses, concepts and solutions;
- describe the project's process, developed methods and tools, as well as barriers and success factors
The RUSMECO community collaborated on an online portal that offered forums, blogs, self-assessment, e-learning and an extensive library. Another focus of the RUSMECO community activities was the foster of the collaboration and exchange with organisations outside the community. The platform contained a brokerage area, in which external companies could identify suitable SMEs from the RUSMECO community for collaboration and knowledge exchange. Finally, strong focus was laid on face-to-face meetings. RUSMECO offered therefore, also physical events and learning courses.
The specific objectives of the project were to:
- pursue a research into current practice of Russian SMEs in business development and collaboration;
- identify gaps amongst current Russian SMEs practice and western European standards;
- pursue a research into the further development of the Russian SME sector and provide recommendations for the Russian government;
- identify success factors and barriers concerning the transferability of western European management approaches to Russia;
- develop methods for improving business development and collaboration of Russian SMEs;
- develop software to support virtual collaboration of SMEs;
- set up a model collaboration network amongst Russian SMEs;
- validate RUSMECO hypotheses, concepts and solutions;
- describe the project's process, developed methods and tools, as well as barriers and success factors
The RUSMECO community collaborated on an online portal that offered forums, blogs, self-assessment, e-learning and an extensive library. Another focus of the RUSMECO community activities was the foster of the collaboration and exchange with organisations outside the community. The platform contained a brokerage area, in which external companies could identify suitable SMEs from the RUSMECO community for collaboration and knowledge exchange. Finally, strong focus was laid on face-to-face meetings. RUSMECO offered therefore, also physical events and learning courses.
