The project aims to support the innovation management capacity of Greek SMEs as a mean for advancing competitiveness and ensuring growth. Four partners of the Enterprise Europe Network-Hellas will provide mentoring and coaching services on all stages of the innovation management system, including the innovation process from idea generation to innovation results, leadership, management skills and other enabling factors, such as collaboration with R&D partners, clients and suppliers. The service is of particular significance for Greek SMEs that have been seriously affected by the lasting financial recession and need support activities directly aiming at boosting their competitiveness and growth. The proposal addresses the specific objectives of the work programme, namely: a) Identification of bottlenecks in the innovation management process of SMEs benefitting from grants by Horizon 2020’s SME instrument and address these bottlenecks with the help of capable coaches, b) Increase the efficiency and effectiveness of innovation processes in SMEs with significant innovation activities that could potentially become beneficiaries of European support to research and innovation. The service will be delivered by nominated experts of the Enterprise Europe Network-Hellas consortium. 176 service packages (7-days each) are foreseen to be delivered by the end of December 2016, to: a) Beneficiaries of the SME Instrument, b) SMEs with significant be selected based on a multi-parametric process, incorporating both geographical and sectorial criteria. National priorities for research and innovation in Greece and priorities of the Smart Specialization Strategy of each region will be taken into consideration. Common high level quality standards and predefined procedures will be developed for all partners to maximize the efficiency of the service.

Innovation is key to boost productivity and has a role to play in the economic success of the era of new technologies (The Global Competitiveness Report 2018, WEF), while digitisation offers SMEs new opportunities to take part in the next production revolution (OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Outlook 2019). However, SMEs can lag behind in innovation capacity and innovation management capacity skills compared to large companies. Enterprise Europe Network-Hellas consists of 12 major business support organisations - key innovation players, industrial associations and innovation support organisations, as well as chambers of commerce and industry - creating a country-wide network. This network serves as a key facilitator in enhancing the competitiveness, innovation capacity and growth potential of Greek SMEs. The overall goal of the proposed action is to enhance the innovation capacities of Greek SMEs with international ambitions enabling their business growth and boosting their competitiveness in the Single Market and beyond. More specifically, the proposed action aims to: • Assist SMEs in identifying and addressing innovation management gaps and developing respective strategies; • Support SMEs to utilize the opportunities offered under the EIC Pilot Schemes -SME Instrument(SMEI), Fast Track to Innovation (FTI) and Future and Emerging Technologies (FET Open) programmes- as a tool for bridging the gap between research, innovation and market; • Identify SMEs with the capacity to innovate and internationalise and provide them with tailored services; • Offer targeted assistance on innovation management that, compared to large companies, have limited capacity for R&D activities and consulting services; • Support business innovators to translate their ideas into market success, fostering their innovation potential; • Empower SMEs to unlock their growth potential by better managing more effectively and efficiently their innovation processes.

The need for supporting innovation-driven entrepreneurship in Europe as a vehicle for boosting its competitiveness and growth has been evidenced and adopted as one of the key targets and priorities of EU policy and initiatives for the coming years (The Global Competitiveness Report 2013-2014, 2014, WEF). Statistics show that only 50% of EU SMEs innovate and that only a fraction of those export, whereas one of the reasons identified in this respect is constraints relating to innovation management capacity (Regional policy for smart growth of SMEs, 2013, EC). Innovative SMEs have been already identified as one of the groups which EU funding tools should support, however the majority of EU SMEs still lag behind in innovation capacity and innovation management capacity skills. As expected, the above are applicable at a superlative degree to Greek SMEs, for which the 2013 SBA Fact Sheet clearly shows relevant bottlenecks such as e.g. deterioration in their capacity to convert new-to-market and new-to-firm innovations into sales. Under this frame, the Enterprise Europe Network-Hellas (FPA 671771), a well-placed and experienced network of experts and organisations, working in close proximity to Greek SMEs, will advance its support to the innovative companies by providing complementary services for the enhancement of their innovation management capacity. The proposed action aims to: •Identify SMEs with the capacity to innovate and internationalise, provide them with the tailored services to improve their capacity to manage innovation processes •Support SMEs to utilize the opportunities offered under the SME Instrument programme •Support business innovators with international ambitions to translate their ideas into market success •Foster the innovation potential of SMEs that, compared to large companies, have limited capacity for risky/costly R&D activities and consulting services •Offer targeted assistance on innovation management that is not available to Greek SMEs.

The need for supporting innovation-driven entrepreneurship in Europe as a vehicle for boosting its competitiveness and growth has been evidenced and adopted as one of the key targets and priorities of EU policy and initiatives (The Global Competitiveness Report 2013-2014, 2014, WEF). Empirical analysis shows that innovation, can account for a substantial share of economic growth – often around 50% of total GDP growth – depending on various factors (OECD STI Policy 2015). Innovative SMEs have been already identified as one of the groups which EU funding tools should support, however the majority of EU SMEs still lag behind in innovation capacity and innovation management capacity skills. As expected, the above hold true for Greek SMEs. The 2017 SBA Fact Sheet clearly shows Greek SMEs score below the EU28 average in their capacity to convert new-to-market and new-to-firm innovations into sales. At the same time, Greek SMEs introducing product or process innovations score higher than the EU average. Under this frame, the Enterprise Europe Network-Hellas (FPA 649598), a well-placed and experienced network of experts and organisations, working in close proximity to Greek SMEs, will advance its support to the innovative companies by providing complementary services for the enhancement of their innovation management capacity. The proposed action aims to: • Identify SMEs with the capacity to innovate and internationalise, provide them with the tailored services to improve their capacity to manage innovation processes • Support SMEs to utilize the opportunities offered under the SME Instrument, Fast Track to Innovation and Future Emerging Technologies OPEN programmes • Support business innovators with international ambitions to translate their ideas into market success • Foster the innovation potential of SMEs that, compared to large companies, have limited capacity for risky/costly R&D activities and consulting services • Offer targeted assistance on innovation managemen