Given the restricted number of packages available for the region of Saxony-Anhalt, it was important that resources were focused on the companies which have the potential to benefit most: both in terms of
the impact of the intervention on the company’s future innovation goals and growth, as well as in relation to the economic development goals of the region.
Potential candidates were be assessed against the following criteria:
- Strategic and international aspirations: company ambition
- Opportunities to grow
- Capacity to innovate
- Likely impact on the SME/region/Europe
An innovation intake took place as part of a standard EEN discussion with SME clients. This prevented falsely raising the expectations of clients who do not meet the profile. These SMEs were referred into other EEN services under COSME or to suitable regional support offerings.
Selected candidates needed to be persuaded of the benefits of conducting an innovation management assessment and what will be offered to them. The EEN innovation expert explained the responsibilities of both parties (e.g. what is expected of both the SME and the EEN expert) and gets the commitment from the SME to proceed.
The second stage did involve the assessment of the SMEs innovation management capacity and allowed for the baseline measurement of current and future performance.
Identified SME’s innovation management systems and capacity wereassessed along the following axes:
- External environment
- Leadership and strategy
- Organization and enablers
- Innovation processes
- Results and improvement
The EEN Sachsen-Anhalt used the “NBank Innovation Management Tool” as diagnostic tool which is compliant with European Innovation Management standards. The tool wasused by innovation experts to assess the gap between the SME’s innovation
capabilities and their innovation goals.
The approach chosen did allow for:
- Face-to-Face innovation management capacity assessment, structured by a diagnostic tool
Output: comprehensive strengths, gaps and needs assessment
The third step did involve the needs and gaps analysis and action plan development. The completed diagnostic assessment facilitated the development of an action plan providing recommendations on how to close the gap between current innovation capability and ambition, a series of actions to meet those recommendations and milestones to be able to monitor
those recommendations.
- Analysis and interpretation of the diagnostic assessment results to draw up a list of recommendations
- Meeting and discussion of results with SME to discuss recommendations
- Development of a jointly agreed action plan to meet the gaps identified by the diagnostic assessment with accompanying time scales and milestones. Agreement on what actions the EEN innovation expert will deliver directly, where external resource should be drawn in and what the SME undertakes to do itself.
- Get the SME’s commitment to proceed: sign action plan
In the fourth step the Action Plan was implemented.
The action plan highly depends on the type of SME, its sector, size, internal structures, innovation ambitions and capacity (e.g. incremental or radical innovation for example, or how underdeveloped its innovation management systems are) etc.
The action plan consists of a mix of types of support:
- Direct consulting support from the EEN innovation expert
- Handholding the SME to implement some of the actions (e.g. facilitator in internal meetings or workshops)
- Pulling in external specialists (e.g. organisational development, leadership etc.),
- Workshops, training
- Links to regional support programmes
- Actions that need to be undertaken directly by the SME itself (homework).
The EEN innovation expert’s role was to ensure that the action plan is delivered as agreed by all parties, monitor progress and follow up with the SME.
The last step included the Final Report that was drafted and presented as part of the reporting requirements.
- A copy of the original diagnostic assessment
- The agreed action plan
- A report on the activities carried out, underway, and further recommended.
