I-KAM2EU

The proposal aims at improving the innovation management capacity of SMEs to enhance their growth, competitiveness and cross-border partnerships. I-KAM2EU is the proposal by SME2EU (the Enterprise Europe Network consortium for the three Italian regions Marche, Tuscany and Umbria) to provide in its area in 2017-2018 the two services: 1) Key Account Management (KAM) for SME Instrument beneficiaries 2) Enhancing SME’s Innovation Management Capacity (EIMC) for innovating SMEs, continuing the ongoing positive experience in the biennium 2015-2016. The KAM service is reserved to Horizon 2020 SME Instrument Phase 1 or Phase 2 beneficiaries located in the three Italian regions covered by the proposal. I-KAM2EU will provide 36 KAM services in 2017-2018. I-KAM2EU expects to delivery 36 KAM services in 2017-2018, but the exact number will be determined by the amount (less or greater than the estimate) of the beneficiaries in the three regions for 2017-2018. The consortium will active a pool of 9 people to assess the SME’s needs, to support the choice of a right coach and to moderating the coach-client relationship, ensuring that beneficiary receives the most appropriate support services which enhance the probability of a successful and sustainable exploitation of its innovation project. The EIMC service is targeted to SMEs with significant innovation activities and with concrete potential for international growth, about product, process, service or business model innovation. I-KAM2EU will provide 50 EIMC services in 2017-2018 to SMEs selected through a structured procedure. The consortium will active a pool of 9 people, able to use IMPR3rove (for most structured SMEs) and/or Innovation Health Check (for less structured SMEs) tools to assess the SME’s current status of the innovation management system, to make a gap analysis, to define an action plan, to monitor it and to check the improvements.