The KAIRÓS consortium aimed at improving the competitiveness of small and medium enterprises in Triveneto macro-region (Northern-East part of Italy) in order to help in achieving the targets fixed by the Europe 2020 strategy for a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.
Triveneto is a dynamic area from the economic and entrepreneurial points of view, nevertheless SME’s have a low attitude in innovation and innovation management. Often innovation happens by chance and investments in R&D are not considered as a strategic priority. Surely, small dimensions – typical of Triveneto industrial structure – low propensity in inter-company collaboration, difficulties in generational change, low managerial culture are obstacles to innovation management, Credit crunch, differences in the cost of labour, globalization of the markets, economic and cultural growth of geographical areas once underdeveloped have almost swept away the previous industrial leadership of our region’s economy. Systematic R&D and innovation approach can partly stem this trend and maintain our enterprises competitive in the global market.
In order to answer these challenges the following specific objectives have been pursued by KAIROS:
• to support an accurately selected group of SME’s from Triveneto macro region in designing, creating and maintaining an Innovation Management System (IMS) in order to include systematic innovation approach as an asset for growth;
• to support EIC beneficiaries from Triveneto with Key Account Management services focussed on helping the companies to better exploit EIC opportunity during the assisted phase and afterwards, in order to reduce time to market and increase company growth;
• to foster the “International horizon” of innovation in Triveneto, involving cutting edge innovative companies in a special club of European innovators that will be exploited as archetypes for future followers;
to deliver ad hoc innovation service packages customized on the peculiarities of each single company.
