During the project lifetime, the two partners JO Consulting and iED achieved the following objectives:
- 24 SMEs have been granted by the INNovaSouth funding-scheme for the implementation of different WPI actions, by launching an open call within the EC Participant Portal. The list and explanation of workplace practices to be implemented by the selected SMEs have been described within the INNovaSouth matrix and included in the Online Manual of Good Practices on Workplace Innovation. The open call has been launched in march 2020 within the EC Participant Portal and made applicable through the project website. From the 152 applications received, 24 SMEs, 12 based in Sicily and 12 based in Thessaly, have been selected as beneficiaries of the funding-scheme.
- 351 workers, among managers and employees of the beneficiary SMEs, have been involved in an online training programme to improve some of their soft and hard skills, contributing to the spread of better skilled workforce and, as a consequence, of more resilient companies. Partners during the first months of 2020 developed the ICT WPI system online training program consisting of 4 modules: innovation in the workplace, English language, lean management, soft skills.
- The INNovaSouth consortium has been able to promote the importance of workplace innovation among over 1000 SMEs based in Italy and in Greece, raising awareness on its strategic advantages, through the development and dissemination of the Manual of Good Practices on Workplace Innovation. Partners have invested heavily in promoting the importance of innovation in the workplace by disseminating the project outputs among their network of local SMEs. Thanks to the use of the partners’ social media channels and websites, the press communication, a local television interview to the CEO of JO Consulting, the news on the INNovaSouth project and the launch of the Open Call published in 30 online newspapers, the consortium has achieved excellent results in terms of dissemination. It’s interesting to underline that users visited the Voucher’s page app. 6.500 times and downloaded the Call for proposal more than 1.000. Also, the views of the Manual of workplace innovations was successful, with 600 downloads and more than 2.000 pageviews. Also, at European level EASME, EEN and DGGrowth supported the project sharing posts on their social networks.
- The consortium partners has provided financial support to the selected SMEs through the disbursement of € 8.000 voucher for 24 selected beneficiaries. The funding scheme was conceived in the form of a lump sum voucher, it was paid to the beneficiary SMEs at the end of the implementation period, once the implemented WPIs were analyzed by Coordinator and their consistency with the approved project assessed.
