Virtual open innovation environment for SMEs (VOIS)

Considering the high importance of OI competencies for SMEs, lack of effective solutions to support their development in no/low tech sectors and high relevance of increasing OI within the agri-food and bioeconomy sector, the VOIS project is looking to contribute to filling this gap. It will support building SMEs managers ability to effectively engage in open innovation activities to enable SMEs in no- and low-tech SMEs related with agro-alimentary production and bioeconomy active engagement in relevant innovation and ensuring innovation-based sustainability of their businesses.

Within the project, the VOIS partnership will develop a comprehensive Virtual Open Innovation Environment allowing SMEs to, in an effective way, improve their open innovation competencies and ability to implement open innovation in their firms. To this end, the Virtual OI Environment will incorporate 3 specific areas with opportunities for SMEs competence building:

• Area 1– Organisational Area in a form of practical tutorial regarding open innovation strategies/methodologies for SMEs for capacitating participants to design them and implement them in their organisations,
• Area 2 – Individual Development Area focused on development of Open Innovation Competencies of Managers as individual leaders, competencies required for their ability to manage activities in the scope of open innovation. Following the CMOI model (Podmetina et al. 2017) this area will address :
  1. Building ability to work with people from different communities, disciplines and functions.
  2. Managing collaborative innovation processes.
  3. Knowledge management in-house and across organisations.
  4. Communication and networking.
  5. Cultural awareness.
  6. Adaptability and flexibility.
• Area 3 – Open Innovation repository– a resource base gathering already available tools and support measures for SMEs open innovation. Within the collaboration between international experts from business, academia and social sector with diversified knowledge, competencies and economic context, partners will develop and disseminate the Virtual OI environment, not only as a professional development tool for SME managers, but also as a relevant tool for VET and SME support organizations for providing relevant market oriented opportunities to their stakeholders.

Moreover, the project will bring together a group of international partners with diversified profiles and expertise to work together toward developing a highly novel solution for support of OI competencies in SMEs within agro-food and bioeconomy sector that will provide the organisations unique tools to support competitiveness of business agents in their regions and a pool of staff with multidisciplinary expertise in the area, unique at the regional and international level.

Through generating the unique expertise, tools and increasing OI competencies of SMEs in the targeted sectors, the project is expected to contribute to increased capitalisation on policy measures for support of open innovation in EU, as well as more directly to competitiveness and innovativeness of the SMEs benefiting from the developed solutions

• Supporting the ability of SMEs to innovate in collaboration (Open Innovation), as a way to remain competitive in a long term.
• Building open innovation competencies in SMEs; Overcoming barriers to engagement of EU SMEs in meaningful innovation.
• Support to agri-food and bioeconomy sector, and move from agro-food industry to bio-economy, - main target group – SMEs managers; secondary VET and SMEs support organisations.
• Development of Virtual Open Innovation Environment for improvement of open innovation competencies and implement open innovation in firms

Assist Gesellschaft für Unternehmensberatung und Personalentwicklung mbH STOWARZYSZENIE CENTRUM WSPIERANIA EDUKACJI I PRZEDSIEBIORCZOSCI E&D KNOWLEDGE CONSULTING, LDA SVEUCILISTE U ZAGREBU EMPORIKO KAI VIOMICHANIKO EPIMELITIRIO HERAKLIOU HANSE-PARLAMENT EV