In the 3 regions covered by ALPS EEN Consortium (Piemonte, Liguria and Valle d’Aosta), the project will provide a new service enhancing the innovation management capacity of SMEs to two specific groups of SMEs: - Beneficiaries of the SME Instrument - SMEs with significant innovation activities and a high potential for internationalisation. The main goal of the project is to support SMEs innovation management capacity; a seven-day service package will be provided to them, regardless of the belonging to the first or second specific group. The Action will generate the provision of 35 service packages: 1 for Valle d'Aosta, 26 for Piemonte, 8 for Liguria, in coherence with the economic weight of the covered regions. Services to be provided: 1. Providing Key Account Management services to beneficiaries of the SME Instrument Phase one: The packages delivered will depend on the success rate in the SME Instrument Phase 1. As phase 2 will not be covered throughout 2014, it is reasonable to deliver more service packages to innovative companies (point 2). 2. Providing audits to selected SMEs with significant innovation and a high potential for internationalisation with the aim of enhancing their innovation management capacities. According to the potentiality of the SMEs located in the ALPS Regions, targets are: 4 packages for KAM Services 31 packages for “Innovation Management” Services Relation to the Work Programme: 1. Lack of innovation management capacity is recognised as an important barrier to creating economic impact from innovation activities in SMEs: the project aims at providing focused consulting services enhancing the SME innovation management capacity. 2. The assessment will be based on the IMP³rove methodology The project is embedded in the ALPS EEN consortium, which will drive and support with complementary services the development of the Action. 4 ALPS EEN partners will allocate 4 senior experts whose total engagement will be over 12 person/month.

The project, whose geographical coverage will be North-West Italy (3 regions : Piemonte Liguria and Valle d’Aosta) aims at roviiding and upgrading a specific framework service for supporting SMEs in the innovation management capacity . The service, delivered through provision of 96 individual companies’ service packages, will be directed to SMEs with international growth potential via product, process service and or business model innovation- with gaps regarding innovation management. In particular, the action will focus on the following specific objectives: 1. Fine tuning of a Key Account Management based customised service provision directed to: a. SMEs /Scale ups international growth, including participation to European programs b. SMEs Innovation capacity enhancement and innovation projects implementation, job creation and new market access c. SMEs Innovation results exploitation 4. Integration of the service within local business innovation support delivered, EEN specific service official embedding within the regional innovation ecosystem 5. Advisory skill enhancement: ALPS EEN personnel, assisting the experts in this Action, will increase expertise and competences, providing high level advisory on innovation management 6. Upgrading a EU shared support methodology for EEN staff, which could be adopted for profitably supporting other local SMEs 7. Contribution to the enhancement of a visible and well identified Coach/EEN experts community at EU level 8. Updating the operational internal manual/chart for a harmonized service within the EEN ALPS Consortium and contribution to definition of a common EEN operational manual

The project, whose geographical coverage will be North-West Italy (3 regions : Piemonte Liguria and Valle d’Aosta) aims at implementing a specific framework service for supporting SMEs in the innovation management capacity . The service, delivered through provision of 96 individual companies’ service packages, will be directed to SMEs with international growth potential via product, process service and or business model innovation- with gaps regarding innovation management. In particular, the action will focus on the following specific objectives: 1. SMEs international growth, including participation to European programs 2. SMEs Innovation capacity enhancement and innovation projects implementation, job creation and new market access 3. SMEs Innovation results exploitation and innovation spill over enhancement at local level 4. Significant value creation for the SMEs through the intervention on ate least 1of the main innovation drivers (offer, process, distribution, customer relations) 5. Deep understanding of local business innovation support needs: mapping and understanding the context within which the service is placed 6. EEN specific service positioning within the regional innovation ecosystem 7. Advisory skill enhancement: ALPS EEN personnel, assisting the experts in this Action, will increase expertise and competences, providing high level advisory on innovation management 8. Fine tuning of a EU shared support methodology for EEN staff, which could be adopted for profitably supporting other local SMEs 9. Contribution to the creation of a visible and well identified Coach/EEN experts community at EU level (through the participation t o the specific pilot and or Working Groups and activating dedicated awareness raising campaigns ) 10. Editing of an operational internal manual/chart for a harmonized service within the EEN ALPS Consortium (for years 2015 on), and contribution to definition of an common, EU-level EEN operational manual