SNOwMAN

The Hanse Parlament is project partner in the INTERREG VB project – Supporting Non-technological Innovation in Owner-managed Manufacturing SMEs through increased capacity of business intermediaries (SNOwMAN), led by VIA University College in Denmark that runs from autumn 2017 – 2020.

The main objective of this project is to increase the uptake and implementation of non-technological innovations in Owner-managed Manufacturing SMEs (OMSMEs) by increasing the capacity of business support systems to interact with and provide support to OMSMEs.
Business and innovation intermediaries have pointed out that the existing tools and methods used to asses the innovation potential of SMEs and prescribe solutions, are insuffiecient when interacting with owner-managers. Existing tools can analyse the business potential, and provide the most rational solutions. However, they are not designed to analyse the drivers and barriers towards innovation, of the person who has to take the decision. Hence, a lot of potential remain unrealised in OMSMEs since person and business are closely linked.
This gap is what the SNOwMan project will adress, by adjusting existing and developing new tools, designed to analyse OMSMEs and make them realise their innovation potential.

The project consortium consists of:
– VIA niversity College, Denmark (Lead Partner)
– Gdansk University of Technology, Poland
– Häme University of Applied Sciences, Finland
– Vilnius GEdiminas Technical University, Poland
– Hanse Parlament, Germany
– Business Horsens, Denmark
– Business Development Centre Central Denmark, Denmark
– Vilnius Industry and Business Association, Lithuania
– Lithuanian Innovation Centre, Lithuania
– Federation of Finnish Enterprises in Häme, Finland
– Pomerania Development Agency Co., Poland
– Free Entrepreneurship Association, Regional Departement Gdansk, Poland
– Finnish Institute for Enterprise Management, Finland

Overview of the planned project results:

The project addresses the gap in competences that business intermediaries experience, in terms of assessing owner-managers and then link between the person and the business.
Hence the main result of the project is that it will increase the capacity of the business support systems in the BSR to interact with and provide targeted support to OMSMEs.

The project generates knowledge about the barriers and drivers that OMSMEs face and develop new and adjust existing tools that intermediaries can use to intact with this particular group of SMEs in the most productive way.

Detailed list of the project products for your use you will find at the project website. As soon as it is created it is published here.