MAKEOVER project addressed the challenges of part 7 - Innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises – of HORIZON 2020 Work Programme 2015-2016. It carried out activities and offered services to SME’s of Triveneto to enhance their capacity in managing innovation in a strategic and structured way, so that the results of their innovation projects can effectively be exploited for increasing company’s competitiveness and growth in terms of jobs and profits.
Even if Triveneto is a dynamic area from the economic and entrepreneurial points of view, 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 dimensions – typical of Triveneto industrial structure – low propensity in inter-company collaboration, difficulties in generational change, low managerial culture are obstacles to innovation management. Moreover 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 economy. 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 in designing, creating and maintaining an Innovation Management System (IMS) in order to include systematic innovation approach as an asset for growth;
• to support SME Instrument beneficiaries of Triveneto with Key Account Management services focussed on helping the companies to better exploit SME Instrument opportunity during the 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 innovation service packages for each company;
• to identify suitable methodologies for enhancing SME’s innovation capability.