Projects

The IMPROVE project (Improving Structural Funds for better delivery of R&D&i policies), brings together partners from 8 regions with different background in terms of geographic area, economic development, innovation performance, more or less centralised administration system and responsibility for the management of the addressed policies, with the aim of improving the effectiveness of Structural Funds Programmes dedicated to build up R&D&I policies and support the implementation of Smart Specialisation Strategies.

IMPROVE is designed to foster the exchange of practices, experiences and knowledge and increase the capacities of partners and stakeholders involved, taking into consideration their profiles and regional interests. To this end it will address common challenges with regards to:

1) Framework, policy mix and instruments for the delivery of R&D&I policies and the implementation of smart specialisation strategies,
2) coordination with other Funds managed at regional/national/European level,
3) transnational coordination,
4) governance and,
5) monitoring and evaluation.

The project will improve 8 policy instruments and ensure its long-term impact involving the managing authorities in the interregional learning process, both as partners and stakeholders.

The following eight partners are involved in its implementation:

1. Foundation FUNDECYT Science and Technology Park of Extremadura, Spain
2. DEV'UP Centre-Val de Loire, France
3. Regional Agency for Technology and Innovation, Italy
4. Municipality of Gabrovo, Bulgaria
5. North-West Regional Development Agency, Romania
6. Tartu Science Park Foundation, Estonia
7. Regional Council of Lapland, Finland
8. Regional Coordination and Development Commission of Centro, Portugal

The digital transformation of EU business and society presents enormous growth potential for Europe. It is estimated that digital technologies, such as Big Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence or the Internet of Things, have the potential to add 1.5 million jobs to the EU's digital economy, and that SMEs can grow two to three times faster when they integrate digital technologies into their business models. Nevertheless, on the one hand, SMEs are not currently taking full advantage of these advanced technologies because they usually lack orientation, know-how and hands-on solutions in line with their current business, and on the other hand, digitalisation services in too many occasions do not take into account the rapid changing innovation ecosystem and the emerging of new technologies.

The objective of DigiJourney is to enable the participating innovation agencies to exchange knowledge, know-how, and good practices on advanced methodologies and tools for digitalisation assessment to SMEs and customised support services. In particular, based on the Twinning+ methodology, the project aims to cover peer learning activities for three digitalisation approaches and the design of a digitalisation journey for SMEs, which will facilitate all innovation agencies to improve their digitalisation support services adapted to their specific national/regional contexts, and will allow SMEs to get the right digital tools to gain competitiveness. This peer-learning and peer-review scheme has been developed based on each partner's identified competences in advanced digitalisation services for SMEs.

DigiJourney will therefore contribute to the specific challenge of increasing SMEs support programmes and the satisfaction of them with the support provided, through a joint learning effort of the three participating partners and the elaboration of a suitable Design Options Paper that will be shared with other EU innovation agencies and networks, and with national and EU policy-makers.

The PASSPARTOOL Project (Key tools to assess and improve soft innovation policies). Business innovation not only depends on R&D and technological change, it is often based on less obvious and more difficult factors to assess.

The common challenge faced by project partners, coming from 7 regions across Europe, is that of devising new tools and indicators that allow them to better understand and assess non-R&D-driven innovation dynamics, with a strong emphasis on the direct involvement of the policy beneficiaries in the process of policy design, monitoring and evaluation.

The overall project objective is therefore to improve the capability of public policy-makers to develop efficient policies supporting non-formal, soft and open innovation processes in the regional actors, with a focus on non-R&D-driven and social innovation.

The expected changes are the improved ability of partners' monitoring and evaluation systems in measuring and assessing the related innovation dynamics and an increased awareness across EU regions about tools and methods for soft innovation monitoring and assessment.

The project will last 42 months, starting on 1 August 2019 and ending on 31 January 2023.

The partnership is made up of entities from 7 European countries:

• Regional Agency for Technology and Innovation (Italia)
• Lithuanian innovation center (Lituania)
• Foundation FUNDECYT Science and Technology Park of Extremadura (FUNDECYT-PCTEX) (España)
• Northern Netherlands Alliance (Holanda)
• University of Groningen  (Holanda)
• Local Enterprise Office, Donegal County Council (Irlanda)
• Rzeszow Regional Development Agency (Polonia)
• Regional Council of North Karelia (Finlandia)

The main objective of the project is the development of the MAP companies in EUROACE, boosting their competitiveness and innovation in their approach to national and international markets, in a young sector with potential for growth and diversification in this cross-border territory that is presented with advantages. Based on similar soil and climate conditions and rare common biological resources, the economic potential of the crops of some wild species will be jointly identified and the productive processes of others will be improved, while at the same time the development of final products of greater value will be promoted, based on the deepening and articulation between research and companies and the development of networking.

This project will not only analyse the different strategies being developed in both national and international markets, but also the technologies being applied in the MAP sector, sources of information, instruments, tools, competition, the environment in general, trends, markets, barriers, present and future, existing technological offer in the market, events and fairs of interest, programmes, projects, funding channels, etc. All this under an objective analysis and measured under previously established parameters.

The specific objectives of the project will be:

• To identify and characterise the existing wild MAPs in EUROACE's territory and to study their potentialities, including the processes and procedures of their companies, for their introduction into culture and their integration into markets.
• Improve the competences of the sector by valuing the knowledge of the potentialities through collaboration with the companies.
• To obtain a continuous and systematised information system on the current situation and trends in science and technology in the MAP sector in all relevant production and marketing areas.
• Filter, analyse and place this information in an affordable format through technology managers and affordable platforms (PAM Observatory).
• Disseminate information to people of interest on an ongoing basis.
• Create a flow of information in several directions (between actors and regions).

Funded by the POCTEP programme, it is part of the OT1 thematic objective "Promoting research, technological development and innovation", within the axis "Intelligent growth through cross-border cooperation to boost innovation", with the specific objective of improving the participation of the business fabric in innovation processes through better coordination with research centres, as well as carrying out R&D&I activities closer to the market (technological development, proofs of concept, innovation) and capable of being exploited commercially.
Transfer of scientific knowledge to companies (through a science observatory, training actions, articulated research / joint with economic agents).
Favour the development of innovative products and services in the MAP sector through greater articulation between companies and research centres, the implementation of market-oriented R&D&T activities and permanent and qualified access to scientific knowledge.

Fund: The EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Youth Employment
Duration: 40 months (1.9.2018. - 31.12.2021.)
Project consortium:

• GTF - Initiative for Sustainable Growth (Lead partner, Croatia)
• City of Gospic (Beneficiary partner, Croatia)
• GPF – Gender Project for Bulgaria Foundation (Beneficiary partner, Bulgaria)
• “AUR” - the National Association of Human Resources Specialists (Beneficiary partner, Romania)
• CASARRUBUELOS CITY COUNCIL (Beneficiary partner, Spain)
• FUNDECYT Science and Technological Park of Extremadura (Beneficiary partner, Spain)
• Goodworks Innovation Agency (Expertise partner, Austria)

WHY?: The economic structure of rural regions is changing: the share of the primary sector in GDP is in decline, while the tertiary sector grows especially in IT & tourism, which are the main drivers for growth and employment. Countries in South & South East Europe need to create more sustainable models of agro-food production in rural areas in order to stop economic decline and depopulation.

WHO?: Young people (NEETs - not in education, employment, or training) in the 4 target countries - Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania and Spain - are experiencing unemployment as their biggest problem because it directly affects the possibility of their independence, future planning, building their own skills and abilities. Youth unemployment and NEETs population are highest in rural areas, especially in the 4 target countries. Project will target 2000 NEETS aged 25-29 from rural and suburban areas, at least 60% of them women.

HOW?: RAISE Youth will create a sustainable transnational framework to pilot and promote an innovative RAISE model with rural NEETs aged 25-29 based on experience of 4 beneficiary countries with very high youth unemployment rates. 4 RAISE Centers will be established as training, demonstration and production centers in rural areas facing depopulation. Through intergenerational mentoring, learning by doing and psycho-social support and mentorship, at least 2000 NEETs will participate, of which at least 200 will gain (self) employment. By piloting and promoting an innovative RAISE Model of self-employment primarily for NEETs aged 25-29 based on sustainable agri-business in 4 rural regions with high unemployment rates and depopulation, a new model for youth employment will be created and made sustainable. RAISE will network and cluster nationally and transnationally the rural youth, including exchanges between countries, but also create a web platform for marketing and crowdfunding/crowdfarming which has never before been used as a tool for sustainable youth entrepreneurship support in Europe. Use of "smart" farming, new technologies, combined with multi-generational mentoring and family and individual learning will create an eco-system in the rural area more suitable to job creation, as it will take into account a personal approach while preparing a systemic framework (social) enterprise creation, cluster establishment, web tools, crowdfunding, multistakeholder and policy dialogue.

OBJECTIVES:

• to contribute to providing decent and productive work for youth through social innovation in rural areas of 4 EU countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Spain;
• to pilot and promote an innovative RAISE Model of (self) employment, for youth NEETs based on sustainable agri-business in 4 rural regions of EU with high unemployment rates and depopulation.

The RAISE project is funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Youth Employment
www.eeagrants.org