Page 6 - WP2.A3 FINAL REPORT_EN

The main idea of carrying out national Focus groups arose from the need to assess the commonly
accepted concept and the actual diffusion of the Open Innovation approach within the partners'
countries in order to additionally single out the most recent Open Innovation practices, including
innovative ideas, organisations, products, processes, services or methodology analysed at Consortium
level.

WP2 was then designed to involve several actors: first of all innovative SMEs, start-ups and R&D
responsible plus local institutions, VET trainers and academics so to assess and secure their support for
the introduction of Open Innovation practices at institutional level and provide them with the Interactive
digital catalogue as designed and aimed by WP2.
Thus, between February and April 2023, SMEs staff, R&D team members and other stakeholders,
including academics, practitioners, Incubators of Entrepreneurship, Regional Development Agencies,
Chambers of Commerce were invited to focus groups, receiving/providing suggestions, information and
Open Innovation practices at regional level.
The key aim of the Focus group was assessing the open innovation awareness at national level in each of
the countries of the Consortium and initial identification of areas/sectors/processes where Open
Innovation (or innovation in general) is prevailing. An additional goal was to identify Open Innovation
necessary pre-conditions based on focus group members’ discussion and devise tentative policy
recommendations at regional level. The results were to be summarized in a National Reports in order to
compile this Final Report comparing the results from partner countries. The next step, i.e. the upcoming
Open Innovation Interactive Catalogue (focusing on 7 regions/6 countries) is meant to be based on the
findings from the focus group reports and feedback received from partners including open innovation
practices and general awareness on open innovation in partners’ countries, with recommendations on
open innovation practices at regional level.

The facilitators of the focus group did act bearing in mind the further steps of the project and thus also
supporting the achievement of project objectives, facilitating the final shape of each of their National
Report of the focus sessions. Actually the activities performed in preparing and during the focus groups,
including the drafting of the National report will help partners in short-listing an adequate number of
SMEs based on the sector and criteria of Open Innovation which will be indispensable in the upcoming
task of creating a digital catalogue of Open Innovation presenting open innovation practices in companies
identified by Partners in their countries.. Furthermore the information gathered will not only serve as a
ground for working on the said interactive Catalogue, but will be provided in the form of a digital
awareness campaign.

OPEN4U: intrOducing Practices in opEn innovatioN 4U - project number 2022-1-IT01-KA220-VET-000085295
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the
European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
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