Creative collaboration to provide value for first time innovators - effective engagement of stakeholders and users in co-creation processes in smes.
The main objective of “Create4value"" project is to adapt significantly improved methodology of co-creation to the needs of “first time innovators” from the Wielkopolska region, based on testing the intrinsic and extrinsic approaches to engaging end-users and stakeholders in the process. The real challenge that PSTP and other innovation agencies face is to mobilise non-innovative companies, that have never benefited from any support in innovation implementation, despite their potential. The target group of “Create4value” project will be predefined within another project that PSTP is leading, namely “Innovators2B” (INNOSUP-05-2016-2017, „Peer learning of innovation agencies” action), which will allow PSTP to identify and reach companies from the Wielkopolska region representing the “first time innovators”. “Create4value” will build on this knowledge and deliver innovation support scheme in the form of co-creation service to the “potentially innovative SMEs”. The improved SME support scheme is based on the co-creation method applied as an organised process of product or service development, motivated by the real needs of the users and their involvement in the whole action, as well as assistance of experienced innovation agency - PSTP. The novel approach means addressing “first time innovators” with a view to unlock their innovation potential and bring economic effects in consequence. The impact of co-creation service will be measured using small-scale RCTs method. Conclusions will be prepared aiming to scale-up tested approach. This experiment will help PSTP to elaborate the method of assessing the support schemes and choose the ones with significant impact to make them a part of the PSTP offer in the future. The results of the project will be disseminated, especially to help other innovation agencies, stakeholders or regional authorities to use RCTs method when designing and testing new support schemes for SMEs.