Gabrovo regional stakeholders’ group established in ESSPO project held its second workshop on 17th January 2017. The main topic of discussion was the action plan to support business on the territory of Gabrovo municipality to foster the innovation.
Representatives of local business community, District Administration, Technical University, branch organizations and Mrs. Tanya Hristova – Mayor of Gabrovo, took part of the meeting. The participants have been informed about the peer review results after the assessment of Gabrovo innovation eco-system done by „Technalia“ (Bilbao, Spain).
The main comments and recommendations related to development of SMEs support system have been confirmed by the stakeholders’ group. There is indeed a need for promotion of industrial potential of Gabrovo, as well as restructuring of the innovation eco-system through implementation of new intermediaries (consultants) for better interaction between business and educational institutions. Benefits for companies will be to unite through the construction of B2B platform to get more competitive advantages.
The stakeholders discussed the idea to create on-line platform of Gabrovian business. The companies’ profiles, their products and projects, European business legislation, financial possibilities etc. will be presented in the platform. A Register of experts (engineers, financial advisers, lawyers, specialists on industrial property etc.) will be also included for consultation of innovative projects. The platform will be based on already developed economic layer in Geo-information system (GIS) of Gabrovo Municipality created in KNOW-HUB project (http://gis.gabrovo.bg/flexviewers/knowhub/). The layer uses the official information, provided by the National Statistical Institute in Bulgaria. The database will be extended through inclusion of detailed information, provided directly by the companies. The main objective is to assess the needs of the companies in R&D.
The stakeholders’ group set itself the task to carry out preliminary survey of businesses using the online inquiry form. The survey will provide information about the capacity and experience of companies in development and implementation of innovative products, and the role of Technical University to support business in R&D.
The stakeholders will refine the content of the survey and the concept for creating an online business platform during the next meeting in February.
