ATLANT-KIS conference KIS AS DRIVERS OF EUROPEAN SMES COMPETITIVENESS Oporto in Portugal was the destination for the final ATLANT-KIS conference held on 27 March 2012. The ATLANT-KIS Project The ATLANT-KIS Project is a trans-national cooperation project co-financed by the Atlantic Area Programme under Priority 1: Promotion of transnational entrepreneurial and innovation networks.
The project commenced in June 2009 and its
goal was to contribute to the development of KIS (Knowledge Intensive Services). This was achieved by promoting interaction and networking of KIS providers across the Atlantic Area, contributing to the development of enabling policies, transferring good practices between regions and bridging gaps between the demand and the supply of KIS services in the 7 regions involved in the Consortium. Oporto It is an ancient port steeped in history and tradition. This is the city that originated and named port wine. UNESCO has declared Oporto a World Heritage Site, with highly decorative buildings and churches an atmospheric medieval quarter with colourful houses facing the river. And its picturesque boats, which bring the port wine up river. Most of the world’s supply of port is stored and aged here. The Conference Participants from Spain (Navarra and Galicia), UK (Devon and Cornwall), France (Bretagne) and Ireland (Border Midland, Western, Southern and Eastern regions) along with Portuguese delegates, nearly 80 people in total, gathered for the final conference to discuss and debate how KIS could improve regional development and better support SMEs.
The participants included; KIS providers, policy advisors from different governmental agencies, R&D consultants and liaison officers, companies and development agencies. The morning presentations started with a welcome speech from Dr. Lino Fernandes, President of Agência de Inovaçãoroject in Portugal, followed by project partners from Gobierno de Navarra on the developments and achievements of ATLANT-KIS, David Kelly from Southern and Eastern Regional Assembly
presenting
the
web
platform
www.kis4sme.com and Carlos Garea from Xunta de Galicia presented the Good Practice Guide published by the partnership. This was followed by a practical case study of a successful Good Practice transfer, from James Donlon of Westbic, who adopted a Good Practice from Bretagne to create the Roscommon Innovation House. The morning session concluded with presentations from and Marta Candeaias. Juan Correia and Alexandre Almeida. Marta the Portuguese National Contact Point for FP7, presented “Opportunities for SMEs in the Framework Programme”, informing participants about the R&D calls that will open in the summer. The morning ended with a key note speech by Alexandre Almeida, advisor of Norte Regional Authority CCDR-Norte in Portugal, who analysed the Norte Region Innovation Policy in the context of the current economic crisis. Discussion Group Session The afternoon session kicked off with workshop groups, discussing the wants, needs and challenges facing KIS and how their future growth can be assisted. This session
proved
to
be
very
thought provoking and useful for all participants. The groups were formed into 3 groups, KIS, support organisa-
tions, and a mixed group, each discussing the issues from their own perspectives. The topics covered in the workshop session were: • • • • • •
External factors affecting growth Internal factors affecting growth Support Tools - Least Effective Support Tools - Most Effective What are the barriers to KIS growth? What future support is required?
Each group reported its findings back into the conference at the end of the session. These findings were analysed by Akumen a consultancy company and participants at the conference. In summary the analysis from the session shows the main conclusions are: A clear value proposition for a KIS is a key first step, crucial to the marketing communications material, the marketing strategy and subsequent funding. Quality networking events are of real value to KIS, facilitating meetings with potential customers, suppliers and partners and promoting awareness of the value of KIS. The analysis was depicted in graphical format and a sample is shown below:
Reproduced with permission of Akumen. For www.akumen.co.uk or email: info@akumen.co.uk
further
information
on
Akumen,
visit
A copy of the full report is available from Carole Thurston, please email cthurston@sebic.ie Brokerage Session The final session of the day was a Brokerage event that bought together participants who wanted to discuss potential opportunities for KIS and SMEs in FP7
projects. Participants were able to review each-others profiles and request meetings with identified participants. A total of 95 requests
were
made,
from
which
59
bilateral meetings were scheduled and held. These meetings were productive and potential contacts for collaboration were established. Feedback The feedback from the conference was that over 95% rated the conference as Good/Excellent. The workshop/discussion groups and the brokerage event were the most beneficial giving delegates an excellent opportunity to network and share ideas with other regional delegates. Copies of the presentations from the conference are available from http://www.atlantkis.eu/images/uploads/Atlant-KIS%20Presentations%20Oporto%202012.zip