Overview of the IDEA Project activities and Preliminary results

1
Overview of the IDEA Project activities and
Preliminary results

• IDEA Final Conference
• Promotion and Networking of Business Support
  Services in Central and
• South Eastern Europe the first evaluation of
  the IDEA Project
• Sofia, 8 June 2007

Claudio Di Giorgio Head of ICT Innovation
Dept. INFORMEST Project Leader
2
The Project IDEAInteractive Database for
Enterprises and Associations

• Project leader INFORMEST Service and
  Documentation Centre for International Economic
  Cooperation Gorizia (Italy)
• Partners
• CEI Central European Initiative
• BSMEPA Bulgarian SME Promotion Agency
• Financed by the Italian Government through the
  Law 84/01 funds (Provisions for the Italian
  participation to stabilisation, reconstruction
  and development of the Balkans), by the CEI and
  by Informest
• Duration February 2006 - July 2007 (18 months)
• Staff 12 people, av. 134 man/days pp, 7.5
  days/moths pp
• Overall budget 214.500 Euro

3
Countries involved

• Albania
• Austria
• Belarus
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Czech Republic
• Hungary
• Italy

• Macedonia (FYROM)
• Moldova
• Montenegro
• Poland
• Romania
• Serbia
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Ukraine

Project National Focal Points have been
appointed in each participating Country. Contact
details are available on the Web site.
4
Basic considerations
At present, its not available any on-line
information tool capable of giving a complete and
up-to-date picture of all the products and
services that private and public local
organizations (local development agencies,
enterprise associations, public offices, private
and public consultancy companies, non-profit
organizations, business networks, European
networks, etc.) can supply to investors and SMEs
about the business opportunities in a given
territory. Who are the actors? What services do
they offer? What development projects do they
promote and run? Business Service Providers
(BSOs)
5
What we may find on the Internet - 1

• Several web-sites on SMEs support at local level
• Many institutional web-sites targeted to SMEs
• Many large-scale Portals (WASME, INSME, WAIPA,
  WTPF, WCN, IEDC, TIN, ANIMA, etc.)
• The web-sites of relevant European networks
  (EIC, IRC, eBSN, ENSR, etc.)
• A few number of web sites of business support
  associations (ex. EURADA, the European
  Association of Regional Development Agencies)

6
What we may find on the Internet - 2

• All these networks have preminently a
  promotional character general information,
  project dissemination, promotion of seminars and
  conferences, representation of members interests
  with respect to national/international
  institutions, etc.
• The majority of web sites related to these
  networks do not provide any kind of technological
  platform to be shared among members, or the
  operating platform is limited to basic services
  (project database, documentation, links, news and
  events, newsletter, forum, etc.)

7
The basic Idea

• To gather in one single place on the web all
  relevant information about the business support
  organizations in the CEI/SEE countries and their
  real services for SMEs
• To build a technological platform to be shared
  among the members for providing advanced on-line
  services to enterprises and favour FDI at the
  local/regional level
• To interact directly with enterprises to match
  their demand of services with the overall offer
  of the network
• To set up the conditions for a concrete
  networking of the development actors based on the
  on-line platform

8
IDEA
Interactive Database for Enterprises and
Associations gtgt An on-line system intended
(1) to give a comprehensive view of the
services supplied by the business support
organizations to SMEs in the CEI Countries
and (2) to set up an interactive platform to
foster the networking of the public and private
service suppliers
9
The Model
BSO
BSO
BSO
Web-site evbdy.zz
Web-site sthg.xx
NoWeb-site
BSO
BSO
Common Portal Tech. Platform idea.net
BSO
BSO
Web-site sthg.yy
Web-site else.yy
Local SMEs Foreign SMEsForeign Investors
10
IDEA General Objectives

• Providing a comprehensive outline of the Business
  Support Organisations (BSOs) operating in the
  Project target Countries
• Improving the accessibility of enterprises to
  development programs and project promoted by BSOs
  and/or in which BSOs are involved
• Stimulating transnational co-operation and
  business opportunities
• Creating a favourable environment for attracting
  foreign investments and support the development
  of SMEs

11
Business Support Organizations (BSO)
All the organizations, public or private, that
supply real services to local or foreign
enterprises in order to help their business and
boost their competitiveness, favour the
internationalisation of the local companies, the
overall economic growth of the territory and its
attractiveness for foreign direct
investments. BSOs can do this job in many
different ways supplying assistance and
consultancy, supplying aids, introducing
facilitations and tax relieves, involving SMEs
and their groupings in international cooperation
projects.
12
BSOs categories involved

• Agencies for entrepreneurial development
• Privatization agencies
• Investments and/or trade promotion agencies
• Chambers of economy, industry and handcraft
  and/or their special agencies
• Euro Info Centres (EICs) and Euro Info
  Correspondence Centres (EICCs)

• BSOs established through foreign donors
  financial support
• Associations or Consortia of SMEs
• Business incubators
• Technology and Industrial Parks
• No-profit private organizations at
  national/regional/local level promoting
  development projects

13
The Interactive Web Platform www.ideanetwork.eu

• The Project objectives have been reached through
  the realization of some specific on-line
  facilities
• An Interactive Database of BSOs and related
  services, available for local and foreign
  enterprises
• An on-line Agenda of Projects promoted or
  implemented by BSOs in co-operation with
  international donors, SME associations,
  consortia, industrial clusters, public
  institutions, etc.
• An Electronic Notice Board for BSOs and SMEs
  offering/seeking for assistance, consultancy,
  co-operation, partners and services

14
The Survey

• Before publishing www.ideanetwork.eu a survey
  was carried out in the participating Countries
  with the direct involvement of the local National
  Focal Points.
• At present the IDEA on-line Database includes
• more than 230 BSOs
• more than 650 Projects

15
(No Transcript)
16
(No Transcript)
17
The Survey Process

• Each NFP selected local eligible BSOs and
  promoted the IDEA Project
• The IDEA Project Staff sent to the selected BSOs
  the Survey Form
• The contacted BSOs filled the Survey Form
• The information provided was uploaded in the IDEA
  on-line database
• The BSOs could update their data directly on the
  IDEA web site www.ideanetwork.eu

18
The Survey Form

• Detailed information about
• BSOs activities
• Provided services
• Implemented and planned projects
• Network membership
• Information provided
• In English (compulsory)
• In local language (optional)

19
WHY JOIN THE ON-LINE NETWORK Benefits for
Business Support Organisations

• Enhance visibilty ? increase the capacity of
  building international partnerships europe-wide
• Enhance promotion ? services, activities and
  projects spread to the on-line community
• Enhance networking with other BSOs, loc for
• Enhance communication towards the SMEs through
  the IDEA platform facilities (Projects Agenda,
  Electronic Notice Board, BS info tool)
• Enhance information updating (BSOs may update
  autonomously their own information)

20
WHY JOIN THE ON-LINE NETWORK Benefits for Small
and Medium-Sized Enterprises

• Get homogeneous information about services and
  supporting tools offered by public and private
  organisations to develop SME business, both at
  local and international level
• Get information about SME development projects
  implemented by BSOs
• Get information on business opportunities and
  partner search
• Submit direct requests of services, assistance
  and consultancy to BSOs (posting messages on the
  Electronic Notice Board)

21
BSOs how to become members?

• Visit the web-site www.ideanetwork.eu
• Click on Join the Network and submit the
  membership request
• IDEA Project Staff evaluates the request and
  allows the BSOs to fill the on-line Survey Form
• The new BSO is then listed in the IDEA database
  and becomes part of the Network(the membership
  is free of charge)

22
SMEs how to become members?

• Visit the web-site www.ideanetwork.eu
• Click on Join the Network and submit the
  membership request
• IDEA Project Staff evaluates the request and
  allows the SME to post messages on the Electronic
  Notice Board (posting of requests is free of
  charge)

23
The final report (end of July 2007)

• A SWOT analysis of the adopted solution, taking
  into account the NFPs feedback
• Statistics about BSOs membership, Country
  coverage, SMEs feedback, access to the web-site
  and on-line facilities
• An overview of the promotional activities
• The main lines for the development of a follow-up
  project, aimed at consolidating a web platform
  for SMEs under the CEI ?

24
Further developments

• IDEA is the first step towards the following
  long-term goal To establish an operational
  network among the institutions and organizations
  working on SMEs promotion in the CEI countries
• (1) Improve the accessibility of the information
  available for SMEs in all CEI member countries
• (2) Stimulate the cross-country co-operation
  opportunities of the local business support
  systems
• The follow-up project will Enhance BSOs and SMEs
  participation, esp. in the less represented
  Countries
• Launch a new promotional campaign to include gt
  500 BSOs in the database by mid 2008
• Establish a permanent annual Conference of the
  Idea Network members, with local institutional
  support

25
Thank you for your attention !
Claudio Di Giorgio Head of ICT Innovation
Dept. INFORMEST Service and Documentation
Centre For International Economic
Co-operation Via Cadorna 36, 34170 GORIZIA
IT Tel. [phone] e-mail
claudio.digiorgio_at_informest.it Web site
www.informest.it