Establishing services enhancing the innovation management capacity of SME´s in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein

Project Information

INNOKAM 2020-21

Grant agreement ID: 879694

DOI

10.3030/879694

Project closed

EC signature date 31 January 2020

Start date 1 January 2020

End date 31 December 2021

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 249 912,50

EU contribution

€ 249 912,50

Coordinated by

INVESTITIONSBANK SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - INNOKAM 2020-21 (Establishing services enhancing the innovation management capacity of SME´s in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein)

Reporting period: 2020-01-01 to 2021-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the pillar of the European economy and, because of their size, they often do not have their own department that keeps an eye on innovation. There is an indication that enterprises grow faster and bring new products and services to the market which have established a good innovation management, generating the necessary amount of fresh ideas and translating the promising ones quickly into marketable products. Market access and profitability of new products and services can also be accelerated when companies decide fast which new ideas they pursue and which they abandon. In day-to-day business, however, innovation management is often drowned out in small businesses. Lack of financing also is one of the biggest problems of SMEs.

The Enhanced Innovation Management Consultancy Services (EIMC) as an additional service of the Enterprise Europe Network offer SMEs the opportunity to evaluate and improve their innovation management capacity. This will lead to improved competitiveness, faster growth and more and stable jobs for the European society.

INNOKAM has been implemented by the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) consortium in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein (EEN-HHSH). EEN-HHSH is established as a well-known regional one-stop-shop for all EU-related enquiries for SMEs and regional stakeholders and formed by the four partners Investitionsbank Schleswig-Holstein (IB.SH) Tutech Innovation GmbH (Tutech), Wirtschaftsförderung und Technologietransfer Schleswig-Holstein (WTSH) and IFB Hamburg (IFB).

For the period 2020-2021 INNOKAM had as its core objective to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of innovation processes in small and medium sized enterprises with significant innovation activities in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein by offering the “Enhanced Innovation Management Consultancy (EIMC)” and the “Key Account Management (KAM)” services. Aim was to tackle existing lack of innovation management capacity in small and medium sized companies (SME) and support their innovative activities in order to creating economic impact. The guiding principle was to tailor the needs of the identified regional innovators and innovation systems. In 2021, innovation driven by the UN Sustainable Development Goals has been at the centre of INNOKAM’s services, due to its growing importance for growth and stability.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

In this context the KAM service was targeted at beneficiaries of the EIC Pilot under Horizon 2020, the Enhanced Innovation Management Consultancy (EIMC) addressed other highly innovative SMEs. The EIMC helped companies to establish effective innovation management systems that enhance the realisation of growth opportunities, with an emphasis on sustainability as innovation driver. The KAMs focused on overcoming bottlenecks to enhance the success of the funded project. They assisted in finding specialised coaches and establishing a coach-client relationship. The successful EIC beneficiaries were able to find coaches from the database who addressed their needs, thanks to the good EEN support. Both approaches aim to raise the company´s competitiveness and profitability.

In the period 2020-2021 five companies in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein were funded by the EIC Pilot. INNOKAM provided all of them with the KAM services and supported them in a careful needs analysis followed by a thorough coach selection. As the KAMs took care to include coaches from different European countries, most of the coaches were Non-Germans.

EIMC was offered to 50 small and medium companies. EIMC started with the innovation management capacity assessment followed by the feedback and agreement on an action plan based on specific innovation challenges of the company. During the following months the companies worked on their action plan accompanied by feedback of the innovation management consultants. After roughly one year the process usually was completed with a final meeting to evaluate the achievements of the company and to agree on further steps including use of regular EEN services.

Companies that successfully combine sustainability and innovation assume responsibility for a world worth living in and at the same time strengthen their competitiveness.
Based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals and company-related management factors, the consortium offered SMEs initial consulting and support since the beginning of 2021, which can be used as an entry point into strategic sustainability management. The "Sustainability Check" enables them to reflect on their status quo and develop a roadmap for making their company economically, ecologically and socially sustainable. The offer was taken up in large numbers in the region. Thus, 16 sustainability checks could be carried out in 2021.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

All SME beneficiaries appreciated the KAM and EIMC services very much. The feedback was very positive. The support by EEN innovation experts helped the companies to implement actions for further growth according to the developed action plan during their demanding day-to-day business. This quotation may serve as an example: “We have always taken a lot away from the meetings with our EEN consultant. Many of the ideas that emerged from these discussions have been put into practice. Our storehouse of ideas for the near future is also well filled.”

A measurement of the impact was done by comparison between the first and the final assessment of each EIMC package. All clients improved their performance significantly during the process. In addition, the direct feedback of the companies in the course of the interviews as well as the use of further services of the EEN to enhance their competitiveness indicated and underlined the success of the EIMC services. The innovation experts established consistent client journeys by which the EIMC clients got access to further European funding programmes, brokerage events and other additional actions.

Building on the experiences of the EIMC, consortium partner WTSH created the format “Digitalization Strategy Consulting” early in 2020. This format is also based on intake assessment and the development of a digitalization roadmap. The "Digitalization Strategy Consulting" complements the concept of the EIMC perfectly and contributes significantly to preparing companies even better for the current challenges. In the reporting period, 17 such consultations took place resulting in the implementation of digitization projects financed by regional funding. Due to the great demand, the format will be further expanded and also offered in subsequent years.

The sustainability check which sets its focus on sustainably driven innovation has also been received gratefully by the SMEs. Explicitly, they stated a desire in mutual exchange. This desire has been met with a first event in November 2021 facilitated by IB.SH’s sustainability manager. The companies appreciated the opportunity for deepening their knowledge and exchanging ideas on sustainability and the format shall be continued twice a year beyond the INNOKAM project.

The regional network of innovation support management services also strengthened and built up new opportunities of collaboration - especially in the environment of clusters and the Smart Specialisation Strategy. Regular meetings with stakeholders were performed during the project period.

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