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Interregional Innovative Services Sector Network o.. (InServNet)
Interregional Innovative Services Sector Network of Excellence
(InServNet)
Start date: Oct 31, 2003,
End date: Apr 29, 2007
PROJECT
FINISHED
Services sector enterprises are in most cases SME (very often small and very small scaled enterprises) with a great potential to act flexibly and innovatively and to be the backbone of the regional innovation process. In many cases this potential remains unused in terms of transformation into sustainable development and economic growth, creation of new products, new employment and internationalisation possibilities. The project aims at strengthening relationships between companies, administrations, innovation and development organisations and research institutions in the participating regions and finally fostering spatial integration by establishing and intensifying co-operation between these actors. There is a special focus on small and medium sized enterprises in the innovative services sector. InServNet addresses the shortfall in the collaboration potential of services sector SME by aiming at the elaboration of guidelines for regional and interregional innovation and for the support of these innovation processes. The goal is to support the establishment of transnational, organisational and technological linkages between industries, SME, the regional innovation system, stakeholders and regional/ national administrative bodies. Expected Results: The long-term effect of the project is to overcome current regional imbalances between EU Member and Non-EU Member States as well as imbalances between rural and urban areas by fostering and supporting the cooperation potential between SMEs and local administrations, regional stakeholders, technology and regional innovation centres. Other expected results and effects of this project, some of which have already been achieved, are: - Development of a standardised innovative cooperation tool which should be transferred to and used by other regions to enhance the transnational, inter-sector cooperation potential of regional SMEs and to support sustainable spatial development at this level, - Database of service sector SMEs and their network activities, - Survey on interregional cooperation potentials of service sector SMEs, - Analyses of political, economic and infrastructure processes and tendencies at regional, national and transnational level, - Increased cooperation between the regions in general and increased number of cooperation of small- and medium-sized companies in the services sector, - Co-operation model in different fields such as joint learning, project development and innovation processes, - Common project web platform with information on the project and a cooperation platform for innovative services sector enterprises, - Pilot test of the applicability of the platform and the cooperation models and creation of a handbook including three thematic regional and transnational spatial development concepts focussing on the pilot studies, a concept for transferring the project results to other regions and a concept for transnational, cross-sector cooperation, - Training, information and dissemination activities at regional and interregional level.