In addition to the innovation-related services offered by EEN Northern Netherlands, this H2020 project will provide in-depth services enhancing the innovation capacity of SMEs. Due to several reasons (f.e. a lack of offers, unaffordable market prices or poor quality), consulting service offers enhancing the innovation management capacity of companies are not readily available to SMEs in many European regions, including the Northern Netherlands. This specific Horizon 2020 activity within the EEN services therefore offers mentoring and coaching services to beneficiaries with the objective to increase and accelerate economic returns from innovation. The EEN Northern NL consortium addresses this specific challenge with two service packages: 1. Key account management services for H2020 SME instrument beneficiaries: By offering key acount management services to beneficiaries of the H20202 SME instrument it will be possible to support these SME’s in their innovation process and enhance their innovation capacity. 2. Services to enhance the innovation management capacities of SMEs: particularly promising SMEs will be supported by the enhancement of their innovation management capacities. This will be done by carry out a diagnostic audit of selected SMEs that are capable of growth and successful internationalisation in order to develop and implement a tailored action plan to improve the SME’s capacity to manage innovation processes. Within the consortium expertise and knowledge on internationalisation and innovation is pooled together to offer SME's expert information, advice and coaching. This project focusses on the selection of promising SME’s within in the region and enable them to enhance their innovation capacity under the supervision of experienced innovation coaches.

This is the proposal of EEN Nortern Netherlands for the H2020 workpackage 4 for the year 2019. SMEs in the Northern Netherlands still lag behind on internationalisation and innovation in comparison with most other regions in the Netherlands. Export intensity is still below national average, as well as innovation expenditure and the use of EU funding. The economic outlook is that the Northern Netherlands will grow considerably less than average. This proves the need for support for the Northern Netherlands SMEs to realize economic growth. One means of achieving economic growth is internationalisation, which is covered by our COSME 2019 proposal. Another is focus on Innovation. The proposal at hand describes the two main objectives for the support focused on innovation: 1) Continuing the Key Account Management for the beneficiaries of the SME instrument in the North of the Netherlands; 2) Continuing the EEN services for the Enhancement of the Innovation Management Capacity of SMEs in the Northern Netherlands. Specific attention will be given to the management of these two services and to the organisation of smart signposting of clients within the consortium. The consortium partners already have many contact moments with SMEs in the region and due to this project, the advice and support given during these moments can be increased. The consortium aims to assist at least eleven SMEs from the North of the Netherlands region. We expect to deliver our KAM services to one company and the EIMC services to ten companies. Given the limited number of SME Instrument Grants, the synergy with the COSME programme and the client journey, we feel it’s more effective to focus more on the EIMC services. We expect that investing more time in the EIMC services is also the best way to also promote the SME Instrument. We trust this will result in more SME Instrument applications and also more grants in the longer run.

H2020 SGA4 - period 2020/2021 This is the plan for the period 2020-2021 of EEN Northern Netherlands for the face to face support of organizations in the provinces of Groningen, Drenthe and Friesland. It describes how we plan to support organizations with KAM and EIMC services in order to help grow the economy. It also describes how synergy is sought with the EEN COSME plan of EEN Northern Netherlands.

EEN Northern Netherlands offers the proposal for the H2020 programme 2017-2018. This proposal concerns work package 4 for both years as mentioned. In the North of the Netherlands around 3000 companies have received a NIOF grant, which is a grant for innovative companies. Therefore, it can be said that the innovating potential of companies in the North of the Netherlands is rather high. However, this potential is not optimally exploited. Therefore, EEN NN wants to assist the SMEs in the North of the Netherlands with their innovation management. First of all, EEN NN will establish Key Account Management for the beneficiaries of the SME Instrument in the North of the Netherlands. This service includes the identification of weaknesses in innovation capacities, find suitable coaches for the relevant SME and accompany the SME through the SME Instrument project. Secondly, EEN NN will provide new EEN services for the enhancement of the innovation capacity of SMEs in the North of the Netherlands. This includes the assessment of the current status of the innovation management capacity of the beneficiary and consequently performing a needs/gaps analysis and development of an action plan to increase the SMEs innovation management capacities. This action plan will be implemented and EEN NN will initiate and guide next appropriate steps. The objective for EEN NN is to assist at least twenty SMEs from the North of the Netherlands region with these services. We expect to deliver the KAM services to five SMEs and the EIMC services to fifteen companies.