innovation requires an appropriate diversity of tools (as well as actors and policies) to support the process. KnowInG’s new classification system can incorporate all of those required tools and any future tools that may emerge. Capitalisation seminars, capacity building workshops and laboratories are some of tools that actors involved in the KnowInG Project have provided at regional level. The tools’ strengths and weaknesses were identified from questionnaire feedback and they have been integrated into project documents connected with these tools, such as the minutes of KnowInG Project events and meetings. The strengths and weaknesses are summarised below. Partners and actors involved in the project have demonstrated that workshops, laboratories, capacity building initiatives and other local events can directly involve companies, institutions, organisations and individuals. Their direct involvement is important because it creates a collective awareness of problems emerging at local level and supports problem-solving. Also, it reinforces local communities and projects them from local to transnational level. Face-to-face contact, the exchange of ideas and the building of new knowledge through the use of the project’s tools proved to be very effective; they enable formal and informal communication among stakeholders. In fact, even in the case of stand-alone events, they acted as catalysts for stimulating the activation of local networks between companies, institutions and other actors of innovation. For example, the Saving and Energy Efficiency in Rural Areas (Valencia, Spain) encouraged a network of enterprises, farms, country hotels and other participants, who learned about reducing energy bills and innovative energy technologies. These participants had the opportunity to meet experts in this field – an opportunity that may not have otherwise been able to happen. Also, the Laboratory of Ideas for the Development and Growth of Design and Fashion Brands (Lombardy, Italy) provided an opportunity fashion micro-enterprises lacking in business management resources and skills to meet with professionals and consultants who assisted them in developing ideas and tools to support their small businesses. A weakness in using capitalisation seminars, capacity building workshops, etc, is the cost of implementing them, particularly during times of economic crisis. However, the physical involvement of people, the organisation activities and the use of structures is proportional to the number of people involved. This challenge, however, could be overcome with increased future exploitation of accessible online tools. The experiences of the KnowInG Project have also led to the conclusion that tools can be used in an effective manner if integrated with other tools. In fact, tools used at local level were intertwined with the transnational-level tools, and real tools amplify their effectiveness in combination with virtual tools. These virtual tools enable actors to reach a very large number of people and to create or enlarge local networks at a very low cost. In addition, the use of social networks and online tools is generally less expensive in respect to the number of people involved, however, virtual relationships hinder processes that develop trust. For this reason social networks and online tools are more effective when used jointly with real tools. Trust can be improved aggregating online information and services from certified institutional sources. According to some actors implementing online tools during the KnowInG Project informal communication in the delivery of services, information and
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KnowInG Project: ANALYSIS OF INNOVATION TOOLS