EU FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT TIPS

ID: INNOSUP-08-2020

Scope:

The objective is to reinforce the competitiveness of manufacturing SMEs by providing easy and pan-European access to advanced manufacturing advice and expertise as well as training programmes. The services to be provided to the SME should be driven by its business needs and the implementation must be flexible and fast to better cope with the speed of innovation in advanced manufacturing and the SME requirements.

The action will consist of the two elements (which can be combined) listed below which will continue and expand the activities of the Advanced Manufacturing Support Centre :

• The roll-out of a pan-European advanced manufacturing assistance programme helping SMEs with the ambition to turn into a factory of the future: Reaching out to companies and assisting a critical mass of manufacturing SMEs with a view to transform their business towards a factory of the future with modern and sustainable production.

Expected Impact:

• Provide a clear and measurable contribution of the advanced manufacturing assistance and training programme to the innovation performance and environmental and social sustainability of the supported SMEs, as revealed by indicators such as: numbers of new or significantly improved production processes, products or services or new organisational methods; its impact on resource efficiency; its impact on productivity, production lead times, investments and/or turnover; number of SMEs that prepared a concrete plan to upgrade their manufacturing processes during the action; its impact on technical and non­technical competences acquired and workers involvement; a wider impact on job creation is also expected to be measured in the longer term.

• Frameworks for training programmes related to advanced manufacturing, ready for implementation within the duration of the action. These should propose a pathway on how to facilitate a further scaling-up under the European Social Fund.

The training services should include practical, "on-site" training delivered at facilities where technologies can be tested and demonstrated such as pilot lines (e.g. "learning by doing",
"learning factories", fab labs). Proposals should include solutions to overcome the challenge of both geographical distance and the gender segregation.