Professionalisation of Open Innovation Management i SME's (tittel og forkortelsen ennå ikke valgt)

SMEs are vital for the EU economy and today over 99% of all European businesses are, in fact, SMEs. Today, many SMEs are confronted with a weakened financial health due to the economic and financial crisis and ever growing regulation and the entry onto the market of foreign, low-cost producers are threatening their survival. They must reinvent their business through new technologies or unique value propositions. At the same time, SMEs lack the required internal financial resources and technical capabilities. SMEs, therefore, have no option but to collaborate with external partners to innovate successfully, to develop new sources of income, and to reach more profitable positions in the competitive landscape. Open Innovation is thus a logical step for many SMEs to take and it appears that SMEs rely more heavily on Open Innovation than larger businesses. Bearing this in mind, we will identify existing open innovation best practice and combine this with an integrated set of proven information and support instruments and apply the resulting toolbox in real life situations in 4 selected industrial sectors, 2 high-tech and 2 low-tech, in 8 European regional contexts (Belgium, Spain, Netherlands, Finland, Portugal, Hungary, Italy, Norway). The project is built up around 6 work packages. Stord/Haugesund University College has been asked to lead the project's work package 5. Expected outcomes of the project are: -Increased collaboration of SMEs with external partners to innovate successfully -Improved open innovation processes allowing SMEs to sidestep the commoditisation pressure and price competition successfully by developing new and more profitable businesses through networking among innovation partners -Professional open innovation management by SMEs