KANT project addressed the challenges of part 7 - Innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises – of HORIZON 2020 Work Programme 2014-2015. It runned activities and offered services to SME’s of Triveneto to enhance their capacity in managing innovation in a strategic and structured way, in order their innovation projects can output results which can effectively be exploited for increasing company’s competitiveness and growth in terms of jobs and profits.
Triveneto SME’s have a low attitude in innovation and innovation management. Often innovation happens by chance and investments in R&D are considered not a strategic priority. Surely, small dimension – typical of Triveneto business structure (in Trentino, for instance, 94% of companies employ less than 9 employees) – low propensity in inter-company collaboration, difficulties in generational replacement, low managerial culture are obstacles to innovation management.
KANT project aimed at improving the competitiveness of small and medium enterprises in Triveneto macro-region in order to help in achieving the targets fixed by the Europe 2020 strategy for a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.
Even if Triveneto is a dynamic area from an economic and entrepreneurial point of view (high propension to family companies) and institutional bodies are effective in supporting local economic development the credit crunch first and the successive economic crisis have strongly affected the macro-region.
Furthermore, differences in the cost of labour, globalization of the markets, economic and cultural growth of geographical areas once underdeveloped have almost swept away the previous industrial leadership of our economies. Systematic R&D and innovation approach can partly stem this trend and maintain our enterprises competitive in the global market.
In order to answer these challenges specific objectives have been pursued:
• to support an accurately selected group of SME’s of Triveneto macro region with propensity to innovation to design, create and maintain an Innovation Management System (IMS) in order for them to include systematic innovation approach as an asset for growth;
• to support SME Instrument beneficiaries of Triveneto with a Key Account Management service focussed on helping the companies to better exploit SME Instrument opportunity during assisted phase and afterwards, in order to reduce time to market and increase company growth;
• to foster the “International horizon” of innovation in Triveneto, involving cut edge innovative companies in a special club of European innovators that will be exploited as archetypes for future followers;
• to deliver 7-day service packages for each company;
• to identify suitable methodologies for enhancing SME’s innovation capability.
