Horizon 2020 call “Enhancing the innovation management capacity of SMEs” proposes advising services to SMEs with the objective of increasing and accelerating the economic returns from innovation. The current proposal fully describes these services and proves ACCIÓ’s capacity to successfully deliver them. The services will be provided to two specific groups of enterprises: beneficiaries of the SME instrument and, SMEs with significant innovation activities and a high potential for internationalisation. As the current coordinator of the Catalan node of the EEN (also for 2015-2020), ACCIÓ is specialised in promoting innovation and internationalisation among SMEs and has implemented several successful programmes over the last 20 years; for instance it is currently providing advise services for the period 2015-2016 with IMPRove, Innovation Health Check (IHC) and KAM methodologies with an EU financed project called INNCAT. The experience obtained, especially since the implementation of INNCAT, has given to our team of experts a deeper knowledge of these services and therefore we are proposing that a minimum of 80 services will be provided in the period of 2017-2018 for enhancing the innovation management capacity of SMEs. It is 42% more services than INNCAT1516. The proposed staff is fully committed to deliver the proposed services and is trained in IMPR3ove methodology and Innovation Health Check (IHC) and have a broad and extensive expertise in innovation and business support and, management. Moreover, 6 of the proposed 9 staff members have intervened in the implementation of INNCAT for the delivery of KAM and IMPR3ove services during 2014-2016. Therefore they are fully capable to deliver the services described and successfully advise SMEs.

TEACH4SD is oriented towards the ambitions put forward by the European Green Deal on tackling climate and environmental-related challenges. The objective of TEACH4SD is to mobilize industry, research and innovation capacities and link them in new and innovative ways to the education and training sector. For sustainability transitions to become successful, the guiding principle for TEACH4SD is to empower and educate teachers to take on a leading role as change-makers and thereby contributing to the European ambition of a socially fair and just green transition. TEACH4SD will launch five regional Centres of Vocational Excellence each responding to the needs and challenges of one of five sectors forming part of the backbone of the European labour market: health, trade, entrepreneurship, clothing & textiles, and construction. The link between the five CoVEs consists of a European Platform of Centre of Vocational Excellence containing a Digital Hub for collaboration, networking and mobility. Externally, the Digital Hub makes available the sustainability competences by setting up a Digital ESD Academy for the five CoVEs to activate education and training, promote re- and upskilling as well as facilitate exchange of best and next practices in EU networks. These regional and digital hubs of sustainability knowledge and its outreach to 400 teachers will become a tool to shape the future skills governance systems by activating and moving regional development strategies forward in close collaboration with TEACH4SDs five labour market sectors. The TEACH4SD approach will empower teachers and youth in the green transition and shape an ESD movement for schools in Europe through the regional-anchored knowledge hubs and the European Digital Hub offering upskilling activities and continued education. TEACH4SD consists of 16 partners from five countries spanning EQF level 3-8 as well as industry and policy representatives.

INNCAT 2021 describes the services offered in the context of Horizon 2020 innovation support activities and the enhance European Innovation Council (EIC) pilot, with the objective of enhancing Catalan SMEs’ innovation management capacity. The current proposal fully describes these services and proves ACCIÓ’s capacity to successfully deliver them. The services will be provided to two specific groups of SMEs: beneficiaries of the EIC and SMEs with significant innovation activities and a high potential for internationalisation. As the current coordinator of the Catalan node of the EEN (also for 2020-2021), ACCIÓ is specialised in promoting innovation and internationalisation among SMEs and has implemented several successful programmes over the last 20 years. The experience obtained, especially since the implementation of the first INNCAT pilot in 2014, has given to our team of experts a deeper knowledge of these services. ACCIÓ proposes that a minimum of 110 services will be closed in the period of 2020-2021 for enhancing the innovation management capacity of SMEs. It is 42% more services than INNCAT1516. The proposed staff is fully committed to deliver the proposed services and is trained in the IMPR3ove methodology and Innovation Health Check (IHC) and have broad and extensive expertise in innovation and business support and, management. Moreover, 6 of the proposed 9 staff members have intervened in the implementation of INNCAT for the delivery of KAM and IMPR3ove services during 2014-2016. Therefore, they are fully capable to deliver the services described and successfully advise SMEs. For this period, the project will build on the experience acquired since 2014 to obtain more impact on cases.

The current proposal fully describes advising services to SMEs with the objective of increasing and accelerating the economic returns from innovation and proves ACCIÓ capacity to successfully deliver them. The services will be provided to two specific groups of enterprises: beneficiaries of the SME instrument, FTI, FET-Open; and SMEs with significant innovation activities and a high potential for internationalisation. ACCIÓ, as the Enterprise Europe Network Catalan node coordinator, is specialised in promoting innovation and internationalisation among SMEs and has implemented several successful programmes over the last 20 years. For instance, since 2014 INNCAT has provided advice services with IMP3rove, Innovation Health Check (IHC) and KAM methodologies. For next year, 2019, INNCAT will close a minimum of 49 KAM and EIMC cases of mentoring to enhance the innovation management capacity of SMEs; it is an increase of 22.5% compared to the services planned per year in the current INNCAT1718 project. The involved staff is fully committed to deliver the foreseen cases using the above mentioned methodologies and have a broad and extensive expertise in innovation, business support and management services. Moreover, 6 of the involved 8 staff members already participate in the implementation of INNCAT1718 for the delivery of KAM and EIMC cases. Therefore, they are fully capable to implement the described services and successfully advise Catalan SMEs in 2019. Additionally, a majority of staff members also offering EEN standard network services will enhance synergies and ensure the principle of the client centric approach.