Digital Innovation Network

October 2017 -
March 2021

Uncompleted

EUSBSR flagship

Policy area:
Innovation

1. Innovation 1.3 Non-tech innovation

DIGINNO

The project helps speed up the Baltic Sea region’s transition to a single digital market. Three common challenges are covered: uptake of information and communication technologies in the business sector, innovation and interoperability of public services, and cooperation and coordination of digital policies on the macro-regional level. Industrial small and medium sized enterprises, industry associations and policy makers are enabled to push for a faster uptake of digital solutions.

SUMMARY

The project aims to increase the capacity of policymakers, industry associations and industrial SMEs to enable faster and more efficient uptake of digital solutions both in public and private sector. Some of these target groups are already involved as project partners, but the project aims to address a lot wider range of organizations by including them into project activities or disseminating project’s findings and outputs among them. The challenges these groups face can be tackled through strengthening the macro-regional knowledge base (e.g benchmarking, information sharing, studies), exchange of experience and peer-to-peer learning, designing and piloting transnational digital solutions and conducting policy and regulatory dialog.

The DIGINNO project develops an active cross-sectoral BSR industry digitalization community. Industry 4.0 national and regional communities and networks have an important role in fostering uptake of digital solutions by industrial SMEs and in prioritizing this topic on policy level as well. The aim of industry 4.0 community is to bring together important players from all levels (businesses, associations, universities, public authorities) and sectors (ICT, steal, forestry, etc.) to better understand each-others challenges and find common solutions.

DIGINNO compiles a company digitalization toolkit for SMEs. The aim of developing the Industry 4.0 toolkit is to increase innovation capacity of industrial SMEs by showcasing digitalization opportunities and benefits and providing a practical toolkit to guide them through the process.

The project furthermore show-cases models of government to business cross-border e-services (incl. feasibility analyses and proofs of concept) with recommendations for policy makers for developing better cross-border G2B services. The work of the BSR policy network is to be concluded in a White Paper with policy recommendations for national and EU level. The aim is to inform policymakers and increase awareness among decision makers, ensure commitments from external stakeholders and to ensure long term sustainability of project results.

Highlights by mid-term:

The project has started its network activities and developed a digitalisation toolkit that improves SMEs innovation capacity in the context of industry 4.0 readiness. The partners analysed digital potential and mapped sector activities for industry digitalisation in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland and Sweden.

The four show cases of government-to-business e-services are under development. These services were assessed on both national and EU level by different groups of stakeholders and experts during workshops. Feasibility studies have started attracting external stakeholders and experts from public and business sector. This also lead to challenges like the slightly different understanding of e-services needed in different countries and sectors.

The work on a strategic policy platform has also been successful. Overall, the project has prioritised contacts at national level and agenda-setting bodies at Nordic and EU level in order to mobilise knowledge of the project, discuss mutual interests, facilitate policy inputs and disseminate policy relevant findings.