During the reporting period the consortium rendered a total of 62 services (both KAM and EIMC) out of which 52 were completed and closed and 10 services is still ongoing. The target set out in the proposal was 58 services (10 KAM and 48 EIMC). As it was initially described in the proposal, the nature of both types of services is long-term, and several actors are involved in the service implementation. Therefore, in some cases the final completion of the service might be beyond the consortium partner’s control. The proposal also stated, that in cases when there were not enough SMEs eligible to receive KAM services during the reporting period, the partners could provide EIMC services instead. That was the case in 2015, when there were few SMEI beneficiaries on the territories covered by the consortium. In 2016 however, thanks to the close cooperation with NCPs (both on the national and regional levels), Poland’s success rate in SMEI increased, resulting in more KAM services being performed by project partners.
Both types of services are aimed at improving competitiveness and sustainability of SMEs and facilitating their access to business development opportunities. The project provided companies with complex services to support innovation management by mentoring and coaching schemes. The idea behind KAM services was to help identify the best coach that would meet the specific needs of the company under the SME Instrument H2020. KAM main task was to introduce the concept of the coaching service and highlight its benefits to SMEs in order to convince them to use the service. Other tasks related to KAM service included conducting needs analyses, and selecting coaches who matched the needs of the SMEs. KAM also facilitated coach-SME relationships, and supported the establishment of coaching contracts, as well as the coaching processes as such.
EIMC service was designed for companies that have the potential to grow and want to develop innovative products or services but lack the knowledge, skills or ability to manage innovation activities. The main idea behind EIMC service was to assess the current status of the innovation management system in the company. This assessment was made with the use of IMP3rove or Innovation Health Check tools, both compliant with the CEN/TS 16555-1 standard. Those tools provide deep analyses of the current and future innovation management performance. On the basis of the report an innovation expert prepared a recommendation, and developed an action plan for the company. Then the company implemented the plan, while the EIMC expert monitored the implementation process.
In 2015, the consortium registered 3 cases where the coaching was rejected by companies. The reason for that was mainly the companies’ fear that the coach might disclose the sensitive information despite of the signed NDA. Thanks to close cooperation between the EEN partners and the NCPs, resulting in the delivery of joint workshops on how to prepare successful SMEI applications, the SMEs’ attitude towards the coaching changed significantly. Also, the seminars on access to risk finance prepared together with the NCP for EU financial instruments helped the consortium partners identify SMEs suitable for EIMC services.
