ACSELL: Accelerating SME innovative capacities with the Living Lab approach

Project date: 01. 08. 2019 - 31. 07. 2023

Webpage:

https://www.interregeurope.eu/acsell/

Contact: Mojca Cvirn

E-mail: mojca.cvirn@tp-lj.si

SMEs greatly benefit from ecosystems that enable cross-sectoral collaboration, learning, creation, and experimentation. Access to smart and integrated (inter)regional policy instruments throughout the entire process of innovation, a vibrant (value chain) ecosystem and relevant competencies will pave the way towards demand-driven and thus efficient, effective and sustainable solutions.

The overall objective of ACSELL is to sensitize the public sector, innovation intermediaries (e.g., chambers of commerce, technology transfer offices, etc.) and SMEs towards:   

          • expanding SME competencies by promoting open innovation ecosystems and
       • integrating the user early in the innovation process with (interregional) living lab approach.

Moreover, ACSELL will facilitate complex policy orchestration and promote network thinking and openness through 1) concerted twinning activities in the form of study visits based on comprehensive self-assessments; 2) knowledge transfer and mutual learning between regions coping with the same challenges by identifying transferable good practices and hacking regional policy challenges, and 3) accelerating innovative capacities in the participating regions through improved (innovation) policy instruments.

What is the optimal framework for nudging that paradigm shift towards open and demand-driven innovation? How can mutually reinforcing value propositions be attained in a multi-dimensional ecosystem? These questions will guide activities that will feed into the action plans for each region. 

Overall budget: 1,436,152.70 EUR