Presentation by Michele Coletti and Myriam Camarero during the Parallel Session on Cross-sectoral innovation & the use of innovation vouchers @ ECIA Closing Conference on November 27 2014 in Amsterdam (The Netherlands).

2. ECIAP Closing Conference
Amsterdam 27 November 2014
Session 1: Cross-sectoral innovation
and
the use of innovation vouchers
Michele Coletti & Myriam Camarero
Provincia di Milano

3. Innovation Vouchers rationale
• Small and Medium Enterprises’ capacity to
innovate is limited by lack of resources and
knowledge (market and systemic failures)
• Innovation vouchers schemes are public
programmes to foster SMEs use of knowledge and
professional services
• They also contribute to the growth of knowledge
suppliers (R&D centres, innovation consultancies,
creative firms)

4. Vouchers and other Policies for CCIs
Demand-driven
Innovation
Innovation
Vouchers
Spill-overs
Internatio-nalisation
Improve
competitiveness of
recipients and suppliers
Clusters
Explore new
innovation trajectories
Enlarge the range of
market and
technological options
Promote new business
relationships

5. Innovation Vouchers: common features
• Recipients: SMEs
• Suppliers: universities, research centres, creative
professionals and firms previously accredited and
included in a vendor directory
• Wide range of eligible services
• Voucher size from 1.000€ up to 10.000€
(beneficiary’s contribution between 0 and 50%)
• Projects selected on the basis of innovativeness

6. Concrete Actions on Innovation Vouchers

7. Concrete Actions on Innovation Vouchers
1. VINCI bridges between outside CCI services and
"traditional" SMEs’ needs of Salzburg - scaled up to
Austrian national level
2. Fad-Ins: strengthens links among CCIs (Fashion-Audiovisual-
Design) from Catalonia – innovative use of ERDF funds to
foster local creative sector
3. +Innova Creativity: improves non-technological innovation
of traditional Basque SMEs – involvement of international
CCI suppliers helped local suppliers and beneficiaries
4. 4CNW: facilitates new partnerships and collaborations
between CCIs and wider industries in North-West Ireland –
collaboration between Celtic Tigers, scaled up at the
national level

8. What doesn’t work
1. A one-size-fits-all voucher
 Size and matchmaking mechanisms should be adapted to
the industry and types of project
2. Project selection too easy or too challenging
 Quality should be rewarded without being too picky
3. Give everything for free
 Some co-financing is useful to foster commitment and
accountability

9. Policy recommendations for vouchers
1. Search for best knowledge wherever located
2. Strengthen and foster relationships between
suppliers and recipients but also between suppliers
3. Keep vouchers schemes simple and fast to lure
firms and improve efficiency
4. Invest in promotion and communication to make
CCIs well known even beyond the scheme
5. Vouchers cannot be an isolated solution, an
integrated set of policies is necessary

10. Search for the best knowledge
• Policy: Search for the knowledge wherever it is
located and make sure that foreign creative
providers collaborate not only with beneficiaries
but also with local creative business to maximize
spillover and cross-innovation
• Case: +Innova Creativity is a scheme that has been
able to leverage on local and foreign creative skills
building capabilities not only of beneficiaries but
also of local creative suppliers

11. Strengthen relationships
• Policy: Use vouchers to strengthen both
beneficiaries and creative suppliers (included
professionals and start-ups) and foster
relationships between them in order to support the
economy
• Case: Fad-Ins has obtained very high levels of
satisfaction both from voucher beneficiaries and
suppliers with the establishment of several fruitful
relationships in the region of Catalonia.

12. Integrated policy
• Policy: Rather than being a one-off or isolated
exercise, innovation voucher schemes should be
part of integrated sets of policies to improve
competitiveness of SMEs
• Case: 4CNW which is part of the Irish Creative State
North West Initiative to promote cross-sectoral
integration

13. Keep vouchers simple
• Policy: Keep voucher processes simple and fast to
attract a large number of potential recipients and
knowledge providers while lowering managing
costs
• Case: The Austrian Vinci scheme was successful at
regional level for its simplicity. This has allowed it
to be enlarged at the national level with an even
bigger success

14. Invest in communication
• Policy: Make communication and promotion
investments to raise awareness of economic and
political stakeholders on the transformative
potential of CCIs that will stay beyond the voucher
programme duration
• Case: the local authority in charge of managing the
Irish 4CNW programme invested significantly on
this aspect

15. Impact dimensions of Creative Vouchers
Innovation
Vouchers
Type B Voucher Schemes
Demand
-driven
Innovati
on
Spill-overs
Internati
o-nalisatio
n
Voucher Schemes where
foreign suppliers are
eligible
Voucher Schemes between
creative and traditional sectors Creative Vouchers

16. Thank you fo your attention!
Questions?
More info can be found in the Thematic Report
available on the ECIA Platform website
or email us at
coletti@smartup.it and m.camarero@provincia.milano.it