VOIS – Virtual Open Innovation Environment for SMEs

VOIS – Virtual Open Innovation Environment for SMEs

Implementation period: 01.01.2022 – 30.06.2024
Assistance program: ERASMUS+
Project number: 2021-1-DE02-KA202-VET_000034201

Project description:

Factors such as changing market conditions, digitalisation and the emergence of the Internet of Things, require from SMEs the reinvention of their value proposition to secure their survival which is often threatened by a lack of capability to innovate and compete on the global market. Currently, open innovation (OI) competencies are rare in SMEs and, if present, are usually limited to high-tech sectors. The VOIS partnership has developed a comprehensive Virtual Open Innovation Environment allowing SMEs to effectively improve their OI competencies and their ability to implement open innovation in their firms. To this end, the Virtual OI Environment proposes 3 specific areas with opportunities for SMEs to enhance their competencies: Area 1 – Organisational Area, Area 2 – Individual Development Area and Area 3 – Open Innovation Repository. The main project result consists in an Integrated Virtual Open Innovation Environment with a methodology and tools for capacitating SME managers in Agro-Food and Bioeconomy sectors to engage and benefit from open innovation by following a comprehensive modular development programme (more details in section: Results).

Target Group:

  • SMEs

Project Results:

The project aims are achieved by the development of one main result

Virtual Open Innovation Environment is a complex platform integrating tools for building professional open innovation competence among managers within agri-food, as well as the bioeconomy sector and will directly target the need for action oriented competence development. It offers a-one-stop solution with 3 specific areas addressing different aspects of preparation in order to face the challenges of open innovation:

– Area 1: Capacitation for Organisational Open Innovation focused on open innovation strategies/methodologies for SMEs and capacitating participants to design and implement them in their organisations
– Area 2: Managers’ Development Area focused on the development of individual Open Innovation Competencies required when managing activities in the scope of open innovation
– Area 3: Open Innovation Repository – a data base about open innovation gathering tools already available and support measures for SMEs. It covers the target sector across all engaged countries and on EU level.

Project website: https://vois.erasmus.site/

Partners:

  • assist Gesellschaft für Unternehmensberatung und Personalentwicklung mbH (assist GmbH) – coordinator, Paderborn, Germany
  • Centrum Wspierania Edukacji i Przedsiębiorczości (CWEP), Rzeszów, Poland
  • E&D Knowledge Consulting Lda., Covilha, Portugal
  • LUT University (Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT), Lappeenranta, Finland
  • University of Zagreb – Faculty of Economics and Business, Zagreb, Croatia
  • Heraklion Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI), Heraklion, Greece
  • Hanse-Parlament, Hamburg, Germany