Project description
Innovation support services for Catalan SMEs
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Spain’s autonomous region of Catalonia will receive a big boost in their innovation management capacity. The EU-funded INNCAT2021 project will describe the services offered in the context of Horizon 2020 innovation support activities. It will prove Catalonia’s Agency for Business Competitiveness's (ACCIÓ) capacity to deliver these services. The services will be provided to SMEs that are beneficiaries of the Enhanced European Innovation Council (EIC) pilot and those SMEs with a high potential of internationalisation and significant innovation activities. What is more, ACCIÓ is proposing more than 110 services to enhance the innovation management capacity of SMEs.
Objective
INNCAT 2021 describes the services offered in the context of Horizon 2020 innovation support activities and the enhance European Innovation Council (EIC) pilot, with the objective of enhancing Catalan SMEs’ innovation management capacity. The current proposal fully describes these services and proves ACCIÓ’s capacity to successfully deliver them. The services will be provided to two specific groups of SMEs: beneficiaries of the EIC and SMEs with significant innovation activities and a high potential for internationalisation. As the current coordinator of the Catalan node of the EEN (also for 2020-2021), ACCIÓ is specialised in promoting innovation and internationalisation among SMEs and has implemented several successful programmes over the last 20 years. The experience obtained, especially since the implementation of the first INNCAT pilot in 2014, has given to our team of experts a deeper knowledge of these services.
ACCIÓ proposes that a minimum of 110 services will be closed in the period of 2020-2021 for enhancing the innovation management capacity of SMEs. It is 42% more services than INNCAT1516.
The proposed staff is fully committed to deliver the proposed services and is trained in the IMPR3ove methodology and Innovation Health Check (IHC) and have broad and extensive expertise in innovation and business support and, management. Moreover, 6 of the proposed 9 staff members have intervened in the implementation of INNCAT for the delivery of KAM and IMPR3ove services during 2014-2016. Therefore, they are fully capable to deliver the services described and successfully advise SMEs.
For this period, the project will build on the experience acquired since 2014 to obtain more impact on cases.
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Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
CSA - Coordination and support actionCoordinator
08008 Barcelona
Spain