Euro-Mediterranean Network Facilitating Market Uptake of Innovations from SMEs
EMPHASIS is set on co-creating a Mediterranean Open Innovation (OI) ecosystem, in which knowledge flows across borders and is translated into marketable innovations. The project will co-design, deploy and validate a Mediterranean OI service platform, aiming at better linking the fragmented innovation systems of the region by facilitating meaningful cross-border knowledge flows, empower SMEs with the skill-sets required to tap into external knowledge base and turn it into value and identify fields that can turn sustainability challenges (e.g., agri-food, energy, materials) into business opportunities. EMPHASIS will lead to the uptake of the results from a series of projects to identify SMEs, assess their ‘readiness’ to engage with OI and provide them advisory services - in the form of vouchers – to enhance their innovation capacity to build partnerships, covering the different stages of their innovation journeys. A joint transnational approach will be a solid action to address the sustainability agendas through effective market uptake of research outputs.