Swedish SMEs that have benefited from the project are most likely better prepared to handle future innovations and there are signs that show that they have increased their innovation management capacity as a result of having received EIMC or KAM services that hopefully will lead to long term positive economic impact (competitiveness, growth and jobs). Enhancing innovation capacity is a continuous process that takes time to implement and the results could probably be measured first after 24-36 months.
The direct impact on clients of the KAM services is not easy to assess after only three days of support. However, for those cases assessed after coaching, a great satisfaction was noticed, and many clients expressed a possible potential for growth and profitability. Some clients say they have potential to grow in terms of turnover and employees and are looking for new business partners, but also in terms of new orders and new market introductions.
Concerning EIMC- services, it’s also obvious that the innovation capacity has increased and that clients have started to think differently. Some expected benefits are increased profitability, cost-effectiveness, faster processes, funding and added capital, new markets and customers, new strategic partners, non-technological innovations and service dominant logic thinking.
The Implementation Strategy has been implemented. The Swedish Enterprise Europe Network consortium (SweNet) has gained deeper competence within innovation management in SMEs through this project and all SweNet’s partners not working with innovation services, have been dedicated an innovation expert from the Swennis project to better integrate innovation services into their daily EEN business with SMEs and to facilitate the identification of EIMC clients.
All four partners in the Swennis project were partners in SweNet to guarantee full integrated services for business and innovation support and typical EEN services e.g. partner search, finding new technologies.
Provision of service to ensure a high level of qualitative proposals (SME-I, FET-Open) is an on-going activity in SweNet’s, in cooperation with the national support system for innovation, including National Contact Points and the national Horizon 2020 support office for SMEs.
Beneficiaries who received the “Seal of excellence” have been granted national funding by Vinnova (Sweden’s innovation agency) and they have also been dedicated an EIMC expert and EEN services under COSME have been provided.
