For the 2015-2016 period, ABE acted on behalf of the Brussels-based consortium as the service provider of the innovation services dedicated to selected players headquartered in the region, which fulfilled the criteria set for such kind of services.
The success of this action – and therefore the impact generated - is achieved under a qualitative and quantitative points of view.
In terms of QUALITY for the SME-I beneficiaries:
- When granted the 50K for their phase 1 SME-I, the companies immediately had someone (=the KAM) to rely on for any questions related to their project and the next steps. This has proven to be very appreciated by the companies.
- In a very short timeframe, the KAM has been able to assess the main needs of the company and to identify THE coach that will help them boost their growth beyond their current boundaries. This has been a sometimes burdensome task for the KAM, but has yielded very good results.
- The feedback on the coaching service has been very positive so far – thanks to the fact that the right coach was found, the company has benefited from real-added value for their business
- The KAM’s availability during the coaching process and for the submission of the report at the end of the SME-I phase 1 FS period, has also proven to be efficient for the companies.
In terms of QUALITY for the EIMC services (although premature to assess the long-term impact of services delivered during 2015-2016) :
The benefit to have an objective/external view on:
• where the company stands now and where it wants to be in the future
• Identify the company’s strength and weaknesses in terms of innovation management
• Establish how innovation-oriented the company is
• Bring the company’s innovation capabilities to the next level
• Take decisions based on facts and priority areas for improvement
• Challenge the company’s vision and objectives
• Start-up companies used the services in order to structure their innovation processes.
In terms of QUANTITY:
ABE fully completed the KAM service for the SME Instrument beneficiary expected to be granted under the 2015-2016 contract period and was notified – on top of this – of 3 additional successful cases in the second semester of 2016. Several Seals of Excellence in the Brussels Capital Region were as well supported towards other options, including where possible COSME services or discussion with ABE financial experts for further actions (investors/assessment of financial needs) and meeting with NCP-team for signposting to regional funding agency.
For the EIMC services, ABE successfully fulfilled the number of cases opened under the 2015-2016 contract period and planned (16), in other terms the number of clients benefitting from these services. Among them, 9 companies completed the EIMC journey, while 7 are still on-going cases since the kind of support requested to the innovation advisor is extremely demanding.
ABE deployed the action in line with the IS-Implementation Strategy and notably by applying the funnel approach. This approach was adopted both for the communication (general / universal awareness raising on a panoply of supports and channels down to targeted communication to a very precise community of players) and for the identification and above-all selection of companies entitled to access these services. Cooperation with local stakeholder was key to the identification of the suitable innovative SME community.
