WP1 (KAM): This service depended entirely on external factors, since the service could only be offered to local SME Instrument beneficiaries. In addition, it was still not obligatory for all SME Instrument beneficiaries to also benefit from SME Instrument Phase 3 (coaching). There were three local beneficiaries during the project period, two being through Phase 1 and one through Phase 2.
Contact was immediately made with all three clients upon notification of their success, whereby EEN staff provided some background on the scope of KAM services, a KAM was appointed and the first meetings were set up within one week from first contact. A needs analysis was carried out for each of the three clients, and suitable coaches appointed. Two of the coaching packages were completed by the end of the project period, while the other was completed at the beginning of January 2017, and will therefore be logged as part of the new project cycle 2017-2018. Coaching progress was monitored closely by the assigned KAM to ensure that beneficiaries achieved maximum benefit from the activity.
WP2 (EIMC): Following the training of two additional EEN staff members, a strategy was made to identify companies to be approached, based on their potential to benefit from the exercise.
The exercise kicked off rather slowly during the first half of the project period due to the lack of experience of most of the EEN staff, and the necessity for training in order to use the IMProve methodology. The process was kicked off with one company, jointly undertaken by two certified assessors. A lot of effort was inputted to the task by the two assessors in order to obtain the extensive data necessary to carry out the analysis.
