During 2017-2018 in the Canary Islands, with the SME instrument of the Horizon 2020 was worked on: 5 cases in Phase 1 and in Phase 2 continued to work on cases that began in 2016. The beneficiaries were receiving KAM support and advices in Phase 3 activity, to participate in Business Acceleration Services and COSME services and activities.
Several SMEs from the Canaries have prepared SME instrument project proposal, having regular contact with the ITC, which organises SME instrument events in the islands in close cooperation with the NCP.
(The aim of EIMC services was to enhance innovation management capacity of those SMEs from the Canary Islands with real potential for growth, via product/service innovation, with the help of an Innovation Expert, to allow a diagnostic of the SME and the construction of a tailor-made development plan to enhance that SME’s capacity to better manage innovation).
The aim of the EIMC services was to improve the innovation management capacity of Canary Islands SMEs with real growth potential, through product/service innovation. This was done with the help of an innovation expert who made it possible to carry out a diagnosis of the SME and to draw up a tailor-made development plan to increase the innovation management capacity of the SME.
During 2017-2018, a total of 23 SMEs among the most innovative companies from the Canary Islands, received EIMC assessment, taking part in a benchmarking exercise, identifying their strengths, gaps between innovation capabilities and their innovation goals and needs. A comparison was made with the results of its competitors - the benchmarking sample was customized according to company size, age class, country and NACE industrial classification.
An action plan was prepared for 14 companies, carrying out different actions arising from the opportunities detected, dependent on the type of SME, its sectors, size, internal structures, innovation ambitions and capacity.
The action plans consisted of a combination of activities to achieve the objectives of the companies, handholding the SME to implement some of the actions, links to regional support programmes, signposting to other Enterprise Europe Network services and other actions to be carried out directly by the SME itself. Action plans includes activities such as:
• Participating in the SME Instrument.
• Open innovation. Taking part in DEMOLA Canary Islands Initiative.
• International contacts and exchange of experiences with other entrepreneurs. Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs.
• International partner search and technological offers and demands. Enterprise Europe Network Canary Islands.
• Participation in regional, national and international R&D or Innovation Programmes.
• Getting in contact with regional innovative clusters.
• Applying for National Seal for Innovative SMEs.
• Applying for fiscal incentives for R&D activities.
• Receiving specific training in innovation management.
• Receiving support on how to hire staff for innovation activities.
The results of the action plan for the 14 companies: 9 are on-going, 3 were implemented and 2 couldn´t be implemented due to the lack of resources from the assessed SMEs to get involved in the proposed actions.
