Attica Scaling Up Good Practices: Progress of Programs and Regional Collaborations
The first good practice presented by Mrs. Argyro Fallaga on behalf the Managing Authority of the EPANEK NOP, was the Competitiveness Toolbox program, which supports existing small and very small enterprises to improve their competitive position in domestic and international markets. The BP also finances enterprises to invest in the modernisation of their production equipment, organisational structure and operation by adopting product certifications.
Ms. Vidali introduced her company “Theodoridis SA”, as a beneficiary of the BP and a leading company that produces office and kitchen furniture in the country for more than 50 years with a workforce of 50 specialised employees. She stressed that Competitiveness Toolbox has helped the company to implement their strategic plan, to certify several products according to EN standards added-value and recognition of their end-products. In addition, the BP helped the company to purchase new vehicles that can assist their current fleet and provide fast and accurate service to clients.
Ms. Lourou also introduced her company “TechniKal SA’, another BP beneficiary. They are one of the most advanced companies in the field of aluminium construction and architectural aluminium constructions. She affirmed that with the financial assistance given by competitiveness toolbox, the company was able to acquire one cutting off machine from a machine centre of the Italian Company Emmegi as well as an automatic and electronic corner crimping machine. She also mentioned the importance of participating in Competitiveness Toolbox to increase a company’s competitiveness in the market.
The second good practice presented by Mr. Petros Podaras was the Innovation Center of Attica (ICAR) which is a supporting structure with specific activities. It is the innovation centre of Attica Region and they belong to the Regional Development Fund. ICAR is funded by European funds and supports the RIS3 being developed through that. ICAR influences and monitors the execution of RIS3 in Attica Region. The main goal of ICAR is to link companies and academia, the governance of RIS3, and the Entrepreneurial Discovery Process. Other activities are to create infrastructure of innovation, training of human resources, students and research, the dissemination of innovation, etc. ICARs’ staff consists of 6 consultants in each of the key areas of daily work.
Mr. Karampeklos then discussed how the National Documentation Center compiles, manages, and uses data to contribute to regional policies. He focused his talk in two important topics: metrics and innovation. He explained that they use metrics to understand the region’s RDI ecosystem. They attempt to provide live statistics to influence policy makers in the field of RIS3. On the other hand, they also provide innovation services to strengthen the competitiveness of Greek enterprises.
Finally in her session, Dr. Tzortzatou explained how the ecosystem of Demokritos, which is the largest research facility in Greece, coordinates with ICAR in the development of Smart Attica Hub which aims to provide services for the benefit of the SMEs in the region. Despite the projects aligned, the majority of the SMEs in Greece are focused in ICT, environment, energy, supply chain, culture and tourism sectors.
After each BPs were presented, a round of Q&A was allotted for participants to interact with the speakers and the beneficiary companies of the BPs.
SCALE UP partners will from now until mid-2021 work on their action plans that will be launched from 2022 onwards, during the second phase of the project.
