WINN – Workouts for innovation leaders

Europe’s ambitious catching up on innovation in 2022

Across Europe the necessity to support innovation, not only with knowledge and consultancy, has gained more awareness lately than ever before, and we are talking here especially about the need to support and fund enterprises (from macro to micro) that are involved in research and development without this being their main activity. As a proof of that is the fact that the European Innovation Council launched in March 2021 by the European Commission under the 7-year European Union scientific research initiative called Horizon Europe and part of the EISMEA – European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency – is offering in 2022 funding opportunities worth over €1.7 billion, introducing at the same time multiple novelties and simplifications, such as more frequent application deadlines, stronger support to women innovator, scale-up initiatives for 100 deep tech EU companies, etc. There are three main funding schemes:  EIC Pathfinder for early-stage research on breakthrough technologies, EIC Transition – from proof of concept to validation funding and the EIC Accelerator – development and scale-up of deep tech / disruptive innovations by start-ups / SMEs, the third one being the one with the highest allocated funds to it, as SMEs are the backbone of the European economy. ^[1]

Also, across EU countries, such as Romania and the CEE region countries, new programmes^[2] such as Incubator X SME developed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Ascendis – a 25-year old Romanian company with a team of 80 business consultants, trainers, collaborators and support staff dedicated to assisting “companies and institutions from this part of the world to differentiate themselves in their market” by changing mindsets and teaching skills that lead to innovation and increased productivity. Incubator X SME is an innovation program in which SMEs learn how to transform ideas into new products and services, in three phases: Inspiration, Ideate & Discover, Incubation.

And these are only two examples. Hopefully, the attention given by the EU to innovation this year will reduce considerably the funding gap in this area and will bring awareness among SME leaders especially to the necessity of creating and encouraging an innovation-oriented mindset and culture across their companies and also produce some worth putting into practice innovative solutions and ideas.

SME managers and employees who would like some help in developing pro-innovative habits are invited to follow our WINN – Workouts for innovation leaders project on Facebook and LinkedIn for upcoming free pro-innovative habits development tools! We are here:

https://www.facebook.com/WINNEUProject

https://www.linkedin.com/company/winneuproject/

[1] EIC online Info Day, 22 February 2022, video recording, available here: https://www.youtube.com/embed/8m7-N5AC5rw

[2] ”[P] Program de inovare pentru IMM-urile mature care vor să dezvolte noi linii de business, dezvoltat de BERD și Ascendis” – online article published on 21 February 2022, available here: https://economie.hotnews.ro/stiri-companii-25377874-program-inovare-pentru-imm-urile-mature-care-vor-dezvolte-noi-linii-business-dezvoltat-berd-ascendis.htm