ISSUE BEING ADDRESSED
Innovation agencies (IAs) often face difficulties when designing and implementing support programmes with the highest impact potential on their most important clients start-ups/SMEs. Workable methods and tools for monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment including collection of robust data are necessary for them to assess the implemented programmes, respectively, to effectively support distribution and decision whether to keep the programmes, redesign the offer and/or come with completely new programmes better fitting the needs of start-ups/SMEs.
Apart from the public accountability, innovation agencies are also under pressure of their managing authorities to better explain/communicate the results and impacts of the programmes delivered and to be as effective as possible. Monitoring and evaluation are necessary to assess the economic efficiency of entrepreneurship policy actions and to identify those features which lead to desirable outcomes (OECD, 2018). Although, there have been several recent advances in SME and entrepreneurship policy evaluation techniques, still, the creation of an evaluation culture has yet to be widely established and significant challenges remain. Key challenges include increasing the application of rigorous evaluation techniques; better specifying policy objectives, targets and indicators; making better use of data, including existing national administrative data sets for purposes such as tax and social security; and seizing the potential of Big Data (OECD, 2018).
IMPORTANCE
Since support programmes have experienced a boom in recent years, innovation agencies (IAs) and other business support organizations can offer these programmes to more clients and at the same time are able to diversify them based on different topics and different target groups. Simultaneously, the strategic backbone of the economy, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), need effective support in the development and adaptation to new realities of the surrounding world (industry 4.0 automation and digitization, circular economy, etc.). Thus, assisting companies and monitoring the impact of the support programmes are central subjects in innovation agencies (IAs) at both regional and national level. Evaluating programmes is not only necessary but also a challenging task as there is a growing demand for tangible policy results from the side of IAs’ stakeholders and having strong arguments behind the activities undertaken is only natural. Better evaluation processes will also make it possible to adjust and redesign support for companies and respond in a targeted manner to their needs.
OBJECTIVE
The project’s overall objective was to enhance the quality and efficiency of start-up/SME support programmes implemented by innovation agencies through improved processes of impact evaluation. The advanced evaluation practice of IAs will help to improve their policy design and delivery, thus, to strengthen the dynamism of the start-up/SME support innovation environment. The advanced methodology on impact evaluation including (robust) data collection and monitoring must respect the nature and the capacity of innovation agencies, seeking for effective and efficient solutions to avoid extensive expert and financial structures.
