<< Background >>The coronavirus pandemic is causing large-scale loss of life and severe human suffering globally. It is the largest public health crisis in living memory, which has also generated a major economic crisis, with a halt in production in affected countries, a collapse in consumption and confidence, and stock exchanges responding negatively to heightened uncertainties. Both international (ILO Monitor) and EU reports on Covid-19 and its effect on businesses show that worldwide employment in the sectors most at risk is strongly concentrated in firms with less than 10 employees, whereas vice versa the vast majority of employment in low risk sectors is in larger firms with more than 10 employees. For instance, in sectors such as wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, the share of firms with less than 10 employees is 70%, whereas in low risk sectors such as education, utilities and public administration the share is less than 20%.SMEs may have less resilience and flexibility in dealing with the negative effects of the pandemy . Costs for prevention as well as requested changes in work processes, such as the shift to teleworking, may be relatively higher for SMEs given their smaller size, but also, in many instances, the low level of digitalisation and difficulties in accessing and adopting technologies. If production is reduced in response to the developments, the costs of underutilised labour and capital weigh greater on SMEs than larger companies. Furthermore, SMEs may find it harder to obtain information not only on measures to halt the spread of the virus, but also on possible business strategies to lighten the shock, and government initiatives available to provide support.Some staggering numbers:· Bulgaria: 87,000 people (2.1% of the working population) were registered newly unemployed· Greece: 60% experience marked decline in sales; the share of microenterprises in the most affected sectors is 60%, · Turkey: 36% of micro- and small-scale companies have suspended their activities.· Belgium: 75% report declines in turnover; over 31% of Belgium SMEs may not survive the crisis. · Cyrpus: 69% of businesses expected a decrease in their company revenues and/or profits as a result of Covid-19.Moreover, a European survey suggested that only 56 percent of all companies with 50 or fewer employees provided remote access to email, applications, and documents for their employees, compared with 93 percent of all companies with more than 250 employees.Thus, the key challenges that SMEs are facing are the following:· Strategic: Finding new/alternative business opportunities, strategic planning and decision making in uncertain times and maintaining (inter-national) partnerships.· Operational: Staff working remotely, digitalisation of sales and marketing and overcoming logistical hurdles especially abroad.· Maintaining turnover: International sales decline, decreased demand.· Managing costs: Measures to effectively cut costs, managing planned and ongoing investments, fixed costs such as rent and salaries.Aim: The Project aims to provide educational materials to help micro-SMEs to identify and develop the new competitive skills, the new organizational forms, the new business process designs, the new organizational systems, the new functional skills and the new human resources profile that businesses will need in the pandemic and the post-pandemic period. By doing this, it is expected that the ability of micro-SMEs to cope with post-pandemic challanges, which its impact on them is more devastating due to liability of smallness, will increase.<< Objectives >>Aim: The Project aims to provide educational materials to help micro-SMEs to identify and develop the new competitive skills, the new organizational forms, the new business process designs, the new organizational systems, the new functional skills and the new human resources profile that businesses will need in the pandemic and the post-pandemic period. By doing this, it is expected that the ability of micro-SMEs to cope with post-pandemic challenges, which its impact on them is more devastating due to liability of smallness, will increase. The specific objectives of the project are as follows:Objective 1. Improving the ability of micro-SMEs to analyze the nature of the changing ecosystem during and after the pandemic post-pandemic and to develop the new managerial and organizational insight to find new ways to serve their customers and communities. Objective 2. Supplementing the educational programmes which train the potential entrepreneurs and managers for SMEs with the curriculum developed by the project partners that includes the new ways of doing business in the post pandemic period.Objective 3. Contributing to shaping the education and incentive policies of public institutions responsible for the development and competitiveness of micro-SMEs by educational material of the Project.<< Implementation >>The project follows a well-defined, comprehensive, and high-quality work plan, that involves the following steps: planning, development, testing and dissemination. This is also mirrored in the methodology that will be used for the development of the intellectual outputs that are involved in the proposal (see the related section of Project Results).a. Planning:It has started from the stage of proposal writing (needs analysis, PM plan, PRs steps of development, timetable, identification of target groups and related stakeholders), and will continue after the commence of the project with actual distribution of tasks to all partner organisations, with regards to Project Management (PM) and PRs development.b. Development:This stage will include activities that will include research (desktop and field) for the development of the content of training materials (PR1), identification of case studies (PR2) and identification of challenges and opportunities for SMEs (PR3); focus groups and interviews for getting input from related stakeholders; establishment of the training strategy and plan (PR4); undergoing activities related with PM.c. Testing (Pilot launch period):The project will include a “pilot launch period” with the implementation of PR1, PR2 and PR3. This is a trial period, in which sample groups will undertake courses of PR1 and use PR2 and PR3, after their registration to the initial platform release. They will provide to the scheme adequate data collection to implement testing and evaluation of the efficiency and adequacy of the material they have created, using quantitate and qualitative factors. Those will be based on the desired aim, objectives, results and impact. The collected feedback and conclusions will be elaborated, and if necessary, the PRs will be optimised based on the suggestions of the trainees. d. Dissemination:It will include the release to public of the final structure and content of PRs; the activation of all tools of the dissemination strategy in order to widen the audience and the impact of our project period and running of Multiplier Event.After the delivering of all project's tangible results and while monitoring the achieving impact the consortium can elaborate on the future perspective of the project.<< Results >>Within the framework of Intellectual Outputs development, the foreseen outcomes are:PR1: Coronomics ECVET compliant curriculum and course material training toolkitPR2: Video supported case database upon an integrated digital environment PR3: Coronomics whitepaper on challenges and opportunities for micro companiesPR4: Coronomics Learner LogbookWithin the framework of the Project management and implementation, the foreseen results are:-PM1 Partners agreements-PM2 Coronomics Work Plan-PM3 Interim and final reports that will be submitted to the Bulgarian National Agency.-PM4 Quality control framework and internal surveys and report forms.-PM5 Dissemination plan and materials-PM6 Minutes of meetings-PM7 Website.Intangible outcomes:-Developing the cooperative strategies for business and improving their skills to cooperate with different actors (public employment agencies, umbrella organizations, social service institutions, competitors, suppliers, financial institutions, and distribution channels etc.) that can help to overcome the crisis with the least damage during extraordinary periods such as pandemic. -Enhancing the ability of micro-SMEs to understand the changing customer demands and new customer needs arising from the new conditions.-Enhancing their adaptability skills in the digital technologies required by digitalization and remote working systems. -Increasing the capacity of the organization to restructure in accordance with digitalization and remote working systems (reconstructing the organizational chart depending on the degree of centralization of the organization and redefining the procedures depending on the degree of formalization in accordance with the new system).-Developing the skills of SMEs in redesigning human resources management processes (personnel recruitment and placement, training and development, performance evaluation, career management, etc.) in accordance with digitalization and remote working systems. -Developing their digital marketing strategies and online sales skills in accordance with digitization and remote working system. -Developing the innovation skills of SMEs in accordance with digitalization and remote working system. -Improving cost management skills in accordance with digitalization and remote working systems. -Increasing quality management skills in business processes in accordance with digitalization and remote working system.-Identifying new motivation systems suitable for digitalization and remote working system and providing employees with self-disciplinary skills.