Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SSBI-CRO-KAM5 (Services in Support for Business and Innovation in Croatia - Key Account Management - SSBI-CRO-KAM5)
Reporting period: 2020-01-01 to 2021-12-31
The objective of the project was to continue providing innovation support services addressing in general Croatian SMEs that have significant innovation activities and in particular, are the beneficiaries of the Horizon 2020 SME Instrument, Fast Track to Innovation (FTI) and Future and Emerging Technologies Open (FET-Open). Project activities were based on a client-centric approach, providing fully integrated services to the European SMEs, which are aimed at improving innovation creation processes in SMEs and innovation management activities. Based on the findings from previous actions and regional needs, the consortium of this project is carrying out the following actions:
-Key Account Management (KAM) of successful SME beneficiaries of SME Instrument, FTI and FET-Open with an aim of identifying bottlenecks to creating economic impact in companies
-Enhancing Innovation Management Capacity (EIMC), with the goal to improve clients’ capacity to manage innovation processes, increasing their efficiency and effectiveness.
The clients that went through the process improved their information flow, got a better understanding of the importance of the innovations for their own business, comparison of the innovation potential of the company with others from the same sector, product innovations support, incremental services innovation support, identification of financing opportunities, access to finance, and improved their innovation management by setting up their innovation strategy. Some of the clients that received EIMC services were directed to use the services of the Network or of other COSME activities.
-Key Account Management (KAM) of successful SME beneficiaries of SME Instrument, FTI and FET-Open with an aim of identifying bottlenecks to creating economic impact in companies
-Enhancing Innovation Management Capacity (EIMC), with the goal to improve clients’ capacity to manage innovation processes, increasing their efficiency and effectiveness.
The clients that went through the process improved their information flow, got a better understanding of the importance of the innovations for their own business, comparison of the innovation potential of the company with others from the same sector, product innovations support, incremental services innovation support, identification of financing opportunities, access to finance, and improved their innovation management by setting up their innovation strategy. Some of the clients that received EIMC services were directed to use the services of the Network or of other COSME activities.
Despite the difficulties that we all faced in 2020 and 2021, all partners promoted EIC during every workshop carried out under COSME activities to the companies focused on innovation activities and to those with the potential to participate in the scheme. STEPRI, TPV and UNIST also contacted directly companies with significant innovation activities in order to inform them about the possibility to apply for funding. The activates were specifically focused to the companies participated in the Proof of Concept fund or the fund for the commercialization of the innovation FIPRO. Despite all the efforts, the pandemic and the lock-down and Zagreb earthquake resulted with the lower interest of the companies for funding – they were more oriented on adapting to new working conditions (e.g. digitalization, accessing new markets). For this reason other partners were not able to provide KAM services. Faced with the same issues and obstacles, the Croatian Consortium provided lower number of EIMC services than was anticipated. Total of 10 EIMC services were completed in year 2020. New clients were reached through direct contact and through signposting COSME clients to EIMC for further support so by the end of the project consortium achieved in reaching all planned KPIs and delivered 35 EIMC services in total. Companies receiving support where from different sectors including information and communication, computer programming, data processing, server services and related activities, manufacture of electrical equipment, consultancy and related activities, manufacture of fabricated metal products, eco-production, online marketing; market research and public opinion polling, human health, manufacturing (aerospace industry, construction, food and beverage).
This value-added service provided continuation of the innovation support activities that improved the competitiveness and sustainability of the enterprises in the region. In this reporting period, the consortium had continuously worked on raising awareness of the EIC to attract new companies' interest in the program and to explore its innovation potential. It is expected that services provided will result in more innovation action by those SMEs in the upcoming period. Some positive impact has been already achieved since some of the companies that had been provided with EIMC services and implemented action plans applied and/or got innovation projects and were interested in the IP protection and digital innovation and transformation services.
The expected overall impact of the impact-driven strategy will be:
- more effective and efficient conduction of the innovation processes (that most Croatian SMEs don’t understand and undermine), and
- an enhanced growth and profitability of SMEs receiving the services.
The expected overall impact of the impact-driven strategy will be:
- more effective and efficient conduction of the innovation processes (that most Croatian SMEs don’t understand and undermine), and
- an enhanced growth and profitability of SMEs receiving the services.