"The In-Business Growth project was the result of an analysis of the partners and stakeholders involved which detected the actual need of the SMEs to acquire more size to be stronger and resistant to crisis and external circumstances, and to propose efficient methodologies and tools to fulfil adequately their requirements and needs. Indeed, In-Business Growth addresses exactly the specific challenge and scope of the topic of the program, which focus on the transfer of good practices in SME innovation support, the enhancement of existing and the establishment of new innovation support programs for SMEs which actually remains slow, and the satisfaction of the SMEs benefitting from support the programs which still often remain dissatisfied with the services. To settle a permanent peer learning environment, the ""Twinning advanced"" methodology were implemented to design and delivery innovation support programs for SMEs.
The concept and approach of the Project were based on the actual figures regarding the failures of the SMEs in many countries which indicated that, on average, 80% of them fails before to reach the five fist years of existence, and 90% before the 10 years, due to several intern and external factors. Little official support, poor supporting programs for SMEs, almost non-existent sources of financing, excessive government controls, high tax rates, high cost of funding sources available among other. The SMEs encounters problems to sale, to produce and operate, to control, to plan and to manage. SMEs are most of the business structure in many countries and they generate higher productivity and employment. The way out of the crisis should be through these actors who facilitate growth and job creation needed to revive the economy.
Aware of this diagnostic, it is crucial to address adequately the real needs detected of the SMES and to develop strategic methodologies for this purpose at national and international level which can be effectively implemented. In this sense, the importance of diversification and internationalization of the business for SMES have to be viewed as a priority in their strategic plans.
Within the ""Twinning advanced"" methodology, four innovation agencies have been cooperating to review each other’s practices and benchmark their own, related to the design and delivery of innovation support programs for SMEs and compared also them to those of third parties, collaborating in the initiative. These entities joined forces to explore ‘an innovation support challenge’ focusing on the redesign of the existing services, the creation of new instruments to deliver more efficient tools and to create synergies between European, national, regional and local support and the solutions for common problems linked to implementation, monitoring, impact assessment with the aim to deliver better innovation support to SMEs. On a strategic level, the project focused on designing and updating clear, demand-driven methodologies to improve/ create processes to be efficient in the delivery mechanisms to the SMEs. The operational objectives were based on:
- Exchange of experiences & common analysis of the State of Art,
- Sharing of the results obtained and identification of the most efficient solutions for the design of the guide of best practices and the establishment of an innovative methodology,
- Transfer of good practices to SMEs and third parties.
At transversal level, administrative, technical and financial coordination, as well as dissemination and exploitation of results and communication campaigns were correctly performed."
