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Innovation and CHange: Network of One-stop Shops f.. (ICHNOS PLUS)
Innovation and CHange: Network of One-stop Shops for Business - PLUS
(ICHNOS PLUS)
Start date: Jun 30, 2008,
End date: Jul 30, 2010
PROJECT
FINISHED
The project ICHNOS PLUS aims to build on the achievements of the Interreg III C project entitled "ICHNOS: Innovation and CHange – Network of One-Stop Shops, concluded in April 2007, that produced a model of Regional Centre of Competence (RCC) for One-Stop Shops for business (OSS).As a capitalisation project, ICHNOS PLUS focuses on the transfer and deployment of the RCC model and its mainstreaming into the regional policies through the ERDF Operational Programmes. The RCC model has been conceived as a structure to co-ordinate OSS acting as single points of contact for enterprises. Altough the establishment of OSS is foreseen by the EU legislation and was expected in all Member States by 2007, most regions have not accomplished yet with this task.The partnership is made of 6 partners: Ancitel Sardegna (Italy); CESGA - Galicia (Spain), Vysocina Region (Czech Republic), North Aegean Region (Greece), S&T Park of Tartu (Estonia) and Ruda Slaska Business Incubator (Poland).The main activities envisaged to achieve these goals are: • Studies and surveys. Extension to the new partner regions of an analysis carried out under ICHNOS, aimed to highlight and compare the main features that influence starting or running a business in the regions involved; a toolkit of the upgraded RCC and a feasibility study for a tailor-made transfer of the RCC model.• Regional meetings aimed at involving Managing Authorities and local stakeholders in the project activities by concertating the actions to be undertaken and collecting the feedbacks of the steps taken.• On-site visits and staff exchanges designed to build capacity, raise awareness and improve know-how in the participating regions. • Interregional seminars to make available all the information and material on the concerned practices; to raise awareness on the ICT solutions for easing start-ups, and a joint training session to deepen specific issues of partners interest.• Dissemination activities.The main outputs will be:1 Report of the context analysis carried out in the six partner Regions; 1 Toolkit of the upgraded model of Regional Centre of Competence; 3 Interregional thematic and training seminars on the main issues of relevance for the project; 4 On site visits; 4 Staff exchanges; 6 Feasibility studies (1 per region) for a tailor-made transfer and implementation of the practices; 6 Action Plans (1 per region) describing how the RCC model and the other good practices will be implemented under the Regional OP; 1 Website; 7 brochures; 8 Newsletters; 24 Articles; 3 International dissemination Conferences.The expected results are:5 good practices transferred; 6 regional policies influenced in terms of simplification of administrative procedures for start-ups; 60 regional key actors mentored in the way the RCC model works; 30 staff practitioners increased competences about the services delivered by the OSS and RCC; 200 stakeholders raised awareness. Achievements: The goal of the ICHNOS Plus project is to transfer the main results of the Interreg IIIC project "Innovation and CHange - Network of One-stop Shops", in particular the model of Regional Centre of Competence (RCC) for the coordination and support of One-Stop-Shops for businesses, into the EU Structural Funds mainstream programmes of partner regions. One-stop Shop for Business gathers information and contacts to act as one universal contact point where entrepreneurs can find the information they need. As a starting point a context analysis was carried out in the 6 partner regions investigating the socio-economic context, the state of the art related to One-Stop-Shops for businesses and the opportunities for implementing the OSS and the Regional Centre of Competence into the Structural Funds. A report collecting the 6 regional context analysis was prepared. The effective exchange and transfer of experience was reached through several interregional activities: Peer-to-peer visits of selected organizations and institutions acting in support of entrepreneurship in partner regions were arranged. During all visits, participants got information about business support programmes, procedures and different systems dealing with business start-ups and administrative simplification. Staff exchanges between more and less experienced partners were undertaken for a better understanding of the good practices. Activities included visits; meetings and interviews with policy makers and managers. Lessons from national and regional evaluations are referred to in the subsequent reports Two interregional seminars, with a more theoretical and training approach, had the result to analyse partners specific contexts and constrains; and have open debate on the items addressed. An important output produced was the RCC Toolkit, that is a key document containing well-arranged instructions and guidelines in support of creation and development of Regional Centre of Competence for OSS network. This toolkit will be useful for new involved regions as well for all other regions in the future. Its main features originate from outputs of the ICHNOS project. An outstanding achievement resulting from the exchange activities is the preparation of the feasibility study (one in each partner region) which is a preliminary draft of the Action Plan. As far as dissemination activities are concerned, the project partners have been actively disseminating the activities and results through: the project websites; brochures, newsletters, articles appeared on newspapers and specialised press and face to face meeting to foster closer contacts with relevant policy and decision makers. Two major dissemination events were organised to promote the project objectives and raise the awareness of policy and decision makers and relevant stakeholders, the launch conference (Cagliari, December 2008), and the mid-term conference (Lesvos Island, September 2009). The main outputs and results achieved so far are: 1 Report of the context analysis carried out in the six partner Regions; 1 Toolkit of the upgraded model of Regional Centre of Competence; 2 Interregional thematic and training seminars on the main issues of relevance for the project; 4 On site visits; 3 Staff exchanges; 4 Feasibility studies + 2 draft versions (1 per region) for a tailor-made transfer and implementation of the practices;.