From 14th to 16th December 2021, the activities of the DigiBEST project online Peer Review continue – experts met online in order to review Italy, Basilicata.
Experts from Portugal and Spain, stakeholders of Italy and representatives of the DigiBEST project advisory partner University of Latvia participated in the Peer Review in order to find out about the current situation and policy documents in the field of digital transformation of SMEs in Basilicata, Italy.
Based on the existing Regional Study, the Peer Review was performed to provide an extensive independent analysis on the existing disadvantages and possible solutions for improvement of the digitization of SMEs and micro-enterprises.
The analysis, recommendations and suggestions regarding the Basilicata Peer Review were linked primarily to the Regional Study conducted within the DgiBEST project but also derived from the consultation of the further documentation made available to the experts, as well as, especially with regard to recommendations and suggestions, from the experience that the Spanish and Portuguese experts have in the field of support activities for the digitalization and innovation of SMEs, also inspired by good practices both of their own territories and found in the context of EU programs /platforms.
The goal were to receive a Peer Review analysis as close as possible to the present activities and the pre-existing/necessary preconditions for digital transformation, so that Sviluppo Basilicata in its role as in-house company of the Basilicata Region can offer useful elements to the political decision-maker with respect to interventions aimed at favouring digitization and innovation in SMEs.
Experts provide proposals on the following issues:
• what are the key challenges of the digital transformation of SMEs and how could Basilicata best address them?
• What kind of digital technologies should SMEs, in particular, know/adopt in the near future?
• why SMEs do not take full advantage of new technologies (ICT), digital tools and the advantages presented by digitization to increase their competitiveness?
• what could be the solutions and recommendations to overcome existing problems and barriers;
• which are the main gaps identified in the existing policy documents analysed and how they could be solved, what kind of improvements could be suggested for the existing policy instruments;
• which good practices relating to the digitization of SMEs and micro-enterprises resulted effective with respect to the needs of SMEs in the area of digital transformation;
• which good practices from other DigiBEST partner countries / regions or included in the Policy Learning Platform of Interreg Europe programme policies could be suggested for implementation in the Basilicata region.
• recommendations for new policies, policy tools and an action plan based on the information collected / and analysed.