Project information

PROJECT TITLE: Make Creative Villages - Initiate Cooperation between CCI and Villages- Mac Village

Duration: 36 month / 1^st April 2019 to 30^th September 2021

Project partners:

• Lead partner: TGZ PM Technology and Business Incubator Centre Potsdam-Mittelmark GmbH, Germany
• Project partner 2: SRH Hochschule Berlin, Germany
• Project partner 3: Authentic Villages of Italy Association, Italy
• Project partner 4: Regional Management Burgenland, Austria
• Project partner 5: BSC, Business support centre Ltd. Kranj, Slovenia
• Project partner 6: E-institute, institute for comprehensive development solutions Ptuj, Slovenia
• Project partner 7: DDTG Danube Development Transnational Group nonprofit limited liability company, Hungary
• Project partner 8: Cultural Labour Social Cooperative, Hungary

Summary of the project:

Actors in rural areas often lack innovation competences and the methods to initiate cooperation with innovative enterprises. Thus, companies from the creative industries have only occasionally been seen as a potential cooperation partner for villages to develop their manifold local cultural resources and to find innovative ideas to preserve the attractiveness of the region.

Creative industry in rural areas is an untapped potential in Central Europe. Developing the creative sector in rural areas has the potential to generate sustainable and quality enterprises as well as employment opportunities and contribute to rural diversification.

This is where the project Mac Village starts. The main objective of the project is to develop an easy-to-apply methodology in an iterative process for the local and regional level to initiate innovations in cooperation with CCI enterprises. Basis is the Frugal Innovation concept which responds to limitations in resources, which are also found in rural areas. A range of innovation methods will be tested in three villages per partner region and further developed. The methods are easy to use and promote a rapid and joint development of competence and innovative networking. The project brings together people from different fields (local authorities and stakeholders, regions, business development agencies and organisations with specific competence in CCI and social entrepreneurship) and gathers them in a multi-level dialogue.

The project will implement 54 innovation workshops in six regions in DE, AT, IT, SI and HU promoting the cooperation among local actors and CCI. More than 200 stakeholders will be trained to enable them to implement the innovation methods developed in the project. By doing so local actors in the villages will be able to create favourable local conditions for CCI and innovative networks for new products and services exploiting their cultural resources and develop new businesses.

Project main objectives

• to develop a methodology (with handbook) for the local and regional level,
• to initiate innovations in cooperation with CCI enterprises and artists and
• to strengthen the methodological competence of these players.

Project results

Coherent with the result indicator, the project will lead to an increased capacity of the public (local players in villages and rural towns) and the private sector (CCI enterprises) to develop local and regional cultural resources in an economical and sustainable way. The skills of the involved and trained players to develop their region from bottom-up will be increased. The local and regional players will have a better understanding of the potential of CCI for regional development and the requirements, these enterprises have to be able to flourish and to innovate. Creative enterprises will better understand the opportunities villages and rural towns can offer as a location and as cooperation partners to develop and use the cultural resources to create new products and services. They will be able to apply innovation methods on their own. One focus will be building up creative scenes networks which could end up in creative milieus in the rural partner regions. Other actors than the ones directly involved will be trained and learn to better understand the economy of the CCI and apply the innovation methods. Finally, the project offers the chance to create more jobs in rural areas, to settle more enterprises from the CCI in rural areas and hence contribute to diminishing the impact of demographic change.

Project website: https://www.interreg-central.eu/Content.Node/MaC-Village.html

Mac Village is supported by the INTERREG Central Europe Programme of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Total co-financing amounts to 1.166.174,16 EUR.

Project information

PROJECT TITLE: »Development of an innovative network for the promotion of extroversion of agro-food companies in Adriatic - Ionian Area«

Project duration: 24 months (1. 1. 2017 - 31. 10. 2019)

The main objective of the “INNOVAGRO” project is the development of an interregional system for the reinforcing of the interaction between research centers and universities, companies of the agro-food sector, as well as the rest of the institutions dealing with  promoting extroversion and entrepreneurship in the participating countries, so as to provide SMEs with  innovative services of marketing and management, in order to increase their extroversion and internalization. This main objective is further analyzed in the following sub-objectives:

1. development of innovative mechanisms and tools aiming at the amplification of the collaboration between the participant countries’ SMEs and the reinforcement of their ability to do business abroad
2. development of innovative transnational business networking
3. development and dissemination of knowledge, aiming at improving the competitiveness of agro-food SMEs
4. reinforcement of the services that promote the innovation and extroversion of agro-food SMEs
5. creation of co-operation network between professional associations from the agro-food and tourism sector, Research Institutions, and Public Authorities
6. link farmers, agro-food and agro-tourism companies, as a transnational vertically intergraded chain
7. create awareness about the implementation of environmentally – friendly farming practices.

The main project’s results:

1. the improvement of agrofood SMEs’ productivity, competiveness and access to the international market,
2. increasing the percentage of agrofood SMEs involved in networking, internalization and innovation process,
3. strengthening the links between R&D Institutes, SMEs, and Regional & Local authorities in the field of innovative entrepreneurship and
4. increasing the use of environment– friendly farming practices.

PROJECT PARTNERS:

1. ΕΠΙΜΕΛΗΤΗΡΙΟ ΧΑΝΙΩΝ
2. ΠΕΡΙΦΕΡΕΙΑ ΚΡΗΤΗΣ
3. ΠΟΛΥΤΕΧΝΕΙΟ ΚΡΗΤΗΣ
4. ΔΙΚΤΥΟ ΝΗΣΙΩΤΙΚΩΝ ΕΠΙΜΕΛΗΤΗΡΙΩΝ ΕΥΡΩΠΑΪΚΗΣ ΕΝΩΣΗΣ
5. PROVINCIA DI POTENZA
6. E-zavod, zavod za projektno svetovanje, raziskovanje in razvoj celovitih rešitev
7. Conferderazione Italiana Agricoltori
8. Bashkimi i Dhomave të Tregtisë dhe
9. Industrisë së Shqipërisë
10. Chamber of Serbia
11. Università degli  studi della Basilicata

Website: https://innovagro.adrioninterreg.eu/

Project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund. 

Project information

PROJECT TITLE: Mediterranean Diet - When Brand Meets Peoples

Acronym: MD.net

Project duration: 1.2.2018 - 31.1.2022

The project challenges the problems of currently neglected and undeveloped opportunities of Mediterranean Diet (MD).
MD is an integral part of the Mediterranean identity, inscribed in the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The MD involves a set of skills, knowledge, rituals, symbols and traditions concerning cultures, landscape, lifestyle, ways to work (crops, harvesting, fishing, animal husbandry, conservation, processing, cooking, sharing and consumption of food products) characterizing a powerful industry.
The general objective of the project is to recognize the Mediterranean Diet (MD) as an opportunity for smart economic growth of remote rural areas.
This objective will be reached through increasing knowledge, transnational clustering and networking, testing of 3 pilots (education, branding, innovation), transferring 3 pilots to other regions and capitalisation of project results to post 2020 strategic level.

The project will strengthen exploration of the MD according to the UNESCO Med Diet Convention, blending comprehensive MD concepts with innovative tools.
The project will use both traditional and creative measures (as sharing economy) starting cooperation of quadruple helix stakeholders in order to lift the MD economy to new quality levels.

Partners:

• Campania Region
• University of Algarve
• RERA Development of Split
• Region of Crete
• University of Mostar -Faculty of Agriculture and Food Technology
• Mediterranean Diet Foundation
• Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Shipping of Seville
• Emilia Romagna Region
• E-zavod
• Standing Committee for the Euromediterranean Partnership of Local and Regional Authorities
• Association of Albanian Municipalities
• GOVERNMENT OF CATALONIA- Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food
• Troodos Development, Cyprus

Project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.

Project information

Project title: Alpine Industrial Landscapes Transformation - TrAILs                                                      

Duration: 36 month / 17^th April 2018 to 31^st March 2021

Project partners:

• Lead partner: Technical University Munch, Freising, Germany
• Project partner 2: BSC, Business support centre Ltd. Kranj, Slovenia
• Project partner 3: University of Verona, Italy
• Project partner 4: Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy
• Project partner 5: TU Wien (Vienna University of Technology), Austria
• Project partner 6: LAMORO Development Agency Asti, Italy
• Project partner 7: University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty, Slovenia
• Project partner 8: Architecture, Urbanism and Environment Council of Vaucluse department, Avignon, France
• Project partner 9: E-institute, institute for comprehensive development solutions Ptuj, Slovenia
• Project partner 10: Registered association Styrian Iron Route (VESTE) Eisenerz, Austria

Summary

Alpine heavy industry (mining, steelmaking, chemical industry, etc.) is rapidly declining, leaving behind “Alpine Industrial Landscapes” (AILs), huge former productive landscapes of significant size, diffusion and complexity. At present, no reliable quantification of such areas exists and significant transformation attempts or conversion strategies have not been developed. The potential value of AILs was hardly mentioned in previous alpine development programmes and institutional project reports.

The project aims to generate specific knowledge about AILs, to develop and test sustainable transformation strategies, transferable to other industrial landscapes all over the alpine region. In a multidisciplinary, transnational approach the project combines expertise in fields like spatial and landscape planning, socio-economic sciences, regional development etc. while directly cooperating with local communities on relevant case studies (pilot areas).

The project covers four main phases:

1. macro-regional survey of AILs and implementation of a web GIS platform;
2. comprehensive assessment of AILs actual condition, background and context through on-site analysis of selected Pilot Areas;
3. joint evaluation of AILs transformation potential and test-design in cooperation with local stakeholders;
4. synthesis and discussion of generated knowledge (processes, methods, tools) with observers, regional/national stakeholders and experts in a conclusive AILs Forum.

The project will support local and regional stakeholders in the sustainable AILs transformation, providing them with practical recommendations for immediate action and clear strategic planning tools for the future.

Project overall objectives

The project’s overall objective is to develop a common and highly transferable transformation strategy for AILs, evidencing and sustainably exploiting their potential in terms of cultural heritage, ecological connectivity, land-use planning and socio-economic regeneration. The sustainable transformation of AILs is especially important for the improvement of the living conditions for man and nature in the Alps because AILs are often located in key positions within the alpine environmental and infrastructural network. In addition, the aim is to enhance the unique, very valuable but partly underestimated cultural and natural heritage of the Alpine region, while reinforcing the regional identity around former industrial areas.

Project results

• Increased general awareness of AILs a key resource for regional sustainable development (knowledge transfer).
• Strengthened transnational Alpine identity by established cross-border cultural infrastructures, cooperatively managed by the alpine countries.
• Intensified interaction and cooperation among development organisations, protecting and developing cultural (industrial) heritage.
• New transnational development options e.g. between neighbouring communities/ regions based on exchange of transformation experiences during test planning process (networking).
• Well prepared transformation actors and qualified ‘regional conversion pilots’ due to new training tools (study module "trAILs").

Project website: http://www.alpine-space.eu/projects/trails

TrAILs is supported by the INTERREG Alpine Space Programme of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Total co-financing amounts to 1,859.290,24 EUR

Project information

PROJECT TITLE: ’’Creative Clothing for the Mediterranean Space’’

Project duration: 28 months (November 1^st  2016 - February 28^th  2019)

CreativeWear project revitalizes the crisis-ridden Textile & Clothing (T&C) sector through a new attention to creativity, personalised design, and artisan as well as small-scale production for territorially specific value chains in customer-driven business models.

CreativeWear project extends the on-going H2020 TCBL project (which complements techno-industrial with social innovation to return 5% of capacity to Europe and attain a 20% reduction in environmental impact by 2025) to creative clusters in the Mediteranean space, integrating them into the broader TCBL ecosystem. CreativeWear aims both to recover and valorise the design heritage and tacit “making” knowledge of T&C in Mediterranean cultures (MED-Texmedin) T&C and to bring new energy to creative clusters by reinforcing their creativity-based innovation capacity and integrating their activity into emergent transnational value chains (CreativeMED).

CreativeWear tests adaptation of the TCBL network model  to existing creative clusters such as museums, creative hubs, fashion schools, design centres, volunteer organisations. The transferrable CreativeWear model allows for greater coherence with ERDF and ESF policy frameworks in different national and regional contexts.

PROJECT PARTNERS:

1. City of Prato (Lead Partner)
2. Prato Textile Museum
3. University of Valencia
4. Textile Research Institute
5. E-zavod
6. ARCA Consortium
7. European Apparel and Textile Confederation
8. Allium
9. Hellenic Clothing Industry Association
10. Creative Thinking Development

»Project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.«

Project information

PROJECT TITLE: "A Roadmap for Integrating Corporate Social Responsibility into EU Member States and Business Practises"

Project duration: 48 months (01.01.2017. – 31.12.2020)

The overall objective of the project is to help EU member states to apply Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a holistic management approach to SMEs. In this way, SMEs will increase their  competitiveness. The main outputs of the project will help countries involved in the project to exchange experience, best practices and create a road map for integrating CSR into national and regional legislations and Programmes and as well to create national/regional actions plans. Moreover, an important output of the project will be the policy ecommendations for the revision of the Directive 2014/95/EU in order to create precedents for future policy developments on CSR and corporate accountability not only for large companies but as well for SMEs.

PROJECT PARTNERS:

1. Larnaca and Famagusta Districts Development Agency
2. Region of Crete
3. General Directorate of Labor, Regional Ministry of Education and Employment of the Government of Extremandura
4. Norwegian University of Science and Technology
5. South Bohemian Agency for Support to Innovative Enterprising

Project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.

Project information

PROJECT TITLE: ‘’Textile and Clothing Business Labs’’

Project duration: 48 months (July 1st 2015 - June 30th 2019)

TCBL is a research& development project funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 programme that aims to transform the Textile & Clothing (T&C) industry, bringing 5% of production capacity back to Europe by applying new sustainable business approaches that support local design and production, reducing the T&C sector’s impact on the environment.

The demand for ethical and environmentally friendly clothes is a worldly growing trend. In order to meet those customers’ needs in a fast-growing, competitive market, TCBL introduces and supports new approaches to product design, production and sales, creating ‘laboratories’ for design and manufacturing in order to create new business model opportunities to local companies that otherwise would not have the resources to experiment new methodologies. 

TCBL introduces 3 types of open innovation Business Labs, each focused on specific areas of the value chain:

• Design Labs (creating emotionally-oriented immaterial value)
• Making Labs (converting skilled labour into material value)
• Place Labs (generating spatial community and socially-oriented value).

PROJECT PARTNERS:

1. City of Prato (Lead Partner)
2. German Institutes for Textile and Fiber Research (DITF)
3. Instituto Superiore Mario Boella
4. Skillaware
5. The Open University
6. iMinds
7. Tavistock Institute
8. Materials Industrial Research and Technology Center S.A.
9. Waag Society
10. Huddersfield & District Textile Training Company LTD
11. Ezavod
12. Consorzio ARCA
13. UnionCamere del Veneto
14. Hellenic Clothing Industry Association
15. Sanjotec – Centro Empresarial e Tecnologico
16. Clear Communication Associates LTD

Project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.

Project information

PROJECT TITLE: “Central European Crowd-funding Support”

Project duration: 36 months (01.07.2016. – 30.06.2019)

Crowdfunding minimizes business risk-taking and increases entrepreneurship mind-set, which is why an unused crowdfunding potential represents a huge challenge especially in the eastern parts of central European countries. CROWD-FUND-PORT aims thus to improve skills and competences of all relevant stakeholder groups to prepare them for taking advantage of the crowdfunding phenomena. Change will be visible in improved financial conditions for start-ups fostering innovation, employment and social stability in the region.

The project focus will be on economically weaker businesses with fewer opportunities, who do not have access to bank loans, but who would be able to start business ideas through crowdfunding. Outputs and results of the project will benefit crowdfunding platform operators as well as small and medium sized enterprises by increasing their competences. Crowdfunding investors will profit from increased safety by a better understanding of benefits and risks and policy makers will gain increased decision-making competences.

PROJECT PARTNERS:

1. E-zavod (lead partner), Slovenia
2. Regional Development Agency of South Bohemia RERA, jsc., Czech Republic
3. Gdansk Entrepreneurship Foundation, Poland
4. Metropolitan City of Bologna, Italy
5. Rocketside, Hungary
6. Ikosom – Institute for communication and social media, Germany
7. ISN – Innovation Service Network, Austria
8. CONDA, Austria
9. Creative Industry Forum, Slovakia
10. University of Bologna, Italy
11. BRODOTO, Croatia

Project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund. 

Project information

PROJECT TITLE: “Innovative patient centred health care services - advantages of establishing a close CE network in celiac disease patient health care”

Project duration: 36 months (01.06.2016. – 31.05.2019)

Healthy and active aging is one of the greatest social challenges in the EU in view of longer life expectancy. Early prevention of chronic diseases that have severe impact on general well-being of patients is extremely important if we want to reach this goal and ensure sustainable health care systems in central Europe. A lack of development and promotion of innovative quality health services, disease management models and education have a profound negative effect.

To tackle this challenge, Focus in CD will demonstrate development and pilot testing of innovative health service model in management of celiac disease, that can serve as reference model for other chronical diseases.

PROJECT PARTNERS:

1. Municipality of Maribor, (lead partner), Slovenia
2. University Medical Center Maribor, Slovenia
3. E-institute – Institute for Comprehensive Development Solutions, Slovenia
4. University hospital center Rijeka, Croatia
5. University of Trieste, Italy
6. Association of celiac patients Primorsko -goranska County, Croatia
7. Institute for Maternal and Child Health – IRCCS “Burlo Garofolo”, Italy
8. Ludwig-Maximilian’s University Medical Center, Germany
9. Hungarian Coeliac Society, Hungary
10. Heim Pál Children’s Hospital, Hungary
11. Child Health Foundation, Germany
12. Primorje – Gorski Kotar County, Coratia

Project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund. 

Project information

PROJECT TITLE: “Strengthening cross-border competitiveness, research and innovation”

Project duration: 36 months (1.10.2016 – 30.9.2019)

The project is focused on supporting development of competitive products and their launch on international markets, since internalisation activities of SMEs, improve their growth, competences and favour their long-term success. Studies had confirm, that SMEs active on international markets, create more workplaces and are more innovative comparing to those that are not. In the framework of last programming period, cooperation and coordination among SMEs and institutions in the cross border area has been very dynamic, therefore the existing potential can be used, upgraded and tested also in the field of SMEs internalization.

The main goal of the project is to enhance the number of SMEs engaged on international markets in the cross border area. Most SMEs lack information, knowledge and support how to enter foreign markets and since they are small, they are risk averse and insecure. Project will be focused on tackling mentioned issues and barriers. Project will offer support to 20 SMEs in the process of entering international German and English speaking markets and support 2 project partner SMEs, to test their new products on international markets. A common cross border coaching scheme strategy and action plan, tools and services to support internalization of SMEs and export plans will be developed, followed by different B2B events, to enhance the internalization activities of SMEs. Innovativeness of the project approach includes development of a common cross border coaching scheme, which will work as support platform of common contacts, networks, knowledge and tools. Common coaching scheme will enable identification of common strategic opportunities, development of cross border added value chains and clusters, which is essential for successful internalization of SMEs in the cross border area.

PROJECT PARTNERS:

1. ROW Regionalmanagement Obersteiermark West GmbH (Lead Partner)
2. Pomurje technology park L.t.d., Slovenia
3. USOL, Development, manufacturing and engineering L.t.d.,, Austria
4.  Slovene Chambre of commerce,
5. E-institute Ptuj, Slovenia
6. FB - Forschung Burgenland GmbH, Austria
7. NET-Automation GmbH, Austria

E-NEWS No. 1 (Slovenian language) (580 Kb)

E-NEWS No. 2 (Slovenian language) (730 Kb)

E-NEWS No. 3 (Slovenian language) (518 Kb)

E-NEWS No. 4 (Slovenian language) (499 Kb)

E-NEWS No. 5 (Slovenian language) (538 Kb)

Project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.