In micro and small medium enterprises innovation application and R&D expenditures are noticeable low, in particular in regions with a high concentration of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). In todays working process these enterprises are overall dependent on quick solutions and support for their businesses. RTD and innovation application is no longer a simple mechanism applicable at local level but European strategies and common shared instruments must be identified. To find the hidden champions in the different regions and to spread these good examples is one of the goals of the project: I3SME.Furthermore the project aims to improve the level of innovation application and R&D instruments in small and media enterprises by supporting business and technological centres and public administrations in charge of the promotion of innovative policies. SMEs performances can be improved by the identification of the most suitable instruments, methodologies and strategies to improve innovation within business sectors. The project aims to boost the level of innovation based on investments in personal and financial resources allocation for the adoption of innovative systems (ICT, RTD, and spin off solutions).New and computer based technologies will create a better transnational communication and cooperation between innovation systems and set up the preconditions for making access to high-level technologies easier on a transnational level. Achievements: The CENTRAL EUROPE project I3SME (Including Innovation Inside Small and Medium Enterprises) aims at improving the level of innovation of the small and medium enterprises in the involved countries, which are Austria, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Slovenia. The project started in November 2008 and end in March 2011 providing a set of useful instruments for the involved companies. The main project focus has been the setting up and implementation of an on line software platform useful for a benchmarking analysis. Its the main project tool where each partner inserts the outcomes of the questionnaires submitted by the facilitators to the companies in each country and allowing as a results a personalized report on innovation. The on line platform contains data on around 100 companies per country, 852 in total. The data were collected by the facilitators who participated to the training sessions and visited the companies to submit and fill in the questionnaire. The facilitators participated to five training sessions from July 2009 to June 2010 and to a the study visit in October 2010. After the fulfilment of the benchmarking phase in June 2010, this training prepared the facilitators in even more depth for carrying out the analysis of the innovation reports produced by the web platform and setting and identification of the pilot actions. The report contains an analysis of the level of innovation of each company and at regional level, according to a set of qualitative and quantitative indicators. The report produced also a list of the more innovative companies, called the Hidden Champions (unknown highly successful companies that can be considered as the best practices as result of the benchmarking analysis) and the best have been include in the Hidden Champions catalogue, a publication containing a description of the analysis methodology and a brief profile of the companies. The Catalogue has been produced in order to disseminate the best practices identified. The partners collaborated also for the identification of methodologies and innovative actions for the pilot actions definition. Each partner implemented the pilot action following a common set of guidelines. The partners focused on strategic workshops allowing the experts and the facilitators in assisting the companies in apply concrete methodologies for innovation application, for example via links with research centres and universities, innovative financing system application, relationship with local stakeholders. Public events were also organised; namely: research cocktails in Italy and conference, in Austria the project final international conference, three research cocktails and one international conference in Maribor, the Hungarian partner organised one international conference and research cocktails.