TESLA Final Report[1] - tesla | innovating...

TESLAFINALEVALUATION:

FINALREPORT

June16th2015

SeánÓSiochrú,PaulButler

NexusResearchCooperative

TableofContents

1.IntroductionandBackground............................................................................................................1

2.AnalysisofMainInterventions..........................................................................................................2

Workpackage1:DrivingInnovation.................................................................................................3

2.1 Action1:CreativeIndustries..................................................................................................3

2.2 Action2:NewProductDesign&Development...................................................................10

2.3 Action3:InnovationOutreach.............................................................................................16

WorkPackage2:Internationalisation.............................................................................................19

2.4 Action4:Internationalisation...............................................................................................19

2.5 Action5:TransnationalPlacements.....................................................................................25

2.6 Action6:Soft-Landing/Co-Incubation..................................................................................28

WorkPackage3:SkillsandCapabilities..........................................................................................33

2.7 Action7:MentorPlus:..........................................................................................................33

2.8 Action8:Spin-Ins..................................................................................................................38

WorkPackage4:FinanceandProcurementforKnowledge-intensivefirms.................................43

2.9 Action9:EntrepreneurialFinance........................................................................................43

2.10 Action10:PublicProcurement.............................................................................................48

3. AnalysisofSupportingInterventions............................................................................................52

3.1.WorkPackage5:BestPracticeandCaseStudies.......................................................................53

3.2WorkPackage6:Monitoring&Evaluation,andManagement..................................................56

4. TESLAAnalysis&Conclusions.......................................................................................................58

4.1IssuesEncounteredandWiderLessons......................................................................................58

4.2OverallConclusion......................................................................................................................64

PARTNERACRONYMSANDTERMINOLOGY

Forbrevitymostofthepartnersarereferredbyacronymsorshortenedversionsasfollows:

Bangor: BangorUniversityCIT: CorkInstituteofTechnologyEBN: EuropeanBusiness&InnovationCentreNetworkIN-Nov: INI-NovationGmbHLMT: LavalMayenneTechnopoleNWRA: Northern&WesternRegionalAssembly,previouslytheBorder,MidlandsandWest(BMW)

RegionalAssemblyTilburg: TilburgUniversity

TESLA: TransnationalEcosystemLaboratoryandActions

NWE: NorthWesternEuropeHPSUs HighPotentialStartUpHPKIE highpotentialknowledgeindustryenterprise

The last two termsareused interchangeably.Both refer knowledge-intensive start-upenterpriseswithhighexportpotential,foundedwithinthelasttwoorthreeyears.

METHODOLOGY:

Themethodologyofthisevaluationwasstraightforward.Itcomprisedaninitialandthoroughexaminationofall relevantTESLAdocumentation, including theoriginalprojectproposalasapproved, the regular reportingrequirements submitted by Action lead partners to the NWRA, short and long forms, minutes of projectmeetings,andthetermsofreferenceofeachaction. Thiswas followedbyan intensiveseriesof interviewswith several staff from each of the partners, and a small number of beneficiaries, based on a schedule ofquestions. These were written up, coded and regrouped for analysis. During interviews additionaldocumentationwasidentifiedandobtained.TESLAoutputevaluationdata,gatheredbyeachpartnermostlyin the formofa standardised feedback formsafter completionof variousactivities,werealsouseful. Thesewere gatheredmostly in their original survey form, collated by computer and analysed. Based on this, theindividualsectionsoneachActionwasdraftedandreturnedtorelevantpartnersforverification,afterwhichthisreportwasdrafted.

Thefeedbackformshadnotbeencompletedsystematicallybyallpartnersandwerealsonotentirelyuniform.Henceacompletedatabaseofactionsandoutputswasnotavailable.ItishopedthatasystemicgatheringofalldatawillbepossibleatthecompletionoftheprojectbyleadPartnersandcompiledbytheNWRA,andthiswillsupplementtheevaluationhereintermsforinstanceoftheoverallnumberofHPSUparticipating.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Wegratefullyacknowledgethecontributionofthefollowing,whogenerouslygaveoftheirtimeandinsights:AndyGoodman,AngelaIvanova,AntoineTetart,CaroleOLeary,CeriEvans,ChristianTravier,DavidJoyner,DermotCahill,DominiquedeSavignes,GaryClifford,GeorgeBulman,IvonaSkultetyova,KevinO’Mahony,KieranMoylan,KimJones,LauraLecci,LinaDavitt,MichaelO'Brien,PaulHealy,PriyankaPriydershini,RobertAnders,RonanBreen,ToanNGuyen,ValerieMoreau,WolfgangKniejski.

WeareparticularlygratefultoPatMulhernofLíonrawhofacilitatedthework.

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1.INTRODUCTIONANDBACKGROUNDTheTESLAproject (TransnationalEcosystemLaboratoryandActions)aims tosupportcollaborationbetweenpartners across North Western Europe in designing and piloting new interventions to enhance thetransnationalcommercialisationofknowledge-intensivestartupenterpriseswithhighexportpotential.ItisatransnationalprojectwitheightpartnersacrosssixEUmemberstates.

TheoverallobjectiveofTESLAistosupportthegrowthanddevelopmentofearlystagehighpotentialstartupcompanies in Ireland, Wales, Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands through a programme oftransnationalpilot innovationandbusinesssupport initiatives.Theproject is ledby theBorderMidlandandWesternRegionalAssembly, and comprises ten targeted interventions fordevelopmentanddeliveryby thepartnershipandrunsfromJanuary2013untilOctober2015.TESLAhasatotalbudgetof€3.8million,halffromthe European Regional Development Fund through the Interreg IVB NWE Programme which ismatched byTESLApartners.

TheoriginalTESLAApplicationcanbereadintwoways.

• ThesimplestandmostdirectisasasetoflooselyinterrelatedpilotActions,eachwithtransnationalfeatures,toexplorehowHPSUscanbesupportedtomarketsacrosstheEU,withaviewtoidentifyingandmainstreamingbestpractice.

• Amoreambitiousreadingisasanattempttocreatekeycomponentsofatransnationalecosystemofactivities that supportHPSUs to achieve access to transnational access tomarkets, to explorehowtheyarticulatetogetherandtolaythefoundationformainstreamingthisfurther.

The difference between the two may be seen as one of degree, though at some point such quantitativedifferences can accumulate into a qualitative change. A question for this evaluation is to examine theelementsofeachofthesethat,inimplementation,wasretainedandmovedforward.

The ten innovationsupportactionsweregrouped into four thematicpillars,deliveredthroughthe followingWorkPackagesandActions:

WorkPackage1:DrivingInnovation:Action1:CreativeIndustries;Action2:NewProductDesignandDevelopment;Action3:InnovationOutreach.

WorkPackage2:Internationalisation:Action4:Internationalisation;Action5:TransnationalPlacement;Action6:Co-Incubation/SoftLanding.

WorkPackage3:SkillsandCapabilitiesAction7:MentorPlus;Action9:Spin-ins.

WorkPackage4:FinanceandProcurementforKnowledge-intensivefirms.Action10:EntrepreneurialFinance;Action11:PublicProcurement.

WorkPackage5 is, in addition, intended to capturebestpractice fromacross theexperienceofTESLA, andWorkpackage6monitorsandevaluatestheoverallproject(thelatterincludingthisreport).

WorkPackagesare loosegroupingofActionsand interrelationshipsbetweenActionsoftencutacross them.The Action level is more important since each is defined initially as a discrete standalone activity, thoughalways with links to other Actions, and has a single partner leading it (though key responsibilities weresometimes shared or even handed over). The primary unit of the evaluation is thus the Action level, andlinkagesbetweenthemarementionedinpassingandthenhighlightedseparatelyintheconclusions.

As a programme funded under Interreg, a key significance is attached to the nature and degree oftransnationalitythatisachieved.Thisincludesatthelevelsofdesign,implementationandultimatelyimpact.

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2.ANALYSISOFMAININTERVENTIONSThismainsectionofthereportconsiderseachoftheTESLAActionsinturn.

Given the number of actions and partners, the overall matrix of actions against partner participation wascomplex,tosaytheleast.Itispresentedbelow.Theleadpartner,asnotedintheTermsofReferenceofeachaction,isindicatedinbold.

TESLAAction

TESLAPartner

1.Creative

Indu

strie

s

2.New

Produ

ctDesign

&Dev

3.In

novatio

nOutreach

4.In

ternationa

lisation

5.Transna

tiona

lplacem

ents

6.Softlan

ding

&

Co-in

cuba

tion

7.M

entorP

lus

8.Spin-in

9.Entrepren

euria

l

Fina

nce

10.P

ublic

procuremen

t

1. North&WesternRegionalAssembly(Ireland)TESLALEADPARTNER

2. Líonra(Ireland) X x x x X x

3. CorkInstituteofTechnology(Ireland)

X X x x X

4. EuropeanBICNetwork(Belgium)

X x x X x

5. INI-Novation(Germany) x x x X x

6. TilburgUniversity(Netherlands)

x x X X

7. BangorUniversity(Wales) x x X x X

8. Laval-MayenneTechnopole(France)

x x X x x x x

During the course of thework, some changeswere in practice introduced and these arementioned in thepresentationofeachAction.

ForeachActionitscontextgoalsandpartnersinvolvedareinitiallypresented.Theindicativebudgetisshown,thoughnotanysubsequentadjustmentsmade.

Thisisfollowedbyaconsiderationoftheprocessofimplementation.Variationsfromtheplanarenoted,andtheprogressofeachpartnerinturn.

A third sub-section looks at outputs and outcomes, comparing outputs where possible against the originaltargetsassetoutintheTermsofReferenceofeachAction,thenmovestotheresultsofanyspecificoutputfeedbackformsreturnedforanalysis,andontoamorequalitativeexplorationofoutcomes.

Afinalsub-sectionextractstheissuesofspecificrelevancetotransnationality.

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WORKPACKAGE1:DRIVINGINNOVATION

2.1 ACTION1:CREATIVEINDUSTRIES2.1.1 CONTEXT,PARTNERSANDGOALS

Partners:EBN(Lead),Tilburg,Bangor.

IndicativeOriginalBudget:€190,278

Creative Industry enterprises are growing in importance and have a special role in relation to social andterritorialcohesion.Yet theycanoftenbe fragmented, lackentrepreneurialskillsandhave limitedaccess tofinance.TheNESTACreativeIndustriesToolkit1offersastructuredsuiteoftrainingresourcestobedeliveredthroughaseriesofworkshopstoaddressthesechallengesforcreativecompanies.Action1aimstoaddtothisa TESLA Creative Network as an online platform for knowledge transfer and exchange and useful tools,intendedalsotoleadtoasetofsecondarynetworks.

ThecorepartnersinvolvedareEBN,BangorandTilburg.EBNasleadpartneralsohasaroleintherecruitmentof experts and companies to be included in the network. They were to organise six ‘Knowledge TransferWorkshops’ and provide expertise on the range of e-tools for the online platform and the toolkit. Bangorwouldorganisetheconfigurationoftheonlineplatform,andrecruit25companiesforthenetwork.Theywerealsotodeliveraseriesofsixworkshopsandfacilitateanonlinenetwork/community.Tilburgwastoorganisefive“KnowledgeTransferWorkshops”andrecruittencompanies.

Partners were to establish an online platform for networking and knowledge transfer, and an associatedtoolkitwould facilitateeffectiveonlinesupports.Thekeyadditionalityas initially intendedwas linkedtotheintroductiontoandtrainingonusingafreelyavailable,virtualplatform.

This pilot action thus aimed to provide a dynamic and creative exchange between the partner regions,enabling targetedcreative industriespractitionersandentrepreneurs todevelopandcommunicatebusinesspropositions.Theactionhadaspecific focusontrainingwith theemphasisondeliveringbothtoHPSUsandincubators,creatingasupportivesetofnetworks.

While creative industries are considered as key drivers for cultural diversity in Europe, in such areas asarchitecture, artistic crafts, audio-visual, music, publishing, radio and visual arts, there is a knowledge gapwithintheincubationcentresregardingstrategiesforprovidingsupports.Thischallengeprovidesthecontextforthisaction.Asonestakeholderput it:“It isverydifferentsitting inaroomwithengineersthan it iswithartists”. The implication for incubation centres and other enterprise support agencies is that standardapproachesmustberevisitedandrefinedforthecreativeindustriessector.

Theactionwasstructuredfordeliveryoverthreephases,allowingforfeedbackateachstagefromthoseusingthe toolkitand thevirtual collaborationenvironment.Thenumberofparticipantswouldgrowthrougheachphase.Theinitialphasewouldseethecoreteamconfiguringavirtualcollaborationenvironmenttofacilitatecollaboration amongst themselves, to coordinateoperations.A toolkitwould thenbedeveloped to providesupportsforonlinevirtualcollaboration,whichmayincludewebinars,manuals,FAQsandhelppages.

Phase 2 and 3 were to focus initially on establishing a series of supported networks of business supportexperts,whowould learn touse theNESTAToolkit and to explore the extensionof theprovisionof virtual

1 The NESTA toolkit enables HPSUs in the creative sector to improve entrepreneurial skills; specifically, toenhancetheirabilitytodevelopandcommunicateabusinesspropositionforthepurposeofaccessingfinanceSeehttp://www.nesta.org.uk/publications/creative-enterprise-toolkit

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supports. This networkwould attend regional trainingworkshops and in webinars, with the aim of testingsuitability.Thetoolkitwouldalsobedevelopedfurther.ACoreTESLACreativeIndustriesNetworkwasalsotobedeveloped.Thefollowingcharthighlightstheplannedworkofeachphase.

The creative sector comprises performing arts; arts and antiques; crafts; architecture; design; fashion;advertising;radio&TV;filmandvideo;music;publishing;videogames;andsoftware.

ThispilotactionwastoworkincomplementaritywithotherTESLAactionsthatstrengtheninternationalisationopportunitiesofselectedenterprises.Ascreativeindustriesoftensufferfromalackofaccesstofinance,itwasconsideredimportanttoenhancetheentrepreneurialfinanceofthecreativesector.

2.1.2 IMPLEMENTATION

Theimplementationofthisplanendeduptakingseveraldifferentdirectionsinordertomeettheseplannedobjectives.Theinitialplanningphasewasrequiredtofocusonfindingacommonlanguage.Differentpartnersbroughtdifferentskillsandbackgrounds,fromtheacademictothepracticaltothenetworkingspecialists:

1. EBN,theEuropeanBusinessandInnovationCentreNetwork,specialisesindealingwithBICsandstart-ups;

2. TheBangorteamdealsmostlywithitsnetworkofengineeringandtechnicalpartners,andhassignificantexpertise linked to provision of practical supports in different formats locally and transnationally (e.g.workshops,trainingsession,andconferences);

3. Tilburg specialises in the business and legal aspects of access to finance and has developed a strongworkingrelationshipwithalocalStart-UpFoundationtofostercloserlinkstocompaniesinthearea.

Throughactivecollaborationbetweenthesescientists,academics,researchersandsupportagencies,theinitialagreementonacommonlanguagewaschallenging,butonceacommonapproachhadbeenestablished,thisinturnsupportedthedevelopmentofthetoolandtheplatform.

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In terms of the delivery, EBN mostly set up the action framework and objectives and delivered fivetransnational workshops and one international conference engaging with around 40 start-ups; Tilburgorganisedaconferenceonaccesstofinanceforcreativeentrepreneurs;andBangorengagedwithanexpertinthefieldtodeliveraseriesoftransnationaltrainingsessionsdedicatedtoengineersanddigitalentrepreneurs.BangorUniversity has alsoworked to define and select themost appropriate transnational online platformwhere all the participants will be able to share experiences, deposit resources, and actively gathercommunicatewithmentorsandotherpartnersinrelationtothemostappropriateliteratureandmaterial.

Contentattheworkshopsandconferenceswastailoredtolocalneeds,withafocusonenterprisesatdifferentstagesofdevelopment,fromveryearlytoquitedeveloped.Workshoptopicsthereforevariedsignificantly.Itemergedthroughtheseworkshopsthatthoseengagingmoststronglywereprimarilyenterprisesatveryearlystagestart-up.Thisledtoatrendinworkshoprequestsforageneraloverviewonthebusinessmodelcanvas.Feedbackfromtransnationalexpertsandparticipantsindicatedsatisfactionwiththeformatandthecontent.In most cases, participants requested a second session/follow up. There is also some evidence that someentrepreneurshaveremainedintouchwiththeexperts.

Tilburg used theGlobalGovernanceVenturing Summit in Eindhoven in February 2015 as the focus of theirwork under this action. Tilburgwas centrally involved in theplanning andorganisationof this internationalmeetingofover200keystakeholders.AspecificpanelofexpertswasbroughttogetherwithintheSummitforthe Creative Industries action. This panel involved a moderator from UK Trade and Investment and arepresentativefromtheTechnicalUniversityofEindhoven.Companiesheardabouttrainingneedswithinthecreativeindustrysector.

TilburgalsoprovidedmasterclassesforHPSUsparticipatingintheworkshop,organisedadayeithersideofthesummit.Theyallowed for summitguests toactasmentorsand theparticipatingcompanies toaccessmoredetailedsessionswithhighlyexperience individuals.Asanaddition, sixHPSUsweregivenanopportunity to‘pitch’theirproductaspartoftheseclasses.Theywerenotpitchingtoinvestors,buttoexpertswhoevaluatedtheireffortsandprovidedfeedback.

As an educational establishment, it was challenging for Tilburg University to gain access to start-ups (andinvestors)intheearlystagesoftheproject,leadingtosomeinitialdelayintheimplementationofactions.ThefocusforTilburgthenbecamebuildingrelationshipswithstart-upsandlocalintermediaries,especiallywiththeEindhovenStartUpsFoundation.

Bangorhostedthreeworkshopswith10companiesparticipatingineach.Theworkshopswereorganisedoverfourdaystokeepdowntravelandgeneralcosts.Feedbackfromthefirstworkshophighlightedtheneedforaseriesofbusinesssurgerysessionsonarangeofsuggestedthemes.

The Bangor work in this action was complemented by their engagement with the much larger localdevelopmentof thePontioCentre inBangor, inwhichpartof theBangorTESLAteamwill takeupresidenceandexpandthesupportroletobeofferedtolocalHPSUs.

Bangorengageda localPRcompanyaspartof the implementationof the trainingworkshop tosupport theadvertisingandrecruitmentofcompanies,includingthedesignofprofessionalflyerstoenticepeopleintothetraining.Thethirdsessionwasfilmedwiththeintentionofpossiblycreatingvideoadverts.

Thefour-daytrainingprogrammesetsout toexplorebusiness ideasandtheirviabilitywhileprogressingthedevelopmentofindividualskillsforsettingupandrunningacreativeenterprise.Throughtheprogramme,thecreativecompanyistrainedtobreakdownthebusinessplanningprocessandproduceavisualbusinessplanusingtheblueprintingtool,allowingforadetailedoperationalplanandidentificationofareaswhereexternalexpertiseandresourcesmaybeneededtodelivertheproductorservice.

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Allattendeesreceivedelectroniccopiesofthetoolkit,comprisingNestaCreativeEnterpriseToolkit:cashflowforecastingtool;personalsurvivalplan;andbook-keepingspreadsheettemplates;

Trainingsessionscovered: Listeningandvaluesmodelling;customerprofiling–where,why,whenandwho;futureevidencemodelling;understandingtheimportanceofrelationships–businesscardactivity;relationshipmodelling; financial modelling & management/ cash flow forecasting; and blueprinting- mapping of stepsforwardvisualbusinessplanning

Theworkshopsfollowedaninteractiveprogrammewhereparticipantswouldpresentinsightsfromtheirownexperiences, receiving one-to-one support and feedback over the four days. These creative industriespractitionersandentrepreneurswouldthenbeinapositiontoevaluateandplanthegrowthoftheirbusiness,usingdesignmethods.InordertoensurethattherewouldbesustainablelinksbetweentheparticipantsandtheBangorteam,asoftwareplatformwaspaidfortofacilitatethesecommunicationsandflowofcontent.

TheBusinessSurgeriesheldfollowingtheworkshopsfocusedonthespecificquestionsthatcompanieswereinterestedin.Somewerepracticallyconcernedwithtaxandbookkeepingissues.Bangorofferedasuiteof10courses(each1to2hourslong)aslunchtimesessions,withexternalcompaniesrunningthesessionsforfree.Thishelpedtocumulativelybuildarelationshipwithparticipatingcompanies,whilebringingnewenterprisesintotheirnetwork.Thesesessions,whilefollowinguponTESLAactions,werenotfundedthroughTESLA.

Theworkwithcompaniesatmoreadvancedstagesofdevelopmentalsoincludedatrialofapilotacceleratorprogramme.Thismodelwasbasedonaligningthreeapproaches,creatingacommonlanguageinrelationto:Agile coding (from technical perspective); design thinking (scenario building, aesthetics of experience); andleanbusinessstart-up(Javelinboardwork)

Thesethreeprocesseshadnotbeenformallyconnectedwithinasingularapproach.Bangorhadidentifiedthispriorityfortheirlongertermworkwithclientcompaniesandbegantoworkwithoneoftheirclientcompaniestodevelopapracticaltooltofacilitatetheconcurrentapplicationofallthreeelements.

Bangorwasalsoresponsiblewithintheactionforthecreationoftheonlineplatform.Thisinvolvedaseriesofiterationsbasedonongoingdiscussionswithinthecorepartnerteam.Frompreviousexperienceinthisarea,Bangorhadaspecificfocusontheneedtobeabletodrawparticipantsintoanewplatform.Theintentionwasto give the group a sense of identity through promoting contact and communication. Once the groupwasactive and engaged, it would be possible to move to a new platform. Bangor had initially planned thatFacebook would be used as this first step. A Facebook group was established and currently has an activemembershipofover40,wherecreativepeopleengageinsharingofinformationandideas.

EBN,ontheotherhand,believedthattheuseofFacebookdoesnotsitwellwiththeprofessionaloutlooktotheirclientcompanies.Bangorthereforeidentifiedanalternativeplatform:Confluence isacollaborationandcontent sharing platform used primarily by the ICT sector, allowing for a range of uses from projectmanagementtointernalcommunication.Itisa‘freemium’product,providedfreeofcharge,withapremiumcostforproprietaryfeaturesandfunctionality.ThisplatformisnowbeingconfiguredforTESLAbyBangor.

Asthepartnerinchargeofdevelopingtheonlineplatform,BangorconsideredthatthisplatformstructurallyappropriatetomeettheneedsoftheTESLAproject,aswellastheindividualpartners.Itisconsideredflexibleandagiletothepointthateachpartnercantouseittohelpinprojectmanagementandincommunicationandtoimproveaspectsofteamcollaboration.Oncethetoolhasbeenconfigured,Bangorwillbeusingitinternallybeyondthelifetimeoftheproject.Arangeofplug-inscanbedeployedasneeded.

TheconfigurationofthetoolfortheTESLAprojectisalmostcomplete.WhileitwouldhaveassistedtheTESLAprojecttohavetheonlineplatforminplaceatanearlierstage,partnerswillnowbeabletousethetoolforthefinalstages,allowingforsharingofinformation,projectcontentandinternalcommunicationflows.

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ScreenshotoftheConfluenceOnlinePlatform

2.1.3 OUTPUTSANDOUTCOMES.

OUTPUTSAGAINSTTARGETS

TABLE1:TARGETS&OUTPUTSACTION1CREATIVEINDUSTRIES(MARCH31ST2015)

OutputsIndicators(numberof...) TotalProjected

EBNActual

TilburgActual

BangorActual

TotalActual

Knowledgetransferworkshops 17 5 1 2 8

Companiesrecruited 60 40 20 24 84

To theendofMarch,eightworkshopsweredelivered.Themain focus for theremainderof theAction is toensurethatthemodeloftransnationalactivitieswithcreativestart-upsisinthelongtermsustainableandtoincreasethenumberofcompaniesinthenetwork.Theonlineplatformwillbeestablished.Itisexpectedthatover 150 start-ups will be engaged and a transnationalpanelofexpertsinthefieldwillbeinplace.

Companies that have engaged in this pilot action arelocatedinsixEUcountries.

OUTPUTS&OUTCOMES

Seven experts completed evaluation forms for EBN,following the supportprovided toHPSUs in thecreativesector. The feedback came fromexperts inNetherlands(3),Germany(2),Paris(1)andIreland(1).

Eachexperthadprovidedonesessionandittypicallylastedforhalfaday.Fiveoftheexpertsfeltthatthis,intermsoffulfillingrequirements,wasaninsufficientlevelofsupport.Intermsoflevelsofpreparednessofthe

CountriesofOriginofHPSUs Companiesrecruited

Belgium 6

France 12

Luxembourg 1

UK 6

Ireland 2

Netherlands 26

Total 53

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start-ups,fourexpertsconsideredthattheywereinsufficientlypreparedorunprepared.Sixexpertsconsideredthat thetechnology/knowledgebaseof thebusinessbeingsupportedwasofmediumto lowtechnologicallyand in terms of innovative capacity. The same six experts considered that in relation to the skills andcompetenciesofstaff,theywereinneedoftraining.

Allsevenexpertsfeltthatthegrowthprospectsofthestart-upswerechallenging.Giventheseprospects,allfelt that the companies were committed to integrating the training supports into the operation of thecompanyfollowingonfromthetraining.Fiveexpertsfeltthatthetraininghadbeensuccessful,withtheothersbelievingthatfurtherfollow-upwasnecessary.

Allsevenexpertsintendedtostayincontactwiththestart-upstoassistwiththeirexpansionplans.Twoofthestart-upsalreadyhadan internationalisationplan inplace.Theotherswerecommitted to this,butnot fullyready.Theexpertscommentedontheirimpressionsoftheprogramme:

“Very positive impression. Good interaction with entrepreneurs and good that the initiative istakingabottomupapproach.”

“Goodwaytogiveentrepreneursafirststepoftraining.”

“Thequalityoftheentrepreneurswereveryhigh.”

“Greatideaoftheinteractivepanel.”

Tilburg used theopportunity of their involvement in theGGV summit to build relationshipswith importantstakeholdersintheirregion.ArisingfromtherelationshipbuiltwiththeEindhovenStart-UpsFoundation,theuniversity is continuing to collaborate and co-hostmeetings and events, where HPSUs can accessmeetingspaceand supports.A coach fromSiliconValleywhohadattended theGGVsummit returned toEindhovenfollowingonfromthesummittoprovidecoachingtimetoHPSUs.WhilethiswasnotdoneaspartoftheTESLAproject, it isclearly related to thenewnetwork thathasbeenestablishedwithstakeholdersandcompaniesthathashappenedthroughTESLAwork.

Bangor engaged in specific follow up with companies that had participated in their workshops. Businesssurgerieswere run to dealwith specific questions that had emerged during theworkshops. Ten lunchtimeeventsofone-hourdurationwereprovided,withexternalcompaniesrunningthesessionsforfree.NoTESLAfundingwasrequired.Bangoriskeentomaintaintherelationshipwiththisnetwork,bringingitastheymovetheiroperationstothePontioCentre.ThePontiodevelopmentisduetoopenbytheendoftheyear,allowingforatransitionandalignmentfromtheTESLAfundedworkintothenewcentre.

TRANSNATIONALITY

The three partners shared ideas onWorkshop programmes and how to dealwith recruiting companies. Allpartnerswereinvitedtoeachevent,thoughnotalwayswithspecificinvolvementascontributorstopanelsorworkshops. Thoughdelayswere incurred in commencing transnationalactivities,partners feel that there issufficientopportunitytocompleteallworkasplannedandtoreachtheactiontargets,whilstthetargetforthenumberofCompaniesengagedhasbeenexceeded.

Thedevelopmentof theonlineplatformwasdelayeddue todiffering approachesby theacademic and thebusinessnetworkingpartners.Differentattitudestovirtualworkingamongstthepartnersposedchallengesinthe nature and extent of the use of online meetings and other tools. The eventual decision to use theConfluencetoolastheproject’sonlineplatformanditscurrentconfigurationwillleavetheprojectwellplacedfortheremainingmonths.Nevertheless,akeyoutcomeisthatthetransnationalonlineplatformisexpectedtobedeliveredbytheendofJuneandtestedwithTESLApartnersbytheendofJuly.

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CONCLUSION

It was expected from the outset that supporting HPSUs in the creative sector would require creativeresponses, and so it proved. The three partners adopted different approaches in their respective regions,eventually exceeding the targets of HPSUs engaged, with a lower number of Workshops. Some initialtransnationalexchangeinprogrammedesignwillbesignificantlyboostedwhenthefinalplatform,developedby Bangor working for the partners, comes on stream in June for testing in July. This will offer significantopportunities for further networking locally and transnationally extending beyond the participation HPSUs.Eachof thepartners reportedbenefits for theparticipationHPSUs,and inat least somecases thesewillbefurtherbuiltupon.

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2.2 ACTION2:NEWPRODUCTDESIGN&DEVELOPMENT2.2.1 CONTEXT,PARTNERSANDGOALS

Partners:CIT(Lead),Bangor,LMT.


While many incubation and innovation centres in the NWE region offer support in the management andbusiness skillsneeded todevelophigh technologystart-ups, there isagap in theareaof the technical skillsneeded for new product design and development (NPD&D), bringing products from the prototype stagethrough to successful launch on international markets. This action is designed to support HPSUs with theexpertNPD&Dskillsandservicesneededtobridgethatgap,enablingthemtobringtheirexistingprototypestonationalandinternationalmarkets.

Thespecificobjectivesare:

• To provide HPSUs with access to domain specific expertise in all aspects of taking a prototype tolaunchingitasaproduct;

• To undertake gap analysis of participation enterprises, and so provide feedback andrecommendationsontheircurrentandfutureskillsets;

• Toprovideexpertsupportstoaddressthesegapsidentifiedintheirinternalskill-sets,bydesigningaprocesssuitedtotheenterprise.

Thesupportsofferedthroughthisactionsetouttoprovideanexternalnewproductdesignanddevelopment(NPD&D)expertfromeachoftheparticipatingpartners.Thisexpertwastobemadeavailable,freeofcharge,to client companies in order to supply services, guidance and supports. This support was to improve andexpeditetheirdesignprocessesthusenablingthemtogrowmorerapidlytowardsexportstatus.

While the services being offered would vary according to the particular industry needs and stage ofdevelopmentoftheclientcompanies,therangeofservicestobeofferedforaHPSUintheareaofelectronicswould include some of the following: concept and technical feasibility assessment; hardware and softwaredesign;PCBdesignandprototyping;Mechanicalprototyping;softwaretesting;FailureModeandEffectsandAnalysis (FMEA); valueengineering; product costing.; prototype runswith localmanufacturers; andproductregulatorytesting.

While the services being offeredwould vary according to the particular needs of the client companies, therangeofservicestobeofferedforaHPSUintheareaofelectronicswouldahugerangeincludingforinstance:concept and technical feasibility assessment; hardware and software design; PCB design and prototyping;Mechanicalprototyping; software testing;FailureModeandEffectsandAnalysis (FMEA);valueengineering;productcosting.;prototyperunswithlocalmanufacturers;andproductregulatorytesting.

Eachpartnerwastosurveytheirin-houseclientcompaniestoascertainthemostcommonindustrysectorforthat partner region and then decide on an appropriate NPD&D expert for that region. The participatingpartnersdesignedajobdescriptionfortheexpertsthatwouldassessskillset,experienceandexistingpartnernetwork of the expert. This final aspect was important in that while it was not envisaged that one expertwouldbeabletodeliveronallrequestsbyclientcompanies,theexpertmustbeabletodemonstratethattheyhaveanexistingnetworkinplacewhichwillallowthemtodeliveronrequests.

ApromotionalphaseofAction2wouldtargetallpotentialcliententerprisesacrosseachpartnerregion,andonexpressinginteresttheywouldcompleteandsubmitaneedsassessmentformoutliningwhatsupportstheysought.This locally-tailoredneedsassessmentformwouldbereviewedbypartnersandexpertsandsupportprofilesgenerated, includingspecific recommendations forsupportservices.An interviewprocesswastobe

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used toworkwith theprospectiveBeneficiaries to fully understand theirNPD&D request and their existingcapabilitiesandtoassesstheamountofsupportdeliverytimethatwouldberequiredpriortoappointinganNPD&Dexpert.Onceapproved,thecompanyqualifiesfortheservicesoftheexpertforsetperiodsofbetweenoneandfourdays,dependingontheintensityofsupportrequired.

For each company, the TESLApartnerwas towrite a onepage summary to include:Overall analysis of thecompany; follow-up actions for the company; NPD&D services required/proposed; and recommendation toengageonotherTESLAactions.


Partners collaborated todevelop theNeedsAssessment Formused and, as planned, deployed these acrosstheirregionstoascertaintheNPD&Dneedsoftheirlocalclientcompanies.

Since the three partners engage with different types of client at different stages of development, severaldistinctinterventionsweredevelopedtomeettheneedsofadisparategroupofclientcompanies.

CITdoesappliedresearch,movingfromideaandstart-uptoproductprototypestage. Itworkswith internalappliedresearchteamsacrossallcriticalstagesbeforelaunch,includingproducttestingandvalidation,marketanalysisandlaunchpreparation.Suchaprocesscanoverallbeverycostlyforastart-up,estimatedatanythingform€30,000to€500,000.ThemodestfundingavailablethroughAction2ledeachpartnertoprioritisetheirapproachwithintheagreedsetoftasks.

AftermeetingwithclientcompaniesatNPD&DworkshopsandreviewingtheirNeedsAssessmentforms,CITdecidedto targetcompaniesatapointwheretheyhadalreadydevelopedaprototypeof theirproductandwere seeking support to commercialise them. An external company was recruited under a competitivetenderingprocesstodelivertheseNPD&DsupportsforCITtoclientcompanies.TheroleofCITwasthereforeto identify the companies and introduce them to the appropriate partner. CIT allocated four dayswith thisNPD&Dexperttoeachcompanyengagingintheprogramme.

The outcome of this process is, for each client, a detailed report describing a project plan, resourcerequirement,timescalesandcoststocommercialisationoftheproduct.Thefocusofthereportistoassistinbringing the product to a level atwhich it can seek investment. The company could tailor the focus of theengagementwith theNPD&Dexpert to suit theirparticular requirements, internal capacityandskill-sets. Inbringingtheclientclosertoaccessingfinance,CITseesitselfasfillingacriticalgapthatcanenabletheclienttocompletethedevelopmentcycleandmoveontoproduction.

Afterassessingtheirlocalclients’needsLMTandBangoreachdecidedthattheirclientsneededsupportatanearlierstage intheNPD&Ddevelopment life-cyclethanCIT’sclients.Theyconcludedthatthemosteffectiveinterventionfortheirclientswouldbeatthecommencementoftheproductdevelopmentprocess.

InitiallyLMTplannedtoworkwithexistingcompaniesintheregion,workinginpartnershipwithdesignerstodesign or redesign products for international markets. They ran a Workshop with a general invitation,attracting some 20 companies. While there was a group focus to the workshop, it became clear thatcompaniesweremoreinterestedandinneedofonetoonehelp.

A seminar attended earlier by LMT’s CEO on ‘Design Thinking’ sparked thinking for the design of newprogrammeunderTESLA. Later called IDFactory, theaim is to startwithdesignat theearliestpoint,beforeeven prototype design. Customers are sought at a very early stage. Steps in the programme subsequentlydesignedalsoinclude:hypothesisdevelopmentconcerningpotentialmarkets,andin-depthcustomeranalysisincluding building empathy regarding their needs and desires through interviews with up to 20 potentialcustomers.Theprocessisnotintendedtovalidateanexistingprototypeorproductpersebuttoexplorethe

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companyproduct conceptandmarket inmoredepth.The initialdesignof theproduct is thus reconsideredbasedonthisfeedback.Itisonlyattheendofthisprocessthatthecompanymovestodevelopaprototype.

LMTisrunningthree IDFactoryprogrammeduringTESLA,withatotalof18enterprises, intwophases. ThefirstprogrammebeganwithsixnewentrepreneursinJune2014,usingacombinationofinternalandexternalexperts.AsecondprogrammebeganinNovember2014,withsevenprojects/eightentrepreneursrecruitedtoattend;andathirdhascommencedsince.

Phaseoneinvolves10three-hourclassesfinishingattheproductdesignpoint.Phaseonealsocriticallyendswith a review stage. So far three companies decided to end their participation at that point - saving themconsiderablework thatwould ultimately have been futile. For those choosing to continue, a second phaseinvolvesafurtherroundoftenclassesasabusinessphase,designingabusinessplanandbringingitclosertomarket.

ByApril2015,LMThadpresentedfourofthetenmodulesinthefirstphaseofthethirdprogramme,andonegrouphas fullycompletedthetwophases.Theexpectation is thatsome11to12companieswill finishwithproducts. Two of this first class hasmoved onto the incubation stage; and some of thesewho do notwillcontinueinanothercontext.

LMTalsolaunchedaTESLAprogrammeinSeptember2014forexistingSMEs,buildingonearlierdevelopmentwork. In early 2014, before the TESLA aspect and under the InterReg IVB Open Innovation project, smallgroups of students from local colleges were assigned to companies to generate three new ideas each forproductsorservicesineach.Atotalof44enterprisesandabout200studentswereinvolved.

Ofthe44,12enterprisessoughttomoveaheadtoafurtherstagewithdevelopingproducts/processes.Thisoffered an opportunity for TESLA to contribute, and TESLA is supporting them to develop further the newproductorserviceideas,providedbythestudentsinthefirstphaseandnowwiththeirfurtherparticipation,inthecontextoftheNPD&Dexperts.

During2013BangordevelopedaprogrammethatdeliversfourexpertdaysofNPD&Dconsultancytoeachoftheir client companies,using its internalexperts todeliver theprogramme.Theoutputof the interventionsvaries, but has typically seen the development of a working, functional prototype of a key aspect of theproposedproduct,typicallybeingdevelopedonopensourcetechnology.Bangorhascompletedsevenprojectstodateandafurthereightareinprocess.Interviewshavealsobeencompletedwithafurtherfourcompanies.

Thisaction,withitsfocusonproductdesign,reflectedtheirin-houseskillsandtheirtypicalclientcompanies.Forexample, thedesignengineer isanexpert inopensourcehardwareplatforms(specificallyArduino).TheBangor teamwasable to create a specific collaborativeenvironment and local people andbusinesseswerefacilitatedtobecomepartofthisphysicalspacewiththegoalofquicklybeingabletoprototypetheirideasandtakeittothefeasibilitystage.

Bangor found that pipeline was slower than expected to develop. Following the needs analysis phase,companies,manyofthemnew,hadbeenpresentedwithalistofoptions.Anumberoflessonsemerged.Theprospectsofhavingtoinvestmoneyinbuildingaprototypetendedtoslowdowndevelopment.Bureaucracyanddocumentationalsopresentsspecialchallengesattheearlystages,whentheymustcommittodescribinginsomedepththeirproposalsandplans.Thisledtoaslowerlevelofengagementthaninitiallyexpected.



Theexpectedoutputswere:

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1. implementationofagapanalysison theNPD&Dskill-setsof theparticipatingpartner incubatorsHPSUcompanies

2. ProvisionofNPD&Dservices,support,guidanceandadvicetoselectedHPSUs

3. Provisionofexpertsupportsinaddressinggapsintheirinternalskill-setsbydesigningaNPD&Dprocessthatsuitstheclientcompany.

TABLE2:ACTION2TARGETS&OUTPUTS(TOENDFEBRUARY2015,TARGETSINBRACKETS)

So far the enterprise targethas been exceeded, andalmost 80% of the targetexpertdaysapplied.

For theremainingperiodofTESLA,CITwillcontinuetodelivertheNPD&Dsupportstoclientcompaniesastheyarerecruitedandapprovedfor supports. LMT through its IDFactory programme continues to recruit client companies andwill run twofurtherprogrammesin2015.LMTwillalsorunanewproductdevelopmentprogrammeforexistingcompaniesto targetnewmarketsduring the firsthalfof2015.Bangorwill continue todeliver theNPD&Dsupports toclientcompaniesastheyarerecruitedandapprovedforsupports.

Itislikelythattargetsoverallwillbeachievedorpossiblyexceeded.

OUTPUTS&OUTCOMES

The longer termoutcome sought is that these supportswould see a shortening of time tomarket for newproducts and allowing the companies to develop newmarket opportunities for new productswhichmatchmarketrequirements.Theevidencesofaristhatthisisbeingachievedinmanycases.

CompaniesengagingwiththeTESLAprojecthavebenefitedspecificallyfromreceivingdirectNPD&Dservicesfromexperts,aswellasfromhavingindividualisedreportsontheNPD&Dtasksthatmustbecompletedthemtocommercialisetheirproducts.

InthecaseofCIT,astart-up inthemedicalsectoroffersanexampleofwhattheActionhasachieved.AftercompletingtheNPD&Dreview,PMDSolutionssignedajointventureagreementwiththeexpertcompany.Theexpert company has achieved ISO 13485 certification (quality management system where an organisationdemonstrates its ability to providemedical devices and related services) tomanufacture products for PMDSolutions. This has allowed PMD Solutions to complete a clinical trial with Cork University Hospital thissummer, and towin aMedTec Ireland award in September. PMDhave also been nominated for the IMDAMedicalTechnologyIndustryExcellenceEmergingCompanyoftheYear2014.

A further two companies have agreed to finalise product development and begin manufacturing with theexpertcompany,withbothcurrentlyseeking investment.Onehascompletedamechanicaldesignreviewoftheirproposedmedicaldiagnosticsproduct.A further fiveare currently trying to raise investment,with thefinalTESLAreportbeingusedasacoreelementintheirfundraisingstrategy.

TESLAhashelpedBangortodefinethemeansthroughwhichlocalenterpriseswithintheirinternalecosystemcanextendbeyondandreachoutside.AtapracticallevelTESLAhasallowedtheBangorteamtherevenuetopilot and refine thiswork, access new connections and networks and to focus on developing processes formoreeffectiveengagementwithcompanies.TESLAfundingandactivitieshasalsohelpedthedevelopmentofthespecificBangorTESLAteamespeciallyinpositioningitinitsforthcomingmovetothePontiocentre.

An example of Bangor’s success is a company called Studio Banana that has developed a product calledKangarooLightwithsupportprovidedonlinebytheBangorexperts.Atargetwassetof100daystodeveloptheprototypeandtobeginaKickstarterfundingcampaign,whichwasmetandthecompanyreacheditstarget

OutputsIndicators TotalTargeted

CIT Bangor LMT TotalDelivered

No.ofClientEnterprises 55 11(20) 19(20) 29(15) 59

No.ofExpertDays 220 44(80) 36(80) 90(60) 170

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of £50,000. With the target funding raised, a company was selected to industrialise the product and themanufacturingwasinturndoneinChina.Theproductisnowlaunchedandavailableinretail.TheprototypemodelwasdevelopedinitiallyusingArduino.Bangorwasresponsiblefortheelectronics-theadditionofLEDlightingandthesurfacemountboard-drawingonthelocalnetworkandcommunityofengineers,highlightingthe interlinked ecosystem of companies at local and transnational levels helping each other. With Bangorsupportingitslocalnetwork,theseengineerswereinturnabletoassisttheprototypingoftheKangarooLightproduct.AtleastthreecompaniesfromtheBangorpipelinewereinvolvedinthisprototypedevelopment.

A second example is that ofCreoMedical,which Bangorwas able to provide the support in a fast-trackedplanned pathway. A four day workshop with the company brought together members of local network,includingacraftsmananddesignexpert.Externaldeveloperswerealsobroughtinforthisintensivefourdaysof prototyping work. A follow up visit to London allowed for more work to be carried out on detailingspecificationsandresolvingissuesthataroseatthefourdaysession.Threepatentshavenowbeenfiled.Theintensivefacetofaceworkoverthefourdaysallowedforthisspeedyprogress.

LMTintendstocontinueprovidingthisprogrammethroughitsIDFactorystrand,mainstreamingitwithintheiroverall programme of support to companies, after the completion of the TESLA project. The plan is to runthreeprogrammesperyear,usingLMTstaff.Asmallfeemaybecharged.Afurtheroutcomefromthisactionfor LMT is re-shaping of their IDenergy, a programme in place since 2007, along these lineswith the samemethodologyandtools.

CIT have also expressed an interest in introducing this LMT programme. A proposal for refinement andmainstreamingof theapproachmaybeproduced forexistingcompanies,alongwith incubationcentres.CIThave also worked to ensure that their external NPD&D expert will develop relations with new companies,usingthepackagethathasbeendevelopedthroughthisaction,includingtheneedsassessmenttool.

TRANSNATIONALITY

Allthreepartnersworkedcloselyinallaspectsofdesigning,managinganddeliveringthesetofsupportsacrosstheregions. Itwasnecessaryatstagesoftheprojectforexperts,withparticulardomainsectorexpertise,toassist with issues or challenges identified. A sharing of learning and knowledge within the framework of“designthinking”hasallowedforanewvisiontounderpintheimplementationofNPD&Dsupports.

ThroughthedevelopmentoftheIDFactoryprogrammeanditssuccessfulimplementationinLMT,andpossibletransfertoCIT,ItappearsthattheservicetobeprovidedthroughthisactionhasmetasignificantgapinthepresentprovisionofsupportstoHPSUcompaniesinthepartners’regions.Likewise,Bangorhasworkedcloselywithawiderangeofcompaniesinitspipelinetoprovideinhouseandlocalnetworksupportsonproto-typing,allowing for a sustainable set of outcomes in relation to the next phase of engagement within the Pontiocentre.ThedevelopmentofabespokeacceleratorprogrammehasalsoemergedthroughthecombinedworkonthisactionandtheCreativeIndustriesaction.

Onthatbasisitisexpectedthattheactionwillbeseenasaveryvaluablesupportandwillbemainstreamedwithintheserviceinatleastoneincubator.

CONCLUSIONS

Bridgingthatgapbetweenprototypeandanewproductworthyofinvestmentgavethethreepartnersacleargoal, though the precise nature of the gap varied among HPSUs in the three regions, resulting in distinctapproaches. Based on a jointly developed needs assessment, each focused carefully selected expertise, in-houseorinthelocality,ontheenterprisesneededtomovetheirprojectorprocessforward.Althoughslowtogetgoing,Bangornurturedacollaborativeenvironmentlinkedtoanetworkoflocalexpertise.LMTdesignedanew and what appears to be highly effective two-stage programme called IDFactory; while CIT took an

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individualisedapproachtoeachclientcompany.OverallthisActionsucceededintermsofassistingcompaniesto take their ideas to the next stage, and sometimes through to financing. There is a high likelihood ofmainstreaming,withBangorcontinuingthework,LMTalreadyplanningtorepeattheIDFactoryprogrammes,andCITconsideringintroducingthelattertotheirownclientsbuildingontheirexperience.

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2.3 ACTION3:INNOVATIONOUTREACH2.3.1 CONTEXT,PARTNERSANDGOALS

Partners:Líonra(Lead),Bangor,INI-Nov


HigherEducationinstitutions,andtheassociatedenterprisesupportactivities,oftencomprisekeysupportstoHPSUsdeliveredintra-murallyand/orintheimmediatevicinity.Wheretheyareabsent,therefore,HPSUscanbeatadistinctdisadvantage.The InnovationOutreachPilotActionattempts toaddress thisdeficit inareaswhere there isno third levelphysicalpresence.Action3was toprovidean innovativemodelofoutreacheduniversity-ledenterprisedevelopment.

The strategic intent is to develop strong innovation and outreach relationships with knowledge-intensivecompanieswiththeaimofshorteningthetimetomarketofknowledge-basedproductsandservicesproducedby the companies. Up to now, such companies have limited access to the supports of higher educationinstitutes. This pilot action leverages a range of business supports drawn from TESLA institutes as well asregionalbusinessdevelopmentagencies.Thedirectionandleadershipsupportstobeprovidedbypartnersaretoprovideasupportiveenvironmentfavourabletothegrowthofinnovation-ledbusinessesinareasthataredistantfromthehighereducationproviders.

ThesupportstobeofferedtothecompaniesaretobealignedtothequalityprofessionalsupportsandservicesaffordedtoHPSUsatexistingcampusInnovationCentres.Theactionfocusesontheprovisionofbusinessskillsdevelopment training, mentoring sessions where appropriate and developing useful linkages with highereducation centres and enterprise support agencies. A needs analysis phasewould determine the range ofsupportsappropriatetocompanyneeds.

Intended beneficiaries were defined as knowledge-based enterprises with export, growth and high qualityemployment potential. The ‘ethos’ to be cultivated with the companies will emphasise development ofpracticalbusinessskillsthrough‘actionlearning’.Thespecificactionstobeprovidedwouldfocuson:

• Relevantflexibletrainingandmentoringfortheselectedtechnology-basedenterprises.

• Incubationfacilitiesforstart-upsincircumstanceswheretheymightnototherwisehavesuchaccess.

• A professional networked environment to deliver a professional image to potential customers andoffersopportunitiesforbusinessnetworkingwithentrepreneursatsimilarstagesofdevelopment.

• AccesstoaBusinessDevelopmentManagertosupporttheenterprisesindevelopingbusinessplans,marketintelligencemining,developingsalesandmarketingplans,andprocuringfinance

• Mentoringsupportstomeetspecificbusinessandtechnologyneeds


Action3hasbeenveryslowtostartandfortwopartners,theactivityjustgettingunderway.

As of May 2015, only the German partner INI-Nov had initiated work with companies on the outreachactivities. Some 55 companies had been supported through being put in communication with a range ofintermediaryorganisations.

For Líonra the core challengeof the InnovationOutreachActionwas to findaway togainaccess toHPSUsoutsideof theareaofoperationof thethird level institutionswithwhich itworked,and indeedbeyondthereachofanyotherlocalthirdlevelinstitution.ItthereforesoughttoworkwiththeCountyEnterpriseBoards(nowtheLocalEnterpriseOffices:LEOs)inadjacentcountiesLongford,CavanandMonaghan.Theaimwastoaccess companies from their portfolios that could benefit from the outreach actions. As these enterprise

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agencies are in a developmental phase, their client base was not fully prepared to take advantage of thisaction.Líonraasaresultcouldnotinitiallygetthecompaniesthattheywanted.

TheLEOManagers, inconsultationwithLíonra,advisedadifferentapproach.Asa result, Líonraoffered theLEOsgreaterresponsibility indesigninganddevelopingownershipoftheaction.LíonraprovidesthesupportfortheemploymentbytheLEOsofamanagerfortheinitiative.Onceinplace,themanagerhastakenoverthelogisticsandisprovidingongoingoperationalsupport.

Todate,12companieshavebeenidentifiedandarebeingworkedwiththroughaneedsassessmentprocess.LíonrahadattendedtheWorkshoponAccessingUKMarkets(seeAction4Internationalisation)inDecember2014,andhadprocuredtheserviceofUKspecialistconsultancyJMBPartnershiptodeliver10daysofmarketsupportforAction3,andthesearecurrentlybeingimplemented.About10ofthe12arefocusingonenteringtheUKmarket.Theexpertwillworkwiththemtoproducea‘marketsegments’report.Mostofthecompaniesarealreadytrading.Somewanttodiversify.Thisemergedintheneedsassessment.Thegoaloftheactionisthateachcanhaveatailoredmarketaccessreportsforthem.AtotaloffivecompaniesareworkingthroughtheCavanLEO,fourfromLongfordandthreefromMonaghan.

Bangorwasfacedwiththeirownchallengesinrecruitingcompanies.Todatetheyhadmanagedtorecruitfivecompanies from the initial target of 40. Difficulties in HPSU recruitmentwas linked to the identification ofappropriatecompanies,gaugingtheirinterestandthenensuringthattheycangetvaluefromparticipation.

AtwodayworkshopforthesecompanieswasinitiallyplannedforDecember2014.Duetolackofavailabilityofspeakersandtrainers,thedatefortheworkshophasbeenpushedforwardtoJuneandnowmostliketoearlySeptember 2015. Having worked through the challenges of recruitment over the planning phase, it wasdecidedbytheteamthatBangorlacksthecriticalmassneededtorunitlocally.TheworkshopwillnowberuninLondonaimingfor20to30companies.Itisnowfinalisedandisreadytobeadvertised.

ThechallengeremainstoidentifyandrecruitsuitableHPSUsintermsofcurrentlylackingaccesstothirdlevelinstitutionalsupportregardingtheirdevelopmentplans,andtowhomtheBangorteamcanoffersomethingtoafter theevent. Bangorhasbeenusing its in-house registerof companies,manywhohaveattendedotherTESLA workshops including in the area of Public Procurement have been targeted for registering at theplannedtwodayevent.OthersupportsinrecruitingcompaniesarethestatutoryagenciesinWalesandotheruniversities.

Thedecisiontohosttheevent inLondonwastakentoallowforamoreaccessiblesite forHPSUsandotherstakeholders,bothwithintheUKandinternationally.TheBangorBusinessandManagementSchoolmaintainstheirownspaceinLondonthatwillbeusedtohosttheevent inSeptember2015. TheworkshopisentitledHighPotentialStart-UpWorkshop:Your8StepstoNational&InternationalSuccess.Itsetsouttospecificallytargethighpotentialstart-up(HPSUs) lookingtogainmarketshareinanInternationalmarketplace.Sessionsaccompaniedbypracticalworkshopswillfocusonarangeofrelevantfollowingthemes

TheworkshopisaimedatexploringdomesticandinternationalmarketsthatarepertinenttoHPSUslookingtofast-tracktheirnewproductsorservicestomarket.Aspartoftheworkshop, industryexpertsarebookedtoworkwiththeHPSUsonentrepreneurshipissuesandcollaborativeworkingthroughinteractiveexercises.Thefocus of theworkshops is on practical surgery-style sessions thatwill allow forHPSUs to carry out internalwork,aswellasdevelopamoredetailedunderstandingastohowbestprivatesectorinvolvementcanworkfortheHPSUinquestion.Bringingallthecompaniesinonespacetogetherwiththerangeofexpertswillallowthispracticalfocus.

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Thetablebelowshowsthetargets,andinbrackets,thenumbersachievedsofar.

TABLE3:ACTION3TARGETS&OUTPUTSTOMARCH31ST2015

INI-NovhadexceededitstargetcompaniesbytheendofMarch2015,makinguseoftheirstrongconnectionswithenterprisesupportagenciesandalsotheirclientcompanies.Mostoftheseweresimplycommunicationsconcerningservicesavailablefromothersratherthansubstantivesupportactivities.Asthemoresubstantiveactions in IrelandandWalesencounteredsignificantdelays in recruitingcompanies for thispilotaction, theremainderoftheoutreachactivitieshaveyettotakeplacewithbothpartnersandtheircollaborativeagencies.PartnershaveuntilOctober2015toreachtheirtargets.

InIreland,the12companieshavebeenidentifiedandtheinitialoutreachactivitiesareongoingwithnineofthem.Thesecompaniesareexpectedtocompletetheprogrammesuccessfully.

OUTPUTS&OUTCOMES

Within INI-Nov, the action involved supporting HPSUs in accessing third level research input. No feedbackformshavebeenprovidedinrelationtotheseactivities.Thereforeitisnotpossibletodrawanyconclusionsonthemannerinwhichtherewerespecificoutcomesfortheclientcompanies.

TRANSNATIONALITY

Interaction between partners has been limited on this action. INI-Novworked pro-activelywith their clientcompanies, carrying out a range of outreach and follow-up support actions. Their interaction withentrepreneurial support agencies in different countries can suggest that they are contributing to a flow ofknowledgeandinteractionswithinthetransnationalecosystemforinnovation.

Thetransnationalelementsfortheotherpartnershavenotbeenimplementedtodate.Whentheprogrammefor the two day session in London is formally launched and advertised, input from other partners will besoughtintermsoftheidentificationandrecruitingofHPSUs.

CONCLUSIONS

TheideaofanInnovativeoutreachactivity–reachingouttoHPSUswiththehighereducationresourcestheylack in their region – proved in practice not to be clear cut, and partners responded differently. For INI-Novation,whichoperatesasanodeforlocalandtransnationalnetworksofactorsandisbasedinarelativelydevelopedregion,itwasleastproblematic.ItsuccessfullyreachedouttoalargenumberofHPSUsconnectingthemwithhighereducationandotheradvancedservices,wellexceedingthetarget.ForLíonra,identifyingandlocating such HPSUs, by definition beyond their usual networks, was a significant challenge causing majordelay.Butwhentheydid,throughcollaboratingcloselywithLocalEnterprisesOfficesinadjacentcountiesthatlack third level institutions, they very quickly succeeded in building a strong group of candidates forwhichsupport is ongoing and will continue through to the end of TESLA. Tilburg faced a similar problem but itssolutionofaLondonbasedWorkshophasastrongtransnationalfocusintermsofHPSUoutcomes,throughasetofpracticalsurgerystylesessions.Thistooisongoing.Itistooearlytojudgethefinaloutcomeinthiscase.

OutputsIndicators:No.Of: Projected Líonra Bangor INI-Nov Total

ClientCompanies 85 12(30) 5(40) 55(15) 72

Busdev./Mentordays 57

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WORKPACKAGE2:INTERNATIONALISATION

2.4 ACTION4:INTERNATIONALISATIONThiswas fromanearly stagedesigned tohave a close relationship toAction6: Soft Landing/Co-Incubation.Action 4 Internationalisationprepares companies in advance for a direct visit,whileAction 6 supports thatmarketentryprocessitself.

2.4.1 CONTEXT,PARTNERSANDGOALS

Partners:CIT(Lead),EBN,Líonra,INI-NOV,LMT.


The goal of Action 4 is to support HPSUs in their efforts to extend beyond domestic markets i.e. tointernationalise. Small firms face specific barriers not encountered in home markets, including a lack ofunderstandingofothermarketsandtheircompetitors;insufficientinvestmentandbusinessplanning;andaninabilitytosupportcustomersandpartnersthere.

This action was designed to provide key preliminary or preparatory activities seen as preconditions tosuccessfulinternationalisation.Specificallythegoalwastobeachievedthrough:

• Designing and piloting a course on internationalisation in each participating region, to addressidentifiedgaps,byTESLApartnersorwithotheragencies;

• Thecreationofanetworkofexpertscomprisingallparticipatingpartnerswhichwouldbeavailabletoclientsonaregulartoprovidetailoredsupport,tobuildsalesandtoassistwithgapanalysis.

The original intentionwas for CIT to engage an external expert in internationalisationwhowould lead thedesignofapilottrainingcourse,coveringthekeycomponentofinternationalisation.ThiswassubsequentlytobeimplementedineachregionofthefiveparticipatingTESLApartners.


During the Action design phase, the two key interventions were scrutinised resulting in importantmodifications. It became clear in discussions between TESLA partners that the training course and otherlearningactivitieswouldhavetobetailoredtothecharacteristicsofeachregion,thesupportactionsavailable,andthespecificstageofdevelopmentandneedsoftheirHPSUs.

Inthiscontext, the ideaofasingleexpertbased inCIT, todesignthecourse,made littlesense.Rathereachpartnerwouldconsideritsownenvironmentandwhatformoftrainingmightbemostsuitable.Furthermore,theideathatHPSUsineachregionwouldbereferredtoasingleexpertinaTESLApartnerinanotherregionwasnotasstraightforwardasitfirstappeared.

A more flexible and decentralised approach was therefore adopted for the training and expert adviceactivities. In practice this meant slimming down the transnationality of implementation, but not of thetransnational focus of the activities from the point of view of participating HPSUs. It resulted in a greaterdiversityofapproachbypartnersthanhadoriginallybeenanticipated.

AninitialstepwastojointlycreatetheNeedsAssessmentTemplate,developedonthebasisofmaterialfromINI-NovandusedbyallpartnersbothinthisactionandinAction6.

Thereafter each partner took a different approach to achieving the goal of preparing HPSUs forinternationalisationandsupportingthemintheprocess,andthesearedescribedbelow.

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CITinCork,throughtheRubiconIncubationCentre,directlysupportsalmost60start-upenterprisesandoffersvariouslevelsofsupporttomanymore.AtanearlystageCITrealisedthattheinternationalisationprogrammebeingimplementedbyEnterpriseIreland(EI)containedmostofthecomponentsenvisagedforTESLA,butthatonly a limited number of relatively advanced companies could in practice avail of it. It initially considereddeveloping its own programme tailored to HPSUs who could not access the existing EI programme. Itinvestigatedusingthesamedeliveryexpertsbutfoundthemtobeprohibitivelyexpensive,andtherewasalsosomeconcernaboutduplicatingtheactivitiesofEnterpriseIreland.

Instead,CITdecidedtorunaseriesofspecialistday-longWorkshopsontargetedmarkets,andtofollowtheseupwith one-to-one support actions to interested participants.Using resources fromAction 5 TransnationalPlacements,aninitialstepwastovisitcentresofknownexpertiseinthisareainWarwickandCoventryintheUK, and were impressed with the ‘turnkey’ approach of both theUniversity of Warwick Science Park andassociatedconsultinggroups,JMBPartnershipandTechmark.

Followingthis, thesetof fourAwarenessRaisingWorkshopsweredesigned,providingamixtureofpracticalinformationbutalsoaimingtoattracttheparticipatingcompaniesintoTESLA.OnecoveredTESLAasawhole(withHorizon20/20)inNovember2014,andtheothersfocusedoninternationalisationspecificallyintheUK,ChinaandGermany.INI-NovationcontributedtothedeliveryofaWorkshopinCorkonaccessingtheGermanmarket in2013.TheothersweredeliveredonChina(ahalf-day, June2013)withexpertssourced in Ireland;andontheUK(December2014)usinglocalandIrishexpertsandothersincludingfromUKTrade&Investment.

Thekeytothe impactofthesewasthefollow-up.One-to-onesessionswereofferedintheafternoonoftheWorkshops, by prior appointment, on the GermanMarket (by INI) and UK workshop (by JMB). Butmoresustainedsupportwasalsoonoffer,availabletoallcompaniessupportedintheRubiconCentre.

Companies expressing further interest first completed the Needs Assessment Template. Based on anassessment of this, they could be offeredmore intensive one to one support. Thisworked best for theUKWorkshops.AtotaloftencompaniescompletedtheneedsassessmentandbeganindividualisedsupportfromJMBandWarwickUniversity.Itisofferedintwostages.ThefirstfivedaysconsidersindetailtheHPSUproductor service,whether it suits theUKmarket, the competitors, andwhatadditional effort itmightneed.Aftercompletion,theoptionisforasecondfive-daysupportphaseactuallyvisitingandtestingthemarketthere.

TwoenterprisesofthetenhadbyApril2015completedthefullcourse,andtheothersarestillunderwaywiththeintentionofcompletingbyJune.

SomeinterestwasalsoexpressedinaccessingtheGermanmarket,withsupportofferedbyINI.Oneenterprisecompletedthefirststageofsupportwithaverypositiveoutcome,buthasyettofollowthroughonthemarkettestingphase.

The relatively higher level of interest in theUKmarket, CIT feels, related to the easewithwhich is can beaccessedbyIrishHPSUs,andlowerbarrierstoentryintermsoflanguage,travel,costandbusinessculture.

Overall,thelevelofinterestexpressedbycompaniesinitiallydidnottranslateintoreadinesstotakeonthefullchallengeofinternationalisation,evenwheretheproductappearedtojustifyit,andthisledtoamongstotherthings delays to implementation. The role of CIT in internationalisation is to bring firms to ‘first sale, firstfinance’.MostIrishenterprisesbelievethattheeasiestroutetothis,andthemostlikelytosucceed,istheUKgiventheabsenceoflanguagebarriers,thegeographicalproximityandculturalaffinitiesinmanyareas.

Líonra followedaparallel course.Two InternationalisationWorkshopswereheld,on theGermanMarket inMay2013moderatedby INI-NovationandattendedbynineHPSUs;andtheotherontheChineseMarket inDecember2014,moderatedbyChairoftheIreland-ChinaBusinessAssociationwith11participants.

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LMT also began, after the joint development of the Needs Assessment tool, with an awareness raisingWorkshop at the end of 2013 on the TESLA internationalisation supports proposed, open to all interestedenterpriseinMayenne.

WiththeTESLAteamdecisionnottodevelopasinglecommontrainingandsupportprogramme,anumberoflocalactionsweredesigned.

WorkingwiththelocalChamberofCommerce,LMTdesignedandimplementedadedicatedintensivesupportprogrammeforHPSUstoassistintheirentryintoexternalmarkets.Itcomprisedseveralsteps,workingwithfourenterprises.Firstwasagroupday,wherethemostappropriateserviceorproductfromthecompanytointernationalisewasselectedfromeach.Thiswasfollowedbyone-to-oneexpertsupportfortwohourswitheach toexplore thepotentialmarkets,documented inawrittenassessment report for selectedmarkets. AsecondgroupdaythenbroughttheHPSUstogetheragain,toexplorehowthechosenmarketmightinpracticebeaccessed.Afinalone-to-onesessionwitheachdrewupamoredetailedactionplantoaccessthemarkets.Thecoursewassuccessfullyruntwice,withatotalofeightenterprisescompletingandallarecontinuingtheirdevelopment.

Inaddition,LMTfundedseveralmoreadvancedpartnerstovisittradefairsinvariousplaces,includingoneinDarmstadtfacilitatedbyINI.

Inanactivity that intertwinedwithAction5TransnationalPlacements (seebelow)LMTalsoprovideone-to-onesupportintheirvisitstoCITinCorkandtoLíonrapartnerGMITinGalway.ThiswasarrangedbythelocalTESLApartner,whoreciprocatedbyprovidingsupporttolocalcompanieswhentheyvisitedLMT(thoughthelattertendedtorecordthesevisitsunderAction5,notAction4)

Led by LMT, these reciprocal support activities led to the initiation of an ongoing activity that partners call‘Matchmaking’.CIT,LMT,INIandGMITengageinaregularmonthlyjointSkypecalltoexchangeinformationaboutcliententerprise, followinguponandsuggesting furtheravenue for support. Thesehavebecomeanongoingandvaluedfeatureoftheworkofthefourinnovationcentrepartners.

EBNhadalsooriginallyintendedtodelivertrainingformembers.Giventheirroleasanetworki.e.nothavinga specific home territory, it was always difficult for them to differentiateAction 4 Internationalisation andAction6SoftLandingandCo-incubation,giventhatthetwosharethesameultimategoal. EBNwasalreadymovingtowardsemphasisingtheneedforpreparationbeforeattemptingtoaccessexternalmarkets,basedonthe results of a pilot they had run in which they supported about 30 enterprises to directly access othermarkets.ThiswasthusagoodandtimelyfitwithTESLA.

IntheendtheydesignedanddeliveredtailoredWorkshopsininternationalisation,aspreparationforaccessingaforeignmarket,ateventswheretheyhada leadingrole, includingtheirAnnualCongress,andrantheminDerry,Spain,BrusselsandLondon.Theycomprisedahalfdayevent,andweredeliveredincooperationwithother EBN members who were in attendance anyhow. The participating enterprises were then directedtowardsTESLApartnersforsupportinthespecificmarketsinvolved.

INI isbasedinarelativelyindustrialregionwithmanyhightechstart-ups,andisasupportorganisationwithlinkstoseveralinnovationcentres.Ithasbuiltupaclientportfolioacrossmanyareasinsideandoutsidetheirregion.INIprovidesanintegratedservicetothese,andattempttoofferindividualorjointsupportseamlessly,without explicitly differentiating as far as the HPSU is concerned between the different types of support,blendingAction3 InnovationOutreach,Action4 Internationalisation,Action6Soft-landing (which INI leads),andAction7MentorPlus. Usingitsalreadyconsiderableexperienceinthearea,INIundertookthefollowingundertheAction4heading:

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• In close collaboration with the EEN of the Hessen State Trade & Investment, it developed andimplementedanInternationalBreakfastseminarinMarch2014;

• It designed a training programme, delivered it to in excess of 10 client enterprises; and recruitedcoachestoprovideongoingspecificinformationonrelevantmarkets;

• ItreferredclientstootherTESLApartnerstosupporttheirpreparatoryeffortstoaccesstheirmarkets.


ImmediateoutputstoDecember2014canbeassessedagainsttheoriginaltargetsfortheActionoverall.

TABLE4:ACTION4TARGETS&OUTPUTS.MARCH31ST2015

In two areas the targets are alreadyexceeded, and some outputs arecontinuing since then. It seem likely thatthe target for expert days provided toclientcompanieswillalsobeexceededbythe end of the Programme as these areongoinginallparticipatingpartners.

SomeimmediatefeedbackisalsoavailablefromsomeoftheTrainingandFamiliarisationWorkshop,basedonformsdistributedattheendofsomeevents.NotallTESLApartnerssoughtsuchfeedback,ateveryevent,andthesurveysuseddifferedsomewhat.Furthermorelittlecanbedrawnfromtheseregardinglongtermimpacts.ButatleastintheimmediatetermtheygiveusagoodideaoftheexperienceandexpectationsofparticipatingenterprisesinCITandinLMTrunevents.Afewofthehighlightsincludethefollowing.

The three Workshops run by CIT regarding accessing UK, German and Chinese markets received overallreceivedanoverallratingsasfollows:TABLE5:ACTION4RATINGOFCITINTERNATIONALISATIONWORKSHOPS

Notably,notasingleoneofthe83responding participants rated anyoftheindicatorsas‘poor’,andonlyahandful returnaverdictof ‘fair’.Overall the immediate rating ofparticipantsattheseWorkshopsinCorkwasverypositive.

LMTofferssomedataon theone-to-one support provided toenterprises completing theirtraining course. Again, the resultsoverallarepositiveinallareas.

TABLE6:ACTION4RATINGOFLMTINTERNATIONALISATIONTRAINING

Of particular interest for longterm impact, however, were afew additional questions.Participants were asked if theyhad, as a result of participation,securedinternationalcustomers.Two of the nine said they hadalready secured their first

Totaltarget

Totalachieved

No. of companies engaging with theinternationalisationexpert

74 101

No. of companies taking part in the pilotinternationalisationcourse

43 60

Internationalisationexpertdaysprovidedtoclientcompanies

306 269

AccessingUKMarkets

(n=13)

AccessingGermanMarkets

(n=30)

AccessingChinese

Markets(n=42)

Howdoyouratethesessionasawhole?

85% 88% 87%

Diditmeetlearningobjectives?

74% 82% 83%

Howwasthestandardofpresentation?

87% 82% 91%

Howwasthestandardofcoursecontent?

87% 82% 87%

Howasthestandardofdiscussion?

87% 90% 83%

Note: A composite rating scale is used herewhere ‘excellent’ = 3; ‘good’ = 2’‘fair’=1;‘poor’=0.Theyarethenconvertedtoa%ofthemaximumpossible.

Participantsratedthefollowing: Score

Overallsupport 92%Organisationoftheactivity 86%Settingandenvironment 92%Preparationoftrainer/mentor 86%Thegeneralfeelingofquality? 94%Note:Acomposite5pointscaleisused:‘verypoor’or‘completelydisagree’=0;to‘verygood’or‘completelyagree’=4.Expressedapercentageofmaximum.

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internationalcustomer,andathirdsaidtheyhadaddedacustomer.Theothersindicatedthattheirintentionsforexpansionwereinthemediumtolongterm.

ThesefiguresconcuringeneralwiththeresultsinCorkandinterviewselsewhere,whereitwasrecognisedthatbringingmostHPSUstoapointwheretheycanactuallysecureafirstexternalcustomercantakesometime.Even securing that first customer requires that the enterprise has fully transformed its products, clientancillaryandsupportactivitiesandorientationessentialtoservicingthatexternalmarket.

AkeyoutcomeofthisActionisthedocumentationandpackagingofanumberofInternationalisationTrainingMethodologies, includingthedetaileddeliveryrequirementsandmodules.Thesearereadyforreplication intheirrespectiveareas,butalsoelsewhereastheopportunityarises.

TESLApartnersbelievethattheprospects formanyof their firmsarepositiveandarecontinuingtoprovideassistance. The evidence is not available to fully support this, although a small number of firmsmetwouldtendtoaffirmthisconclusion.

FinallyitisworthnotingthatCIT,LMTandINIdointend(inadditiontotheongoing‘Matchmaking’activity)tocontinuewherepossibletooffertheinternationalisationtraining,frominternalresourcesorfrompartnershipssuch as that between LMT and the Chamber of Commerce. INIwill do so as part of its tailored offering toclients,onthebasisofdemand.

TRANSNATIONALITY

Overallthedegreeoftransnationalactivityinthisareawassomewhatlowerthanoriginallyanticipated.Itwasdecidednot to design and implement a common internationalisation course in eachparticipating regionbyeachpartner;andthenetworkofexpertsdidnotemergeinthewayanticipated–butthisdidnotdetractfromthetransnationalimpactonparticipatingenterprisesi.e.Theextenttowhichenterprisesthemselvesengagedintransnationalactivitieswasnotreducedbythesedecisions.Ifanything,giventhatthedecisionwastakenonthebasisoftheinformedandconsideredjudgementoftheentireteam,therevisedapproachrepresentedanimprovementonwhatmighthavetranspiredhadtheycontinuedtheactionasoriginallyplanned.

Therewasalsoaconsiderabledegreeoftransnationalcooperation,muchofitemergingorganicallyfromthepartners.

• TheNeeds Assessment Templatewas developed throughmutual agreement and used consistentlythroughoutwithenterprisesparticipationinthetraining;

• Partners were in constant contact with each other, at the regular meetings and more informally,duringthedesignoftheirrespectivetrainingprogrammes;

• Although it was not systematic, TESLA partners provided a number of one-to-one coaching andtrainingsessiontoenterprisesinvisitstoeachother’scentres;

• Ofsignificantimportanceistheongoingcommunicationamongthefourpartnersthoughthemonthly‘Matchmaking’ session conducted by Skype between them, to discuss individual clients needs,potentialandsupport(seealsounderAction4below).

CONCLUSION

Internationalisationengaged fivepartners inefforts toprepareHPSUs specifically tobring theirproducts toexternalmarkets. In thatsense,Action4couldbeseenasapreliminarycounterpart tobe followedupbyapracticalvisittothatmarketunderAction6Soft-Landing.Considerablyredesignedcollaborativelybypartnersatthebeginning,itprovidedregionallysensitivesupportintheformoftraining,productandmarketanalysis

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andexpertsupport,and/ortailoredworkshops.AlthoughbringingHPSUsthefullwayto internationalisationduring the timeavailableproved tobemoredifficult thanexpected, theprogressmadewas significantandbeneficial tothemevenwhereamarketbreakthrough isyettobeachieved.Targetshavebeenexceeded intermsofcompaniessupported.Therewasalsoahighdegreeofcooperationbetweenthepartnersthroughout–andthisisinsomecasescontinuinginanorganicmanner–andthreeofthepartners,atleast,arelikelytocontinueofferingthework.

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2.5 ACTION5:TRANSNATIONALPLACEMENTS2.5.1 CONTEXT,PARTNERSANDGOALS

Partners:CIT(Initiallead);LMT(LeadfromfirstSteeringCommittee)CIT,EBN,Líonra,Bangor,INI-Nov


Action 5 Transnational Placements is designed to build the skills and knowledge of incubation/innovationcentres’ staff through direct experience of, and exchange of knowledge in, a peer organisation in anotherparticipatingregion.

Additionalbenefitsaretocliententerprises,intermsofopportunitiestolearnfromvisitingexperts.Throughexposureofstafftodifferenttools,waysofworking,processesandbusinessmethodsbuiltupoveraperiodoftime inadifferententerprise-supportecosystem, it is intendedtofacilitatebestpracticeamongthepartnerregionsandtoencourageongoingtransnationalexchanges.

Action5wasnot restricted to thosestaffalreadydirectly involved inTESLA;norwerehostingorganisationsrestricted to the TESLA partners themselves but could include any relevant organisationwithin the region.Furthermore, visits toorganisationsoutside theTESLA regions couldbe supported, butonly in caseswherespecialist requirementsarise.Eligible costs include travelandaccommodation for thevisitor, staffhours forbothstaffandhost,andanyadditionalhostexpenses(thoughnocostsforhostsoutsidetheNWEregioncouldbereimbursedbyTESLA).

Theplanwasforashortreporttobecompiledaftereachvisit,byboththevisitingstaffmemberandthehostorganisation, identifying goodpractice encountered. Thesewere tobe compiled andpresentedat thematicseminarsacrossthepartnerregionstodisseminatebestpracticetoawidergroupofpeopleandorganisations.


ThefirstTESLASteeringCommitteemeetingagreedthattheleadroleshouldbetransferredfromCITtoLMTasthelatterhadnoleadrole.

ImplementationofAction5wasperhaps themost straightforwardof all the TESLA actions. CoordinatedbyLMT, themain requirement for implementationwas, in thecontextof theTESLAgoals, todeterminewhichstaffmemberswouldbenefit,throughvisitstowhere,andwhenwouldbetheappropriatetime.Thegoalwasto derive the greatest advantage to both the visiting TESLA partner and of the hosting partner; and tomaximisethevalueoftheinter-regionalexchange.

Actions were taken to ensure that individual TESLA partner staff interests could best be matched to theexpertiseandbestpracticeavailableinotherpartners’regions,includingspecificreferencetoeventsorotheractionsthatmightbeofspecialinterest.Atemplatetorecordthespecificexpertiseandexperienceavailableat each TESLA partnerwas drawn up; aswell as a second template or application formdesigned for thoseseekingtovisit.Thecriteriaforselectionwerestraightforward:

• thelevelofstaffmotivationandinterest;

• ensuringtheplacementisinlinewithTESLAObjectives

• matchingtheinterestsofthevisitortothepossibilitiesofferedbythehostorganisation

Thevisits themselvesbeganslowlyduring2013,gatheringpace in2014withmanyextending into2015andongoing.Inpractice,2013wasaperiodduringwhichTESLApartnersgottoknoweachother,tosomeextentobviatingtheneedforreferringtodetailedtemplatesofwhatwasavailableatthepartnerorganisationsandtheirrespectiveregions.Amorepersonalandpersonalisedapproachwasadoptedformostvisits.Earlyvisitstendedtobefromcorestaff,followedlateronbythoselessdirectlyinvolvedinTESLA.

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AsinmostactivitiestherehavebeensomedelaysandvisitsareenvisagedtocontinueintoSeptember2015.

Visithostswereprimarily toTESLAorganisations.Duringmanyplacements thevisitorwas takento relevanteventsandtosometimesotherorganisationsinvolvedinenterprisedevelopmentswithintheregion

Thescheduleofactivity,at leastofaninitialvisit,usuallycomprisedadiverserangeofactivitiesspreadovertwo to four days, organised by the host. These included for instance visits to and detailed discussion andexplorationof incubationandentrepreneurial supportpractices;attendanceatconferencesandevents;andtripstootherorganisationsinvolvedinenterprisedevelopmentswithintheregiontoexplorelinkswiththese(non-partner)centres.Thevarietywassuchthattherewasvirtuallynotypicaltransnationalplacement.

The visiting staff usually alsometone-to-onewith interestedenterprises, anddelivering group seminarsonaccessing their respective markets. On return to their organisations most visiting staff organised seminarswithintheirownorganisationstosharethebestpracticeobserved.

TheoptionofvisitingspecialistorganisationsoutsideoftheTESLAregions,whereitwasessentialtoachievingtheTESLAgoalsbythepartner,wasavailedofbyCIT.Asnoted,threestaffvisitedWarwickUniversityresultingin establishing links to the University of Warwick Science Park, the nearby University of Coventry andassociated consulting groups. No costs were claimed on theWarwick side since theywere not part of theTESLA project consortium. These ultimately contributed significantly to the successful implementation ofAction4oninternationalisationinCITandtheirinteractionisongoing.

The finalbestpracticedocumentcompiledbyLMT is tobemergedwithworkunderTESLAsupportingBestPracticeworkpackage.



Theoriginaltargetwasfor27studyvisitscompleted;27hostedbythepartners;and21bestpracticeseminars.

TABLE7:TARGETS&OUTPUTSFORACTION5.JUNE2015

While visitorplacementswill exceed the target, thenumberhostedbyTESLApartners is likely tobe lower,accountedforinpartbyvisitstonon-partnerhosts.

The number of best practice seminars likely to be delivered is two thirds the number originally targeted,thoughthelevelofimpactisnotnecessarilyreducedbythesameproportion.ThiswasbecausevisitingstaffsoftendeliveredtheirfeedbacktomorethanoneTESLApartnerinasingleseminar(e.g.SandrineandValeriepresentedtheexperiencegainedtotwodifferentcentresinIrelandatthesameworkshop);andfeedbackwasalso delivered to colleagues at informal meetings or during on-the-spot discussions rather than at formalseminars.

TESLAPartners CIT Bangor EBN INI-Nov Líonra LMT Total Total

ActualtoendJune.‘15

Outputsbynumbersof: Ju

ne‘15

June

‘15

June

‘15

June

‘15

June

‘15

June

‘15

June

‘15

Orig

inal

Targets

Studyvisits 8 5 2 2 5 3 24 27

Visitingpeoplehosted 3 0 2 0 1 9 15 27

Bestpracticeseminardelivery 3 2 1 0 1 2 7 21

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OUTPUTS&OUTCOMES

The numbers reveal very little of the qualitative outcomes. The report produced by visitors and hosts,however,suggestsignificantbenefits.Thisissupportedbytheinterviewsofmanyofthosevisiting,allofwhomreportedthattheyconsiderablyprofitedfromtheirtrips.

Visitingstaff(andoftenhosts)usuallyreportedmultiplebenefitsfromeachtrip.ForinstancetheCITvisitstoWarwick contributed to Action 4, but they also led to sharing in-depth knowledge of their contrastingapproachestoincubatorpractices;andofhowthewithdrawalofstate-aidwashandledinthatenvironment.Another set of CIT visits to Laval is resulting in significant redesign of one of their programmes. EBN staffplacementsinLMTwereconsideredusefulsince,beinganetworkofincubationcentres,theyseldomhavetheopportunity to spend time examining the activities of amember, in depth on-site. Their visit also includedsitting in on mentoring activities. It is clear the transnational placements were used strategically – oropportunistically – to strengthen other TESLA activities that would have been far weaker without them,particularlytheothertwoactionsintheWorkPackage2.

Perhaps most important, the placements offered an opportunity to deepen the relationship betweenincubation/enterprise centres in particular, evidence for which is clear from the ongoing monthly‘matchmaking’ events between the enterprise centres mentioned above; as well as ongoing discussionsbetweenpartnersregardingjointsubmissionofproposalsforfundinginfutureactivitiesrelevanttotheTESLAobjectives.

Severalofthepartnerscommentedininterviewsthattheywouldnever,inthenormalcourseoftheirwork,bein a position to clear the time required to engage in such in depth interactions and placements. Yet thebenefits, they recognised,werewellworth the effort quite independently of the fact that such visitsweresupportedbyTESLA.

For an Action with a relatively modest budget, this has produced perceptible benefits in terms of directlyachieving TESLA objectives and of reinforcing the impact of TESLA objectives, among most participatingpartnersbutparticularlythoseengagedincubatorcentresandnetworking.Thisactionwillclearlyhavealong-termeffectonthepartnersinvolved,astheyhavebuiltstrongandlastingrelationships.

TRANSNATIONALITY

The degree of transnationality in this is clearly high. As noted, TESLA has enabled significant in-depthinteractionbetweenpartnersinTESLAandalsowithothersofrelevancetoTESLAobjectivesmainlyinsidebutalsooutsidetheNWEregion.

Of particular interest is the potential for ongoing interaction and transnational network buildingwithin theNWEregionthatthis(incombinationwithotherTESLAActions)hasenabled.

CONCLUSION

The idea of supporting structured staff exchanges between innovation centres and incubators in differentregionswasstraightforwardandeffective,withanobvioushighdegreeoftransnationality. Thebenefitscanbejudgeddirectlyfrompartners–itdemonstratesveryclearlyhowfindingameanstoextractstafffromtheirdailydutiestoexchangewithpeers inotherregions isbothdifficult inthenormalcourseofevent,andveryworthwhile.ItislikelythatafterTESLAthetimewillbetakentodeepenexchangesinthefuture.

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2.6 ACTION6:SOFT-LANDING/CO-INCUBATION2.6.1 CONTEXT,PARTNERSANDGOALS

Partners:EBN(InitialLead),INI-Nov(Co-responsible),Líonra,LMT,CIT.


‘Soft-landing’isatermusedtodescribeaninternationalco-incubationschemewherecooperatingincubationcentreseasetheaccessforenterprisesintoaforeignmarket.SuchdirectexposuretointernationalmarketsisseenasakeywaytobuildthecapacityandcompetitivenessofHPSUstoaddress internationalmarkets,andultimatelytoaddressglobalmarkets.TheTESLApartnerEBNalreadysupportsaSoft-LandingClubamongitsmembers.

AlthoughEBNisformallytheleadpartner,INI-Novationisco-responsible,promotingthepilotprogrammeanddevelopingneedsassessmentformsandthesoft-landinghandbook.LíonraandLMT,aswellasINI-NOVATION,are directly involved in the practical implementation of the soft-landing platform. Though no budget wasallocatedthem,CITwasinvolvedtoalimiteddegree.

Thegoalwasforpartnerstobecomehostincubators,presentingtheirprofilesonaWebPlatformforpotentialtarget enterprises, and offering them a flexible set of supports designed to ease their way into the newmarket. Co-incubation centres were to be providedwith a transnational training course. Client enterpriseswere to be offered international readiness assessment, and if approved would then design a package ofsupportwithan incubationCentreof their choice, including theuseof spaceduringamarketdevelopmentvisit,appropriatetradefairopportunities,andmarketassessments.

Thesuccessfulachievementofasoft-landingforHPSUscanberegardedastheculminationoftheeffortsofanincubatorcentreorsupportagencyinrelationtotheTESLAgoal,theconvergenceofacombinationofseveralactionsthatideallysetstheenterpriseontheroadtoexpansionacrossinternationalmarkets.

Itcan,atthesametime,beseenasastartingpointforthesesameenterprisesintermsofawholesetofnewsupportsrequiredforfurtherexpansionbeyondinitialsuccessfulentryintoanexternalmarket.SuchsupportsinfactcanextendbeyondeventheTESLAhorizonandrelatetothewidereco-systembeyondincubationandsuccessfulproductorservicelaunch.

TheTermsofReferenceofAction6situatethispilotprogrammesfirmly inthecontextof theotheractions,diagrammaticallyillustratingitsrelationshiptootheractions,specificallyAction4:Internationalisation;Action7:MentorPlus;Action3:InnovationOutreach;andAction9:EntrepreneurialFinance.FromthisperspectiveanetworkofSoft-Landingplatformscanbeseenasakeybindingcomponentofatransnationaleco-systemtosupportHSPUs.

TESLAcansupportthetravelandsubsistence,anofficeinthelocalinnovationcentreforuseintheexplorationofthelocalmarket,andadvanceandsubsequentsupportfromthehostincubatorandtheoriginatingcentres.It can also facilitate the enterprise in obtaining the specificmarket analysis or other specialist expertise toenableittoturnthevisittoitsadvantage.Suchadditionalsupport,however,isnotfinanciallyreimbursedbyTESLA.


AtthefirstTESLASteeringCommitteemeetingitwasagreedthatINI-Novationwouldtakeco-responsibilityforthiswithEBN,partlybecausetheyasyethadnospecificActionundertheir leadershipbutmoreparticularlybecausetheyhaveextensiveexperienceintheareaandhadalreadydeveloped,inthecourseoftheirwork,asetoftoolsandresourcesthatcouldbeadaptedforusebyTESLApartners.

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AnextensiveNeedsAssessmenttoolwasfirstdraftedforuseinsoft-landing/co-incubation(andalsoinAction4InternationalisationandAction2:InnovationOutreach).ItwasrefinedandagreeduponbyallTESLApartnersforuseintheirrespectiveregions.Itcanbeconsideredasascreeningdevicewithalearningdimension,usedfor an initial analysis of whether an enterprise is ready to take part in the soft-landing and co-incubationplatform.Asnoted,averyhighlevelofpreparednessisessential,andaprematureattemptatmarketentrymaybeasignificantsetbackforanenterprise.

On the other side of the equation, the host incubator centres also produced Business Support Profilespresenting the potential services they could make available. The idea was to match these on the TESLAWebsite(anideathatisjustnowcomingtofruition-seebelow).AspartofthisTESLApartnersalsogatheredinformationontradeeventsandnetworkingopportunitiesforentryintotheemergingdatabase.

AnextensiveManagementGuideforSoft-LandingandCo-IncubationServicewasdraftedbyINI-Novation(thelatest draft version 1.4 in May 2014), and disseminated, discussed and revised by all partners seeking todevelopharmonised soft-landing tools andprocesses aswell as a Soft-LandingPlatform. It is a particularlycomprehensivedocument, incorporating the conceptual andeconomicdimensions, theoperational aspects,bestpracticesandasetofAnnexestoassistinimplementation.

In practice a soft-landing action often focuses around a relevant trade fair or event, where the HPSU candemonstrateinpracticewhattheyhaveandholdmeetings.Partofthatpreparation(oftenthroughAction4InternationalisationandAction7MentorPlus)isalsotolookatboththepotentialforandtherequirementsforaccessinganexternalmarket. TheManagementGuide,orHandbookas it isalsocalled,coveredalloftheseaspectsinsufficientdepthtoenableaCentretoimplementtotheapproach.

During 2014 training events on soft-landing were designed on the one hand for incubationmanagers andbusinessadvisorsandontheotherforstart-upentrepreneurs. Theserelatedtoexchangesbetweenspecificregions,forinstanceFranceandGermanyorIrelandandGermany.

Partners promoted the Action though their networks using promotional material developed. Progress hasbeenvaried.

INI-Novation has been most successful in attracting enterprises to Darmstadt for soft-landing support.Althoughnotitselfofferingincubatorservicesithasbuiltnumerouspartnershipswithothersintheregionandmaintainsongoingrelationswithenterprisesupportcentresandprogrammesenablingittooffermanyformsa Soft-Landing platform. INI-Novation reports that TESLA partners are benefiting from LILA services, a DGREGIONWEProgramme#325J,whichsharescostsforco-organisedevents;andtherehavebeenjointeventsorganisedandfundedbyEIT-ICTlabs,apubliclyfundedsupportentityinDarmstadtwithlinkstoINI-Novation.InDecember2014, INI-Novationorganiseda trainingevent for27participantsseeking finance toaccess theregion,includingsix‘pitches’forfundingtwoofwhicharebeingfollowed-up.AsimilareventisplannedtookplaceonMay2015.

Líonraextendedacall toparticipate through its InnovationCentremanagers in the region,buthas found itdifficult to attract significant interest fromenterprises.Anoriginal targetof 12enterpriseswasmodified tofive,andsofarfourhavebeguntheprocessandareincommunicationwithINI-Nov.TheirexperienceisthatconsiderablesupportisneededbeforetheHPSUstheyworkwitharereadytotakethiscriticalleap.Althoughinitial interest was expressed by several more, few had reached the point where they could identify thespecificmarketinwhichtheywereinterested.

LMThashadmoresuccesssendingenterprisestoDarmstadtandtoScotland,andbelievesthatinsomecasesitisbesttoaccessinternationalmarketsquicklyratherthanlater.TheyhavealsowelcomedsomecompaniestoLaval.

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LMTisamemberoftheEBNSoftLandingClub,andEBNisintheprocessofdevelopingtheTESLASoft-LandingOnlineSystemofmatchingenterprisestoincubatorplatformsandresources.Enterpriseswillsoonbeabletogodirectlytothissiteandassesstheopportunitiesavailableforsoft-landingsupport.Theycancompletetheassessmentformonline,indicatingalsowhereandwhentheyareinterestedingoing.EBNfollowsupthesetodeterminewhethertheassessmentindicatesasufficientlevelofreadiness,whatadditionalsupportsmightbeneeded,andwhetherthesupportcentreoftheirchoicemightbeavailableandwillingtoparticipateandhosttheenterprise.

ThisonlinePlatformiscurrentlybeingpopulatedwiththeTESLApartnerinformation,forusewithintheNWEregion. However, being restricted only to the TESLA centres currently limits its relevance for potentialenterprises. EBN is anticipating expanding this in future to include othermembers of the EBN Soft-LandingClub.ThisofferstheprospectsofsustainabilityfortheworkinitiatedbyTESLA,andindeedspreadingtootherregionsinthefuture(seebelow)



TABLE8:ACTION6TARGET&ACTUALOUTPUTS

TESLAPartner EBN INI-Nov Líonra CIT* LMT TOTAL

ActualMarch2015OriginalTarget

OutputsIndicators

March‘15

Target

March‘15

Target

May‘15

Target

March‘15

Target

March‘15

Target

March‘15

Target

trainingcoursesprovided 3 7 5 3 0 2 3 2 2 2 13 16

hostincubatorsorbusinessadvisors - - 8 12 5 10 1 10 8 4 22 36

Enterprisestakingpart 4 0 22 30 5 12 15 30 13 9 59 81

Networking/tradeeventsidentified - - 67 10 0 10 5 10 5 10 77 40

*AlthoughCITreportnofigureshere,thereceivingentity,INI-Nov,reportthattheseareattheirend.

Otherthanfiguresrelatingtoparticipation,beneficialoutcomesinthecaseofAction6aredifficulttoassess.Itrepresentsthemostadvancedstageforenterprisesintermsofaccessingmarkets.InthetimespanofTESLA,andgivensomedelaysininitiatingtheAction,therehasbeenoverallinsufficienttimefordiscerniblebenefitstoallbutaverysmallnumberofcompanies.

A few successful examples indicate the range of outcomes: an SME called DEED, a soft-lander in Hessen(Germany), resulting from outreach activities was introduced successfully to Red Cross in Berlin and isnegotiating an implementation of its system; CELIGRA, also a soft-lander in Hessen after outreach wasintroduced to potential clients, found angel investors in Germany and recently established a legal entity inGermany; and TESTFABRIK AG which was brought to France and Belgium to find potential clients as betatestersfortheirsoftware.

Overall,partnersfeelthattheUKandGermanyarethemostpopularasadestinationforsoft-landingamongenterpriseinNWE,becauseofthesizeandsophisticationoftheirmarkets.However,acasecanbemadethatSoft-Landing tailored to the needs of others parts of theNWE region are particularly relevant, and severalTESLApartnersmade the case for this, arguing that it is equallybeneficial, and sometimemore realistic, totargetnon-coremarkets.

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The tools and mechanisms to achieve this are emerging from this Action 6. These include, for individualpartners, the Enterprise Assessment Form and Host Incubators profiles, the comprehensiveManagementGuideforSoft-LandingandCo-IncubationServices,andvarioustrainingmodulesfor incubatormanagersandstaff and for HPSUs. To facilitate the overall mechanism of interaction and matching needs to availablemarketsandresource,thereisthealmostcompletedTESLASoft-LandingOnlineSystem.Thishasthepotentialtoconnectenterprisesand InnovationCentresforallwithintheTESLAregions,and indeedbeyondasnotedbelow.

DuringtheimplementationperiodofTESLA,thesecomponentshavenot,atleastsofar,cometogetherforasignificantnumberofenterprises,combiningseamlesslytothoroughlyPilotthisactivityasenvisaged.Rather,drivenby INI-Novation,often integratedasapackagewithin itsprovisionof services to itsownclients, andcomprisingbilaterallinksbetweenpartnersfocusingmainlyonGermanysofar,asmallnumberofenterprisescanbesaidtobeactivitytriallingthisapproach.

TheindividualcomponentsofthispilotActiontobuildasoft-landingco-incubationplatformare,nevertheless,inplaceandhavebeenlargelytested,mostofthempointingtosuccess. Indifferentpartnercircumstances,theyhavealsobeenintegratedcloselywithotherTESLAActions,actionsthatmustbeseenasanintegralpartofoverallpreparatoryandsupportactionstoenableHPSUstoaccessnewmarkets.

Withregardtosustainability,andachievingamorecompletetestofthepotentialofthepilotandultimatelyitsimplementation,theprospectsaregood.

ParticipatingmemberswerespecificallyaskedtooutlinetheircommitmenttocontinuingwiththeActionanditscomponents,incitingsourcesoffunding.EBNsresponse,asnoted,offersgoodprospectsforsustainabilityandexpansionofthecoreonlineexchangePlatform.Itiscommittedtointegratingtheneedsassessmenttool;tousingtheTESLAformatandcontinuingtorunandmanagetheonlineexchangeplatform;andtoexpandingbeyond theNWE region to the full reachof theEBNNetworkandencompassing their existing Soft-LandingClub. INI-Novation,LMTandCITarecommitted tocontinueduseof thePlatform,andCITwillalsosupportongoingtrainingandawarenessraisingevents.

Mostofthesecommitmentsarebasedonownfunds,butsomehaveidentifiedsourcestosupplementthis.

Furthermore,TESLApartnershaveindicatedsomeactualandconsiderablepotentialforexpandingtheuseofPlatformanditcomponentsbeyondthepartnersthemselves.INI-NovationhasalreadyextendedthetoolsetsforuseinanotherEUProject;andLMTisseekingtouseitinprojectsinfutureEUandotherprojects.Severalpartnershavehadexpressionsofinterestfromotherregions,includingAlbania,CzechRepublic,Romania,ItalyandPolandandrecentlyMacedonia(FundforInnovationandTechnologyDevelopment).

TRANSNATIONALITY

PerhapsmorethananyotherAction,thispilotrepresentsthetransnationalcorebehindtheTESLAobjectives.It realises thepotential for transnationalityofmanyof theother actions throughdirect supporting firms toaccessanexternalmarket.

A partner reported that in Canada the relationship between preparation for internationalisation (withassessment,training,training,mentoringandmarketinganalysis)andaSoft-Landingsupportplatformissuchthat the former isdescribedasa ‘HardTake-Off’ i.e.amajorpartof theeffortofa successful landing takesdependscriticallyonthepreparation.Anotherpointedtotheneedforthehostinstitutiontotreatthevisitorasa ‘friend’,as iftheyweretheirownclientandnotonecominginfromanotherregion. ThesecommentsemphasisethatatthecoreofSoft-Landingistheneedforintensivesupportonbothsidesofthetransnationalconnection, on effective planning on both sides for each client, and hence on effective transnationalcooperation.

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Thus this action has exhibited a very significant amount of transnational cooperation and collaboration, atdesign leveland in implementation. ThesingleonlinePlatforminvolvedallpartnersprovidingthedata;andthe ongoing exchange always necessarily involved different configurations of partners. However, its mainpotential fortransnationalexchange isclearlytoberealisedwithfull implementationofthispilot. Andthatpotentialisverysignificant.

Notallaspectsofcooperationwereascloseashadbeenhoped.

It was envisaged by the Partners in this Action that it would have a close relationship with Action 10Entrepreneurial Finance. However, as TESLA progressed and actions becamemore clearly defined the twodevelopedonsomewhatdivergenttrajectoriesandtherewaslittleornodirectlinkagebetweenthemintheend.Asnoted,INI-NovationdevelopeditsownfinancialsupportcomponenttotheenterprisestheybroughtintoAction6,basedontheirownexperienceandnetworks.

CONCLUSION

The concept of a soft-landing tomarket entry facilitation is gaining in popularity as thewider benefits areunderstood. In someways TESLA,more in practice than by design, looked at these possibilities specificallybetween weaker and stronger regions. TESLA developed a very substantial set of resources for innovationcentresanywhereseekingtoengageinsoft-landing,asHPSUrecipientorsender.Targetswereforthemostpartreached.Asacoretransnationalaction–theonethatseesHPSUsdeparttheirnativeshoresonanatleastexploratorymission–itiscentraltotheTESLAconcept,andpotentiallybindstogethervariousotheractions.Sofar,thenumbersactuallysucceedinginthefinalgoalarelimited.NeverthelessthelaunchsoonofanonlineplatformbyEBNtofacilitatethesoft-landingandco-incubationprocess,andits linkstoitsownSoft-LandingClub,could,iffollowedthrough,seeasignificantincreaseinthiskindofaction.

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WORKPACKAGE3:SKILLSANDCAPABILITIES

2.7 ACTION7:MENTORPLUS:2.7.1 CONTEXT,PARTNERSANDGOALS

Partners:Líonra(Lead);LMT,EBN,INI-Nov.


Action7:MentorPluswasdesignedbasedonabelief thatHPKIs facechallenges in identifyingandsecuringappropriateseniorlevelexpertadvicei.e.mentoring,atkeypointsintheirbusinessdevelopment.Thegoalisthustoprovidehigh impactmentoringthatwilldeliver,asappropriateand inatimelymanner,expertise in:strategydevelopment,businessplanning,accessingfinancemarkets,acquiringmarket intelligence,salesandmarketingstrategies,acapacityforinternationalisingthebusiness.

Mentorapplicantswouldrequireademonstrableprofileofrecentrapiddevelopment,arobustplantoexpandthebusiness through internationalisation, andabusiness case formentoring. Carefully selected andagreedmentorswouldprovideonetoonesupporttoeachHPSU.

TheoriginaltimeframewastobeginrecruitinginApril2013,andtodeliverthementoringbyApril2014.Theoverallgoalwastomentor65HPSUs.


TheLeadPartnerfortheActionisLíonra.TheotherpartnersinvolvedinimplementingtheactionareLMT,INI-NovandEBN.

AllpartnershavecontributedtorealisingtheobjectivesoftheAction,specifically inacceleratingthegrowthand development of companies through the provision of customised mentoring by experienced andknowledgeablementorsbothinternationalandnationaltotheselectedcohortofcompanies

The first trancheof companieswere recruited inQ3/Q4,2013and further recruitment continued into2014and 2015. The partners have targeted companies that have achieved commercial success in the domesticmarketandhaveindicatedacommitmenttoexpandtheirbusinessthroughexportledgrowth.

As ofOctober 2014, some sixteen companies2were participating in Action 10 in Ireland and ten in France.Additionalcompanieswerebeingassessedforparticipationintheprogramme.Theenterprisesaredistributedacrossindustrygrowthsectorsandmaybeexpectedtocontributetoregionaleconomicdevelopmentthroughexpandedemploymentofgraduatesreflectiveofthetechnologiesunderpinningthebusinessesinquestion.IntheinterimperiodtoMay2015,allpartnersincreasedrecruitmentofcompaniestoparticipateintheAction.

AuniquefeaturehighlightedbythepartnersinpromotingAction7:MentorPlustocompanieshasbeenthepotential to acquire specialist mentors with experience of working in various international markets andpossessingsectorspecificknowledgebothbusinessandtechnological.

Theinternationaldimensionwasalsothesharingofthetools,contractsetc.betweenthepartners.

Allrelevantpartnersareactiveinthis.

2AspershortformreportOctober2014.LongformreportMarch2015indicates13companies.

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AmeasureoftheirsuccessisthatsomeMentorPluscompanieshaveexpressedaninterestinparticipatinginCo-Incubation/Soft-landingtofurthertheinternationalisationoftheirbusinessesandbothEBNandINI-NovasCo-LeadersoftheSoft-landingActionareprovidingassistanceandguidancebymatchingcompanyneedswithappropriatehostBICsacrosstheNWE.

In Líonra, targeted companies were offered a choice of possible mentors, based on the specific companyneeds.TheportfolioofMentorswasselectedfromLíonramembercolleges,interfacingthroughtheinnovationcentres in each college. Therewasa further availabilityofmentors from theEnterprise Irelanddatabase.Afurtheroptionwasforthecompanytoselecttheirownmentorfromtheirowncontactsthattheymayhavehadfromtheirownnetwork.Somecompaniesoptedtochooseinternationalmentors.Insomecases,thisledto challenging logistical issues. The sessions were generally carried out over Skype. A similar process wasfollowedineachoftheothersites.LMTandINIhadaccesstoclientcompaniesthroughtheirnetworkofclientcompanies.

Each partner developed their own flyers and promotional materials. In Ireland, Líonra initially placedadvertisementsin11localnewspapers.Thisworkedtoraisetheprofileoftheprojectintheregion,butdidnotservetorecruitcompanies intotheaction.ClientswereeventuallysourcedthroughLíonramembercollegesand their associated enterprise centres. The following institutes referred client companies, numbers asindicated:

• NationalUniversityofIrelandGalway:9;• LetterkennyInstituteofTechnology5;• GalwayandMayInstituteofTechnology3;• SligoInstituteofTechnology3.

Atotalof20companieswereengagedthroughthisprocessinIreland.TheInnovationCentremanagerswereinstrumentalinthisrecruitmentprocessthroughthemembercolleges3.

AfirststepinvolvedeachcompanyundertakinganeedsassessmentbasedatooldevelopedwithinLíonra.Thepotential clients carried out the assessment themselves, with advice also from the Centre managers. Ameeting of all the Innovation CentreManagers was called to assess the applicants. This was done in twotranches.Appropriatementorswereidentifiedinthreeways:

1) Client companieswouldpropose their ownmentor, and Líonra etc. checked themout through theInnovationCentremanagers

2) They could have an international one, sourced through the TESLAMentor Plus partners. A strongportfolioof internationalmentorswas setup.Threeof theGMITmentorswere selected from thatportfolio.TherewerealsothreefromNorthernIreland,connectedtoLetterkennyIT.

3) TheInnovationCentreshadadatabaseandalsoEnterpriseIreland

Líonrakept in touchwitheachcompany to seehowtheyweregettingon,as theMentors carriedout theirintensiveworkwiththecompanies.TheInnovationCentremanagersalsoremainedincontact.

Astronginternationalportfolioallowedthepartnerstoliaisetogetheronrecruitment,needsassessmentanddelivery of thementoring programme. The partners agreed the programme together aswell as a common

3 Líonra established a TESLA advisory Groupwhomet every threemonths during the project duration, comprising themanagersofinnovationscentresassociatedwithitsmembercolleges.Thisgrouphasbeenagreatassetthroughout.Themeetingshavebeenwellattendedandprovideverygood feedbackchannelsandsupport.TheMentorPlusprogrammewouldnothaveworkednearlyaswellwithoutthem.

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monitoring framework. Thesewere discussed in detail at Steering Committeemeetings, aswell as throughregularconferencecalls.

In the case of the Mentor Plus action the project encountered few problems, with regular emailing andteleconferencingensuringgoodcollaboration.Therehavebeenongoingexchangesbetweenpartnersontherecruitmentofcompaniesintermsofprocessandoutcomes.Selectionofcompanieshasbeencompetitiveandsomecompanieshavebeen rejectedas theydidnotmeet theeligibility conditionsapriori.Thepreliminaryengagement of international mentors with companies required managing to ensure a successful outcome,withthisaspectofinternationalcollaborationprobablyunderestimatedintermsofthetimerequired.

Thefacilitytoworkcollaborativelyhasenrichedthebusinessmentoringprocessesforcompaniescommittedto expansion led growth. The capacity to access and deploy international mentors with establishedinternational credibility has been a key differentiator and has allowed priority needs such as accessinginternationalmarkets,tobeeffectivelyaddressed.

HavingaccesstoobjectivebusinessadviceisverynecessaryforacompanypreparinganInvestorReadyPlanandthisaspecthasbeenenhanced.Thepartnershaveallcontributedtosourcingthe InternationalPanelofMentors.TherichmixofInternationalmentorsconfersarealadvantageoncompaniesthatengagethemformentoringassignmentsontheirestablishedpriorityneeds.



TABLE9:TARGETS&OUTPUTSACTION7MENTORPLUS.ENDAPRIL2015.

OutputsIndicators.Thenumberof:

ProjectedTotal

ActualLíonra

ActualLMT

ActualEBN

ActualNI-Nov

Total

HPSUsmentored 65 20 27 5 47 99

Mentordayssupplied 208 189 81 5 290* 565

Companiesreachfullcommercialisation 23 7 na 2 na 9

Companiesobtainprivatefunding 14 3 3 na na 6

Companiessigncollaborativeagreement 7 2 2

*MentorPlusactivity:2,317coachingandmentoringhourswereprovidedtocompaniesservedbyTESLA.Thisistheequivalentof290days,8hoursperfullday.

ThetargetednumberofcompanieshasbeenwellexceededbytheendofAprilintheworkinthiskeyaction,ashavethenumberofmentordaysprovidedtotheseHPSUs.Dataisincompleteonthenumberofcompaniestohavereachedfullcommercialisation,obtainedprivate fundingorhavingsignedcollaborativeagreements.Theseare longertermoutcomesfromthementoringsupportsprovidedandwillbemonitoredbytheTESLApartnersuptothefinalstageoftheproject.

Thereisalsosomeimmediatefeedbackavailablefrommentoringwork,basedonfeedbackformsdistributedattheendofthesessions,andcompletedbybothmentorsandtheclientcompanies.NotallTESLApartnerssought such feedback,and the surveysused somewhatdifferent formats. While these feedback formsgivesomeimportantdescriptiveinformationregardingthenatureandthescopeofthesupportsprovided,onlyapartialinsightcanbegainedintopotentiallongtermimpacts.Amongthepartners,LíonraconductedthemostextensivefeedbackcollectionandmonitoringoftheHPSUsandmentors.

Companieswereaskedabouttheclarityofobjectivesofthementoringsessions,matchingofexpectationsandextenttowhichnewnetworkshaveemergedfromtheirengagement.

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• AlleightcompaniesindicatedthatthePilotActionsandtherelatedbusinessdevelopmentmeasureswerean excellent fit with the priority needs of their company. Again all eight companies believed that theobjectivesoftheactionswerewelldefinedandtheseobjectiveswereachieved.Alleightalsofeltthattheactionshadmettheirinitialexpectations.Halfofthecompanieswereengagedinnewlycreatednetworksasaresultofparticipatingintheproject.

• Somefivecompaniesindicatedthattheircompanyhasexperiencedanaccelerationofcommercialisationincludingor gained access to an internationalmarket as a result of its participation in theMentor PlusPilotAction.Whileonecompanyhasreachedfullcommercialisationstatusalready,6companiesfeltthattheywould realise this stagewithinoneyear. Twocompanieshadalreadydiversified into InternationalMarkets,andtheremainderplantodosowithintwoyears.Threehadaccessedprivatefunding.

• SevencompanieshavecompletedaBusinessPlanthatisinvestorready.Threecompanieshaveaplantoacceleratedevelopmentviacollaborativeagreements,twoofthesewithinthenextonetotwoyears.

• Feedback from one company in LMT was also extremely positive with regard to these questions, alsohaving already accessed private funding and with an action plan towards developing collaborativeagreements in the coming year. Two of the companies supported by EBN had reached fullcommercialisationstatus.

• TheMentoringService coveredawide rangeof formsand focus,dependingon theneeds identifiedbycompanyandmentor.Supportscoveredbusinessplanning,qualitymanagementplanning,brandanalysis,review of online presence, analysis of target market segmentation, trends in competition anddemonstrationtechniquesofproducttocustomers.

• Sevencompaniesfeltthementorsthemselveswerewellmatchedtotherequirementsofthecompany.

• Theneedsassessmenttoolwasconsideredofmoderaterelevancebyfourcompaniesindeterminingthescheduleofmentoringsupportsprovidedsignificant,whilesignificantfortheremainingcompanies.

Typically,acompanyavailedof7to10sessionsofhalf-dayduration,heldoutsideoftheircompanypremises,inaninnovationhuborotherspace.Companiesconsideredthattherewasverydetailedconsultationbetweenthementorandthemselvesastothetopicstobecoveredintermsofrangeanddepth.

Companiesprovidedpositiveagreementthattheyhadachievedtheintendedlearningoutcomesfromthepilotactionwithregardto:

• AcquiredknowledgeinBusinessStrategy&Systems;• Acquiredthecapabilityandcapacitytopreparean Investor-readyBusinessPlanandtopresentsameto

potentialentrepreneurialfinanceproviders;• Gainedprofessionalinsightintoindividualsales&marketingstrategies;researching/validatingmarkets;• Acquiredefficientsellingand‘closingthesale’skills;• Gainedinsightandknowledgetodevelopaplantointernationalisethebusiness

LMT had drawn on an external expert in commercialisation to run five classes, three hours each with 4-5companies,followingtheseupwithafulldayonetoonesupportforeach.

All8companiesintheIrishsurveyconsideredthattheircompany’sexpansionplanscorrespondtothegeneralaimof theMentor Plus Pilot Action. Companies felt that they had received ‘significant’ to ‘very significant’learningthroughtheirparticipation.Thefollowingquoteshighlightsomeofthekeylearningpoints.

“Broughtanideafromconcepttoastagewhereitcanbedevelopedandreadyforsale”

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“toidentifypartnersthataresuitableforourbrand;Consistentapplicationanduseofbrandvaluesinallcommunications”“Clearlydefinedmarkets,Researchdonewithfivecustomers,Revenuemodelsetupforthreeyears”

Halfofthecompanieshaveachievedan‘InternationalReadiness’statusasaresultofthefocusedmentoring,with six of the companies indicating that thementoring services have had the desired impact in terms oftransitioningthecompanytoenterexportmarkets.

INI-Novcollectdetailedfeedbackfromtheirclientcompaniesacrossarangeofsupports.TheyhaveidentifiedthefollowingneedsoftheHPSUswhohavebeenactivewithintheirnetwork.

Mentoring supports were tailored to ensure that themostappropriateformsofmentoringwereoffered.

Of the 16 Mentors who provided feedback to Líonraregarding their work with the HPSUs, some nineregardedthat thementoringhadbeenverysuccessful,

withafurther5indicatingthatithasbeensuccessful.While13ofthecompanieshadbeenconsideredbythementorseitheratanearlystageofpreparationortosomedegreepreparedbeforetheengagementwiththepilotaction,13mentorsregardedthattheirclientcompaniesnowhadarobustplantoexpandinternationaltradingasaresultofmentoringinterventions.

TRANSNATIONALITY

The company feedback provides evidence that companieswith diversification plans for their business haveseen the competitive advantage for engaging in the Mentor Plus Action in order to accelerate thedevelopmentofthebusiness.Thecompletionofaneedsanalysisphaseallowedaclearsetofobjectivestobedefined,ensuringthatexpectationswereinturnmet.

Theinternationalpartnershaveconstructivelyengagedinidentifyingpotentialbusinessmentorsandcoachesfromwithin their own networks of professional business advisors so that participating companies have theopportunitytoassesstheCVsofinternationalmentors.Companieshavebeenverypositiveaboutthenatureofthesupportofferedandthegoodmatchofthementortotheircompany.Thecompany-centricapproachofthepartnershasbeensuccessfulinappointingappropriatementors.

Involvementbypartners in localandregionalnetworksandprofessionallyengagedwithagenciessupportingthedevelopmentofearlystagecompaniesallowedforidentificationofandaccesstoeligiblecompanies.Inthecase of Líonra, there is close operational engagementwith theManagers of the Innovation Centres of theThirdLevelcampuses.TheManagersofthe InnovationCentresalsocooperate insourcing localandnationalmentorswithprovencapacitytomentortechnologybasedbusinessessuchasthosecompaniesontheMentorPlusprogramme.The localChambersofCommercewouldalsobebriefedoncompany recruitmentand theengagementofinternationalmentors.

CONCLUSION

The four TESLA partners offering Mentor Plus services to help companies to access external marketscollaboratedclosely indevelopingtheneedsanalysisandtools,andfollowedlargelysimilarapproaches.Themaindistinctionwasbetween thoseadoptingaone-to-oneapproach,and thosementoring in smallgroups.Thereweresomecasesof transnationalmentoring though thespecificvalueof localexpertknowledgealsoasserteditself.IntermsofHPSUsengaging,thetargetwasgreatlyexceededadtheyacknowledgedsignificantbenefits.Thetargetforbringingcompaniesthroughtheentireprocesstogainingaccesstofundingandlaunchwere,inthetimeallowed,overambitious.

NumberofallactiveTESLAcompanies 37AccesstoMarket 35AccesstoFinances 26AccesstoResources 17IPRandlegalmanagementneeds 13

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2.8 ACTION8:SPIN-INS2.8.1 CONTEXT,PARTNERSANDGOALS

Partners:CIT(Lead);Tilburg;Líonra;LMT.


Largeindigenouscompanies,ineachpartnerregion,representpotentialsourcesofnewentrepreneurialideasandventures.Aslargeorganisationsoftenfinditchallengingtoinnovatetomaintaintheirmarketleadershipposition,theyaresometimesunabletotransformthemselvestopursuenewmarketopportunities.Theirlargemarket shares and revenues make it very difficult for them to commit the time and resources to pursueinvestmentinsmall-scaleventuresthatmaybeseekingtoenterlow-marginnewmarkets.

Such large enterprises can develop strategies to deal with this problem through the acquisition of smallercompanies, internal research and development work, joint venturing or strategic alliances. A further keycomponentofdevelopmentforthesecompaniesisintheareaof’CorporateVenturing‘,’Intrapreneurship’or’Spin-Ins’.Thisinpracticemeansthegrowthofaseparatebusinesswithinthecorporateentitywhichisgiventhefreedomtopursuenewproductsand/ormarkets.

ThedefinitionofSpin-Inincludesthefollowingcomponents:

• Involvesanewactivityfortheorganisation;• Isinitiatedorconductedinternally;• Involvessignificantlyhigherriskoffailureorlargelossesthantheorganisation’scorebusiness;• Ischaracterisedbyfargreateruncertaintythantheorganisation’scorebusiness;• Willbemanagedseparatelyatsomepointduringitslife;• Isundertakenforthepurposeofincreasingsalesprofit,productivity,orquality.

The rationale for this action is to design and deliver a programme tomeet this need i.e. to support largeenterprisesincreatingastructuredinnovationcompetencythatiscontinuallyprovidingnewideas,products,processesandbusinessthatarerelevanttotheorganisationsindustry.

ThegoalofAction8wasforparticipatingpartnerstodesignanddeliveraSpin-Insprogramme.ThisconceptoftheSpin-Inswouldbepromotedtolargeorganisationsintheirrespectiveregionsinordertosupporttheminformingnewcompanieseitheron-siteorinparticipatingTESLApartners’businessincubators.Iflocatedintheincubator,anysuchSpin-Inventureswouldbenefitfromaccesstoin-housebusinessandnetworkingsupportsandentrepreneurshiptrainingopportunities.

Thebeneficiarieswereexpectedtobe largeregional indigenouscompanies,multi-nationalcorporationsandlargepublicadministrationswhoareconsideringcreatingnewventures.Thefourlocationsfordeliveryincludebusinessincubationcentresintheparticipatingpartnersregions,inCork,Tilburg,LIONRA,LMT.

The first step in this action would involve each partner carrying out an analysis of potential organisationsinterested inparticipating in theSpin-Inprogramme.Throughdesk-based researchandprofilingwork, eachpartner would also make use of local networks and support agencies (such as local authorities, industrialdevelopmentagencies,chambersofcommerceandIndustryassociationsandtheirexistingbusinessnetworks)toidentifypotentialparticipants.

This preparatory phase began with partners’ producing a summary description of the programme forrecruitmentofparticipatingcompanies.Aftermakinginitialcontact,anumberofindustryseminarswereheldacross the participating partners regions to promote the Spin-In programme, to obtain feedback frompotentialparticipantsontheproposeddesign,andtotailor ittotheirneedsandcircumstances.TheSpin-Insprogrammesetoutto:

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• HighlightthepotentialofentrepreneurshipandinnovationthroughtheSpin-Inmodel;• Createa culturewithin largeprivateandprivate sectororganisations topromoteentrepreneurship

andintrapreneurship;• Encourage staff to be innovative and entrepreneurial and hence become involved in new Spin-In

venturessupportedbytheparentorganisations;• Provideaplatformforthedebateandexaminationofmatterssuchas:

o thepossiblemanagementandownershipstructuresfortheparentorganisations,o thelocationofnewventures,o retentionofequityorotherinterestiftheSpin-Inventureissuccessful.

• Develop a methodology to examine, validate and approve new venture ideas from within theorganisation

Supporttoolsincludedacommontrans-regionalbriefingdocumentonthekeystepstowardscreatingSpin-Insaswellasjointlearningmaterials.ASpin-InstrainingprogrammeforuseacrosstheTESLApartnerregionswastobedeveloped.

Each region was to use Spin-Ins experts to design and/or deliver the Spin-In programme. The needsassessmentcoveredtheproductfeasibilitystudiescompetedtodatebythecompany,aswellasstaffskillsandpotentialfornewemployment.

Insummary,theoriginalobjectiveoftheSpin-InsactionfocusedonthedesignanddeliveryofaprogrammewhichwouldbeusedtopromotetheconceptofCorporateVenturingorSpin-InstolargeorganisationsinthepartnerregionsandinturntheseorganisationseventuallyformingnewSpin-Inenterpriseseitheron-site,orinparticipatingpartnersbusinessincubators.


TheobjectiveofAction8evolvedduringtheimplementationphase.

PartnersinIreland,whobeganworkquickly,afterengagingwithclientcompanies.ASpin-Insprogrammewasdevelopedtosupportemployeesoflargecompaniesandorganisationstoidentify,investigate,select,planandproposeanovelcommercialopportunityfortheirorganisationthroughaseriesofday-longseminars.Duringeachseminartheseemployeesweretoinvestigatetheutilityofaspecificcommercialopportunity;developabusinessplantojustifyitsdevelopment;andplantheexploitationoftheopportunity.

During2014CITandLíonrabothraninitialSpin-InpromotionalseminarsintheCorkandBMWregions.Theyalso involved the American Chamber of Commerce as well as other networks to raise awareness of theseminars.AnexpertintheareadesignedatransnationalSpin-InsprogrammeforparticipantsacrosstheNWEregions. This expert had recently completed his doctoral research on how large indigenous companies andmulti-nationalcorporationshaveevolvedandre-inventedthemselvesovertimebycontinuouslyinvestigatinganddeliveringnewbusiness initiatives, a process that contributed to their becoming key global companies.ThisresearchwasthebasisforthedesignoftheSpin-Insprogramme.

Asnoted,inthecaseoftheIrishpartners,theprogrammewasslightlymodifiedtotargetanendresultwithinparticipatingcompaniesofevaluatinganewbusinessopportunity.Thoughtheywould,intheeventofsuccess,mostlikelyleadtotheemergenceofanewcompanyproducttheycouldalso,atleastpotentially,resultinaSpin-Inasoriginallyenvisagedbythepartners.Themodifiedtargetsareasfollows:

• Createcommerciallysuccessfulenterprises,andsubsidiaries,withinmultinationals;• Generatenewcommercially-importantcompetencesfororganisations;• Identify,justifyanddevelopnewcommercialinitiatives;• Supportnewcommercialisationprocessesfornewinitiativeidentificationanddevelopment;

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• Contributetopersonaldevelopmentforcorporatemanagersoflargeorganisations.

Theprogrammethussetouttoprovideapracticalsetofsupportsandwasdefinedas“anintegrated,practical,hands-onprogrammetoidentify,evaluateandplananewbusinessopportunity”,throughaseriesofeight-daylongseminars.Theseseminarscoveredthefollowingtopics:

• Overviewofbusinessdevelopmentprocess• Businessplanningandfeasibilityanalysis• Opportunityidentificationanddevelopment• Conceptgenerationandearlystagecreativity• Conceptselection• Planningthedevelopment(includingtesting)• Sellingtheplan(presentations)• DeliveryofpresentationsbyparticipantsandReviewofplans

The course examined the differentmodels and structures of each company, asking participants to explorewhatmight be their optimalmodel to adopt for support, finance,management etc. Somewere interestedexploring the specific structures thatmightwork for them;others had specific product ideas. Each seminaralsoinvolvedindividualmentoringopportunitiesforparticipants.

While the Irish partners completed the implementation of the two programmes, attendance on both wasdisappointing. While genuine interest had been expressed, many companies withdrew due to schedulingproblems.When the programmewas subsequently promotedmore to individuals within companies ratherthantothecompaniesthemselves,noimprovementinattendancenumberscameabout.

Poor levels of engagement was thought by the partners to be linked to limited ’buy in‘ from senior levelmanagementinthecompaniesinvolved.Ideally,thepartnersconcluded,itwouldhaverequiredCEOsupport.Somecompanieswerealsoseriouslyconcernedabout IP,patentsandcopyrights,andhencedidnotwishtosharetheirideasinagroupcontext.

AfterLMTreviewedwithCITandLíonrathechallengesencounteredinrunningtheprogramme,itdecidedtoadopt an alternative strategy. LMT moved away from the group seminar/programme approach, towardsworking closelywith the local Employers Federation (MEDEF, amajor French employer’s syndicate) and totalkingtothecompaniesindividually.Oncecompaniesagreedtobecomeinvolved,aspecificprogrammewasdesignedforeach,onthebasisofthetransnationalprogrammeimplementedinCorkandBMWregion.Eachpartner had access to the Spin-Ins programmematerials, consisting of power point presentations and eachpartnerthentailoredthesematerialstosuittheirlocalcompanies’needsandrequirements.

LMTlookedathowcompaniescaninnovateinside,andcreatenewcompaniesfromthatprocess.RegionallyinLaval,severalSMEandMEshaveastrongcapacityforin-houseinnovation,butalsogenerateinnovationthattheyhavenotsuccessful inexploiting,at leastso far.Thisbecamea focus forsomeof thework inhowthecompaniesbuildonthis.

Under theconceptof ’open innovation‘, LMTagreedtocarryout trainingwitha teamfroma firm,bringingonepersonfromdifferentsectionstogetherandtrainingthemeffectivelyasastart-upwithinacompany. Itwasconsideredawaytore-introduceaninnovativespiritwithinacompany,todevelopanewproduct.

ThreeSpin-Inswereidentifiedthathadalreadystartedfromlocalcompaniesandindividualcontactwasmadewiththese.ApresentationoftheprogrammewasalsomadetotheFrenchInnovationAuthorityandpositivefeedbackwasreceived.

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Tilburg University organised their Spin-In Action around a two day event theywere involved in organisingcalledGlobalGovernmentVenturingSummit(GGVSummit)inEindhoveninFebruary2015.

ThegoalwastousetheSummittoidentifycompaniesforanintensivetrainingprogramme,toberecruitedattheendofapaneldiscussionledbyleadersfromventurecapitalistandcorporations.ThiswasdeliveredduringtheSummit,onthethemeofCorporateVenturingorSpin-Ins.Intotalsevenmaturecompaniesattendedtheevent.Participantswere,attheconclusionofthesession,surveyedthroughashowofhandstoascertainthelevel of interest in the subsequent programme to focus on Spin-In opportunities. There was limited or nointerest forthcoming. The larger companies were believed by the organisers to have already developedstrategiesastohowtheywouldmanageandplanforSpin-Inopportunities.

ThustheTilburgexperiencewassimilartothatofpartnersinIrelandwithregardtothechallengeofrecruitingcompaniesinthisarea.



Theanticipatedresultsofthisactionwerethateachoftheparticipatingpartnerswoulddevelopthefollowing:

1. Promotional materials and presentations for industry seminars to promote and describe the Spin-Inprogrammes;

2. TheSpin-Inprogrammeforbeneficiariesincludingaplatformfordebateandexplorationofissues;3. IdentificationofnewSpin-Inventurespotentiallytobeestablishedacrossparticipatingpartnerregions.

TABLE10:TARGETS&OUTPUTS

Partner IndustrySeminarsdelivered

ParticipatingOrganisations

Spin-Insidentified

Target Actual Target Actual Target Actual

CIT(Lead) 5 2 20 12 4 3

Líonra 4 1 20 4 6 1

Tilburg 2 1 10 7 5 0

LMT 1 0 10 0 3 3

Total 12 4 60 23 18 7

CITandLíonrahavecompleted theirSpin-Insactions.Bothpartnerswere facedwithsimilar challenges,andpoor attendanceonall programmesmeant that just 16 companieswereengagedas against a targetof 40.Companieswithdrew from the programmedue to scheduling problems and change in priorities of decisionmakers.Therewasnoattendancebypublicsectororganisations.

There is potential, however, for tailoring courses to individual companies. This was demonstrated by LMT,whiletheprogrammedesignedandimplementedthereremainedclosetotheinitialstatementandactivities.LMTisworkingwithlocalmajorcompaniestodeliveraSpin-insacceleratorprogrammecalledEssaimage53.Theobjectiveofthisprogrammeistostartanincubationprogramme,co-designedwithlocalcompanies,withapotentialforSpin-Ins.CITprovidedcoursematerialstoLMTwhichissubsequentlytailoredforlocalneeds.

LMTwillcontinuetotargetindividualcompaniestoparticipateonitsSpin-Insprogrammefortheremainderofthe TESLA project. Itwill not use promotional seminar to recruit companies, instead focusing on individualmeetings, togetherwithpartners, torecruitcompaniesontotheproject. Itwillalsodeliver itsEssaimage53

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Spin-Insprogramme in2015.TwomoreSpin-Inshavebeen identified.A significant result is that theFrenchInnovationAuthoritywillintroducetheprogrammetoFrenchAcceleratorsAuthorityin2015.

CITprovidedallprogrammematerialstoTilburgtosupporttheirimplementationoftheaction.Lackingadirectandstrongconnectionwiththecorporatesector,itfacedachallengeinaccessingrelevantcompaniesfortheaction.ThepaneldiscussionaspartoftheGGVsummitwasanappropriatemeansforTilburgtoconnectwiththe target companies for the action. However, the lack of direct experience between Tilburg and thecompanies,aswellastherelativelylowlevelofinterestfromthesecompaniesforaspecificfollowupaction,meantthattherewasnopotentialforfurtherengagement.

OUTPUTS&OUTCOMES

Thelongtermgoalsofthisactionweretopromoteaprogrammethatwouldassistlargercompaniestorealise– and recreate - their full potential for innovation.While the objectivewas reasonable, it is clear that theprogrammedidnotsupporttheseresultsinrelationtothelevelofengagementandtakeupoftheprogrammeonoffer.TheprogrammeasdevelopedbytheIrishpartnerswashighlyprofessionalinitsdesign,contentanddevelopment.However,thelackoftakeupbycompaniesindicatesalackofbandwidthanddesiretocommitandengageinthisareaofthebusinessdevelopmentecosystem.

TheLMTapproachoftailoringthesupporttoindividualMNCsandworkingthroughsupportagencieshashadagreaterimpactintermsoflocalengagementandparticipation.

TRANSNATIONALITY

Frontline partnersworked closely in the creation of the set of supports, particularly the Irish partners. Thelearningwasalsosharedacrosstheregions.LMTwas inapositiontotakeonboardtheresultsofthe initialIrishworkshopsand their limitedsuccess in termsofattendance.The re-prioritisationof theprogrammebyLMTtofocusonindividualapproachestocompaniesandtailoredonetoonesupportsmadeagreaterimpactintermsofengagingandholdingcompanies.

CONCLUSION

Althoughtheconceptof‘spin-ins’camewithwellresearchedcredentials,theattemptsbyCITandLíonramostcloselyalignedwiththatconceptfailedtoachievetheresultsexpected.Tilburgtestedtheconceptthroughaworkshopofmaturecorporationsandcametoasimilarconclusion.ItwastakenupinmodifiedformbyLMT,allying it to the concept of ‘open innovation’ andworkingwith the local employer federation succeeded inbringtheconcepttoafurthertestedstage.Thisisstillbeingexploredthere.

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WORKPACKAGE4:FINANCEANDPROCUREMENTFORKNOWLEDGE-INTENSIVEFIRMS

2.9 ACTION9:ENTREPRENEURIALFINANCE2.9.1 CONTEXT,PARTNERSANDGOALS

Partners:Tilburg(Lead);LMT.


Theoverallobjectiveofthisactionistocontributetothecreationofatrans-nationalecosystemfavourabletoentrepreneurship, innovation and knowledge transfer, by increasing the awareness of and enhancing theaccess forHPSUs to venture capital andother sources of risk capital (such as crowd-funding and corporateventurecapital).ItspecificallyfocusesonprovidingHSPUs(butalsotherisk-capitalproviders)withimportantinsightsintothedevelopmentsandworkingsoftheventurecapitalindustry.

Theactionaimedto:

i. Reduceinformationalasymmetriesbetweenentrepreneurs/HSPUsandriskcapitalproviders.

ii. MakeHPSUs/investorsmoreawareoftheprofoundchangesintheventurecapitalindustry(whichhaveledtoa‘new’venturecapitalmodelwithnewplayersandopportunities,includingdevelopmentssuchascrowdfunding,therevivalofcorporateventurecapital,andmoreactiveinstitutionalinvestors).

LMTjoinedthepilotactionlateronasthesubjectwasofgreatinteresttothem.Theyindicatedthattheydidneed any additional budget for their entrepreneurial finance event, and used a budget from other actionswheretheyhadalreadymetthetargets.

Aseriesofsupportsweretobeoffered:

i. Specific “TESLA“ information, presented through the website and other social media, on the newventurecapitalmodeland(makinguseofothersocialmedia);

ii. Trainingworkshopsthatfocusonthefollowingsubjects:(a)PrimerontheEntrepreneurialFinanceMarket;(b)VentureCapitalFinancingandContracting;and(c)LegalNegotiationforEntrepreneurs.

iii. Buildingnetworksbetweenentrepreneurs,investors,corporations,researchersandadvisors(necessaryforahealthyecosystem).

A selection process involved steps of promotional and recruitment activities, an application and screeningprocessandeventualcommunicationofselectionprocessresultstoapplicants.

Eachpartnerwastocarryoutpromotionalcampaignsthroughregionaltradeorganisationstoattractpotentialbeneficiaries,aswellasawiderwebcampaign.Partners’ownnetworkswerealsotobeengagedtoinviteandrecruitriskcapitalproviders,corporateventuringplayers, intermediaryserviceprovidersandHPSUs. AflyerwasalsodevelopedandwidelydistributedamongcorestakeholdersandpotentialinterestedpartiesforAction9.

Core candidate selection criteriawere: Theymust be incorporated inoneof the action’s delivery locations,mustfallintotheworkabledefinitionofHPSUandbeatanearlystage;beinterestedinobtainingequity/debtfinancing for the development of their businessmodel in the short term or have limited or basic relevant;CandidateHPSUsmustbeintheveryearlytoearly-stagephaseoftheirlifecycle.

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Intheinitialphaseoftheaction,TilburgstafffinalisedthedevelopmentoftheframeworkandcontentoftheEntrepreneurialFinanceWorkshopevent.

ThefirstworkshopwasheldinOctober2013inEindhoven.TherecruitmentprocesssoughttoengagenotonlyHPSUsbutalsoriskcapitalproviders,corporateventuringentities,serviceproviders,governmentalbodiesandothersinvolvedintheentrepreneurialecosystem.Inordertosupportthisrecruitmentandpromotionalphase,Tilburgworkedwithin the network of local governmental agencyBrainport Development, a support agencythatworksdirectlywithHPSUsandotherecosystemstakeholderstoimprovetheregionalbusinessecosystem.Theeventwasattendedbymorethan40participants,withalltargetgroupsrepresented.

A professor from TilburgUniversitywith other guest speakers provided theworkshop content, focusing onnew trends and developments in HPSU financing, such as venture capital post-financial crisis, peer to peerlending and credit unions. The CEO of a successful start-up also presented a case study of his companyexplainingfinance-relatedproblemsfacedandthemannerinwhichtheseweredealtwith.

Thesecond,larger,workshopwasheldbyTilburg,intheBrainportDevelopmentregioninEindhovenandwithitscooperation.The ‘VentureDay’eventtookplace inMay2014ontheHighTechCampusaspartofDutchTechnologyWeek and was promoted widely in the official brochure. Promotional activities for the secondevent were directed at several additional platforms such as a local accelerator programme for high-techcompaniesandlocalincubators.Theeventwasthustargetedatdifferentgroupsofstakeholders,mainlystart-up companies and formal (venture capital funds) and informal investors (business ‘angels’). Some 99participantsengagedintheevent,including33investors,14companiesaswellasrepresentativesoffinancialinstitutions (ABN Amro, Rabobank), incubators and accelerators, universities (Tilburg University andTechnologyUniversityofEindhoven)andgovernmentalbodies(MinistryofEconomy).

Theprogrammeconsistedoftwokeynotespeeches,followedupbytheopportunityfor10start-upcompaniestomakepitches.Individualmeetingsofcompaniesandinvestorswereheldinseparaterooms.Anetworkingevent was also included. A follow up exercise with these companies highlighted that most participantsevaluatedtheeventasveryuseful,innovativeandprofessionallyorganized.

TilburgheldathirdeventinFebruary2015inEindhoven,alongsidetheGlobalGovernmentVenturingSummit,whichbroughttogetherkeyactorsfromallacrosstheglobe.Therewereupto210participants,madeupofinvestorsandseniormanagersfromventurecapitalorganisations,multi-nationalcorporations,governmentalbodies,universitiesandothers.Anapproachwastakentousekeynotespeakerswithaninternationalappeal,todraw inmoreparticipants.More timewasspentonpromoting thisapproach for the thirdworkshopandthusraisedtheparticipationlevels.

TheSummitincludedkeynoteinterviewsandindustrycasestudiesfromserialandsuccessfulentrepreneurstoshareanddiscussthelessonsandinsightsfromtheirexperiencesinestablishingcompanies.Therewereinall10paneldiscussionsanddebates comprising representatives from investment, corporateandgovernmentalbodies,aswellasuniversitiestobrainstormhowtofundanddevelopaninnovativeecosystem.

Thetopicsincludedwerevariedandincluded:futuredevelopmentofindustriesforinvestment,syndicationofinvestor’s healthcare and technology case study, public procurement of HPSUs, strategies to strengthenprivateinvestmentininnovativeenterprises,creatingglobalnetworkoflocalinnovativeecosystems,corporateroleintheinnovationecosystem,roleofuniversitiesintechtransferandcommercializationofinnovationandmanymore.Thekeynotespeakersandpanellistswereprofessionalsfromaroundtheworld,forexamplefromSiliconvalleyintheUS,StanfordUniversity,TokyoUniversity,Singaporegovernment,UKtradeandinvestmentagency,EuropeanInvestmentBank,BusinessDevelopmentBankofCanadaandothers.

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Onespecificpanelincludedtwosuccessfulstart-upsandallowedtheparticipantstohearhowtheybeganandgainedaccess to funding. Participating start-upsheard theperspectiveof risk capital providers towardsnotjusttraditionalstartups,butalsothoseatvaryingstagesofdevelopment,andbytypeormodelincludingspinoffcompaniesaswellastypicalstartups.

The Summit brought a considered perspective on how to make an innovative entrepreneurial ecosystem,through government, universities and corporations playing an effective and collaborative role. Participantsalsohadtheopportunitytopitchandtolearnabouttheinvestorperspective.Feedbackfromthecompanieshighlightedtheimportanceoftheeventsinallowingforanincreaseinthelevelofencountersandinteractionswith investors, indicatingthatthecompaniesnowknewhowtofindthemandcontactthem.Thiswasoftenstatedassomewhatofamysteryforstart-ups.

LMT participation in this Action was much more modest, and embedded in the region, aligned with theirobjective as an incubator. Togetherwith KPMG, it organised an event called Entrepreneurs Investisseurs inNovember 2014 in Laval. The event provided a networking platform to entrepreneurs and investors, andattracted 50 attendees comprising 13 start-up companies, two lawyers and 19 investors. These innovativestart-upswerefromthefieldofICT,audiovisuals,Medtech,softwareandmobileapps.Theeventalsoprovidedapitchingopportunityto14start-ups,forwhichallreceivedtraininginadvance.Threeraisedabout€200,000.



Inoverallnumericaltermsoriginaloutputtargetshavebeenexceededandalltheplannedactivitiesandeventshavebeendelivered.

TABLE11:ACTION9TARGETSANDOUTPUTS(MARCH31ST2015)

Further levels of engagement wererecorded at these events from otherstakeholders, includingspecificallyeightacademic institutions and 25 maturecompanies at the third event held byTilburgUniversity.

LMT had engaged a local expert, whoworkedwith28companies,fivefromoutsidetheLMTincubator.Some80%ofthesecompanieswereaimingat internationalmarkets, the area of expertise of the local expert. Supports offered to the companies alsofocusedonpitchingforfunding,includingtheareaofcrowdsourcingfundingopportunities.ThemainfocusofLMTinthisactionrelatedtoprovidingapracticalsupportandaccessibleplatformwherestakeholderscouldmeetandinteract.

OUTPUTS&OUTCOMES

AtthefirsteventheldbyTilburginOctober2013,therewerenocompaniespitchinginfrontoftheinvestors,andthereforenosubsequentinterviewswithHPSUswereconducted.

FollowingonfromthesecondeventinMay2014,in-depthinterviewswereconductedwithall10companieswhopitched.Somehadreceivedfunding,butnotnecessarilyarisingfromtheirparticipationintheevent.Thecompaniesindicatedthattheyhadlearntsignificantlessons,thematchmakingprocessallowingthemtogainimportant insights into the venture capitalist perspective. They were also able to be more explicit andconfident concerningwhat constitutes a good investment deal from their point of view. As a result of thislearning,theystatedthatithadbecomeeasiertomatchtheirneedswithspecificventurecapitalists.

Outputs Projected Total

NoofHPSUs 44 76

NoofRiskCapitalProviders(Investors) 10 72

No.ofCorporateVenturingEntities 9 10

No.ofIntermediaries 10 19

NoofGovernmentPublicEntities 6 10

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Throughthepromotionandorganisationof theseworkshops,TilburgUniversityhasdevelopedrelationshipswithkeylocalstakeholdersincludinggovernmentalagencies,investornetworks,officialsfromtheMinistryofEconomicaffairsandEindhovenMunicipality.OneimportantcooperationthatcontinuesalsoaftertheTESLAprojectiswithEindhovenStart-UpsFoundation,alocalorganisationthatgathersstart-upsandentrepreneursandengagesinnetworkingandeducationalactivitiesforthesemembersoftheecosystem.

OngoingfollowupisbeingcarriedoutwiththesixcompaniesthatpitchedatthethirdeventheldinFebruary2015. In the case of the most recent summit, Tilburg University is still waiting to follow up with thesecompaniesregardingsuccessfulaccesstofundingasitmaytakeseveralmonthstofinaliseadeal.Interviewsandfollow-upwillbemadeinthecomingmonths

TRANSNATIONALITY

TilburgandLMTwere involved indeliveringtheevents intheirrespectiveregions.Theycommunicatedwitheachotherandalsowithintheirownlocalandinternationalnetworksinordertoexecutetheplannedevents.However, they designed and tailored the events as per the requirements of participating companies andattractinginvestorsandotherstakeholdersoftheprogram/event.

Therehasbeennodeviationwith respect to content and/or finance for this pilot action. However, due tosomeorganisationaldifficulties,twoTESLApartnerswhohadataveryearlystageplannedtoparticipateintheaction (INI-Nov and CIT)withdrew. BangorUniversitywas also listed in the TOR as theywere interested injoining this pilot action. However, delays in approving a revised budget at EU level left insufficient time topursueitandhencetheycouldnotengagewithinthispilotaction.

INI-Novdecidednot tobecome involveddue toadifferenceofopinionon the levelof involvementofeachpartner. Specifically they had anticipated being involved as expert participants and in the design of theworkshops. INI-Nov provided its own support to clients, including TESLA supported clients, in the area ofentrepreneurialfinance,thoughformallyoutsidetheTESLAframework.

CITdidnotpursueaplannedeventduetothefactthatasimilaronewasorganisedintheirregionwithverysimilar content. This would have made it very difficult to attract local participants as the start-up andinvestmentcommunityinCorkisrelativelysmall.

LMThaddecidedtobecomeinvolvedandtocontributetothepilotaction.LMT,beinganincubatorandhavingnetworks of local and international start-ups, investors and intermediaries, offered to contribute theirexpertise and exchange experiences with Tilburg in the pilot action to illustrate good practice andcollaborationonatransnationallevel.

Intermsofthetransnationalengagement,then,TilburgandLMTworkedinparallel,runningtheirworkshopswith their own local focus inmind.While therewas little overlap between the events organised, themainreasonstemsfromthenatureofbothpartners.WhileLaval isaFrenchincubatorandismostlyinterestedinextending opportunities for their companies through pitching events, Tilburg University is an educationalinstitutionthatdecidedtoapproachthetopicinamoreholisticandglobalmanner.ThereforeitwasthegoalofTilburgtoinvolveasmanytypesofstakeholdersaspossible,whileinthecaseofLMT,itwasmorepracticalforthemtofocusonfundingopportunitiesfortheirclientcompanies.

ComparedtootherTESLAactions,therangeandscopeofthetargetgroupsforthisactionwas,inthecaseofTilburg, broader. The workshop elements strived to attract not only HPSUs but also risk capital providers,corporate venture entities, service providers, governmental bodies, and other actors that contribute to theentrepreneurial ecosystem. Nevertheless there was some disappointment among the TESLA incubatorpartnersthatacloserintegration,thatwouldhavesupporteddirectlytheirclients,wasnotachieved.

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CONCLUSION

IdentifyingsourceofandsecuringfinanceiscriticalatsomestagetoalmosteveryHPSU.Tilburgexploredtheconcept at the highest level in terms of the international stakeholders through a series of well attendedWorkshops with a range of high level expertise and HPSU participation. Some of these also offeredopportunitiesforHPSUstodeveloptheirskillsatpitchingtheirproducts.LMT,theonlyotherpartnerinvolved,ran a somewhat similar but more local event, providing advance training to HPSUs on followed byopportunitiestorepresentthemselves.Atleastthreeofthe14raisedconsiderablefunding.

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2.10 ACTION10:PUBLICPROCUREMENT2.10.1CONTEXT,PARTNERSANDGOALS

Partners:Tilburg(InitialLead);Bangor


PublicprocurementcontractsarepotentiallyamajorsourceoffundingforHPSUs,capableofcatalysingrapidgrowth. However, HPSUs face specific challenges as compared to larger established companies: they lack alongtrackrecord;candrawonlimitedfinancialback-up;andgenerallylackspecificexperienceintenderingforpubliccontracts.Thespecificgoalsofthisactionwereto:

i. reduceinformationasymmetriesbetweenHPSUsandpublicprocurers,therebyenhancingaccess;ii. increaseHPSUskillsindevelopingandsubmittingtendersandultimatelytheirsuccessrate.

TheinterventionswithclientHPSUsweretocomprisethedesignanddeliveryoftailoredpublicprocurementtrainingdays,followedupbypublicprocurement‘surgeries’toanalysetenderssubmittedandhowtheycouldbeimproved.

Theoverallobjectiveofthisactionistocontributetothecreationofatransnationalecosystemfavourabletoentrepreneurship, innovation and knowledge transfer, by increasing the awareness of and enhancing theaccess for HPSUs to public procurement procedures in the NWE region. It specifically focuses on trainingHPSUsonhowtosubmitgoodtendersinpublicprocurementproceduresinordertoimprovetheirchancesofsucceedingintheirapplications.

BangorUniversity’sInstituteforCompetitionandProcurementStudies(ICPS)isaspecialistintheareaofpublicprocurement,whileTilburgUniversityisinvolvedininternationalnetworksandresearchonvariousaspectsofentrepreneurialsupportandfinance.


TherationalefortheactionwastoenableHPSUtoquicklygettogripswithpublicprocurementandusethislearning toaccelerategrowth.Thesupportbeingoffered toHPSUshad todealwithspecific challenges thatthey face compared to larger established companies. They lack a long track record, can generally draw onlimitedfinancialback-upandgenerallylackspecificexperienceintenderingforpubliccontracts.

Each partner went about identifying HPSUs differently. Bangor used its network, including the WelshGovernment High Potential Start-Up Programme database, innovation support agencies and its own list ofclient companies. They prepared a flyer that was distributed through this network. Initial interest wassignificant. However, the fact that two full days of training was required was, for many HPSUs, a majorcommitment. There is also the reality that there are only so many HPSUs in Wales. Most HPSUs do notprioritise public sector contracts in the early days given the obstacles to be overcome. They secured a fullcohortof15firms,turningawayasmallnumber,mostlyfrombeyondtheirimmediateNorthWalesarea.

TESLAandthepartnersagreedthatthetargetwasforeachpartnertobring10HPSUsthroughaprocessofsixmodulesintwodays;followedupby‘surgeries’intheformofSeminarstoanalyserealapplications.

Bangorranatwodaytrainingsessionwitheightmodules(twomorethenoriginallyenvisaged)for15HPSUsinMarch2014inCardiffaspartofICPS’sannualProcurementWeekevent,andsubsequentlyTilburgorganisedatwodayPublicProcurementtrainingsessiononthe4thand5thofFebruary2015withsevenmodulesfortenHPSUs in Eindhoven. Experts from both universities jointly delivered theworkshop in the Netherlands andWales.Themodulesbuiltoneachother,andwerehighlyinteractiveandparticipative.Althoughtherewasaspecific focuson cross-borderorEUpublicprocurement, the focus implicitlywasprimarilyon thedomesticenvironmentasastartingpoint.

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The Surgeries were initially envisaged as Seminars but for a number of reasons, including confidentialityaroundtenderandtheissueoftiming,intheendtheyweredeliveredasonetoonesupportwiththeHPSUs.

Thetendersurgeriesconsistedoftwoelements:

1. TheTenderSurgeryBriefingReport:

• Desk-based expert analysis of a HPSUs previous tender submission set against the procurer’srequirements/evaluationcriteriaandquestions

• The Tender Surgery Briefing Report involves a write-up of the desk-based analysis (typicallycomprisingof around10pages) andprovides recommendations specifically for start-upsas tohowtheHPSUcanimprovefuturesubmissions.

• Typical content for the Briefing Report relate to typical sections within a tender: Experience,Expertise; Methodology for delivering the contract; Approach to Project Management for thecontract;ApproachtoQualityAssuranceforthecontract.

2. TheTenderSurgeryMeeting:

• Ameeting (faceto face/viaphone/Skype)ofapproximately1.5hours todiscuss theTenderSurgeryBriefingReport,andtogive theHPSUanopportunity toaskquestions.Thisusually takesplacetwoweeksaftertheTenderSurgeryBriefingReporthasbeensenttotheHPSU.

ThegoalinBangorwastosupporttenofthe15HPSUswithsurgeries.However,todate,onlytwocompanieshavesubmittedtenders,andtheyhavebothbenefittedfromTendersurgeries.Therearekeychallengestotheapproach.Many of these are ‘niche’ companies and appropriate tendersmight arise only every few years.Bangor are now going outside of the initial HPSUs and offering the service to other HPSUs not involvedbeforehandwiththeplantoreach10byJuneandtocontinueuntiltheendofSeptember.

Collaborating together, Tilburg and Bangor University had developed the training content, supportingmaterialsandTenderSurgeryMethodologyforthePublicProcurementworkshop.EachpartnerdeliveredthePublicProcurementAwarenessdaysintheirrespectiveregions,intheNetherlandsandWales.

In 2014, Tilburg and Bangor University worked together to organize Public Procurement Awareness Daysworkshopintheirrespectiveregions.Theexpertsfromboththeuniversitieswereworkingtogethertodeliverthe workshop in the Netherlands andWales. Tilburg, co-operating with Bangor, delivered two days PublicProcurementAwarenessdaysinEindhovenon3rdand4thofFebruary2015.

TherecruitmentoftheHPSUsinHollandwascarriedoutincollaborationwithEindhovenStart-upsFoundationwhichhasasubstantialnetworkofstart-upsthatoperateinvariousfields.TheeventwaspromotedthroughStart-ups’ ‘meet-up’groups,onEventbriteaswellasthroughFacebook, leaflets, flyersandemail invitations.Over 25 participants showed interest in the workshop fromwhich 10 were selected that fit best with thedefinition of HPSUs. Their background was very diverse, from web designing companies to softwarecompanies,researchcompaniesandonlinepublishingcompanies.

The purpose of the Public Procurement Awareness days was to fast track the growth of HPSUs via takingadvantage of public procurement opportunities – the idea being that HPSUs with no real knowledge andunderstandingofpublicsectortendering,wouldbeabletolearnaboutalltheessentialelementsofwhattheyneedtoknowovera2dayintensetrainingperiod,dedicatedtotheirspecificneeds.Thetrainingsessionsweretailored as per the need of local HPSUs, keeping in mind the local needs, the sessions were delivered byexpertsfromtheNetherlandsandBangorUniversity’steam.

Intotal,seventrainingsessionsweredeliveredbyTilburgandBangorUniversitiesto10HPSUsattheHigh-techcampus in Eindhoven in February 2015. Sessions focused on the structure and legal aspects of publicprocurement procedures and at a practical level- how to draft andprepare awinning public sector tender.

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Tenderingstrategyandmanagementwasalsocovered.Collaborativebiddingtechniquesweredetailedaswellasananalysisofcross-borderaccesstopublicprocurementmarkets.

The sessions took advantage of the specialist procurement and tendering expertise available from BangorUniversity’sInstituteforCompetition&ProcurementStudies&TilburgUniversityaswellasdirectinputfromHPSUcompaniesthatwereabletosharetheirfirst-handexperienceoftopicssuchasCross-BorderAccesstoPublicProcurementMarkets.AlocalexpertwasrecruitedintheNetherlandstoshareexpertisewithregardtothe local needs of HPSU companies. The sessions therefore comprised of a deliberate mix of formalpresentations;interactivesessions;casestudypresentationsandinputbypublicprocurers.

TheeventwasalsousedtopromotetheTenderSurgeriesandhowtheHPSUscouldbenefitfromthisuniqueaspectoftenderingsupportthatwouldperfectlycomplementthePublicProcurementAwarenessdays,givenitwouldprovidethemwithanopportunitytohaveabespokeanalysisofatenderthattheyhadputtogether.An innovation in termsof the trainingwas thesessionwhereHPSUswere required tocritique (ingroups)atenderwrittenbya fictitiousstart-up.ThisenabledtheHPSUs to learn inapragmaticwayallabouthowtoovercomethecommonissuedfacedbyhighpotentialstart-uporganisationsintendering.

Thefeedbackfromthetwodayeventwasverypositiveandmostoftheparticipantsratedtheirexperienceattheworkshopasveryenriching.

2.10.3OUTPUTSANDOUTCOMES.


Intotal45HPSUsweretobeassisted,withfourtrainingworkshops,twoeachinTilburgandBangor.

TABLE12:TARGETS&OUTPUTSACTION10PUBLICPROCUREMENT(ACTUALSATMAY31ST2015)

OutputsIndicators(numberof...) BangorProjected

BangorActual

TilburgProjected

TilburgActual

TotalProjected

TotalActual

AwarenessDays 2 2 2 2 4 4

Number of HPSUs participating inPublicProcurementAwarenessDays

15 15 10 10 25 25

Trainingsessions 6 8 6 7 12 15

Govt/PublicSectorentities 2 2 2 1 4 3

HPSUsinTenderSurgeries 10 5 10 0 20 5

Sofartheyhave jointlyreached30HPSUs;25fromparticipating inPublicProcurementAwarenessdaysandfivefromthetendersurgeries.

ThemostnotablediscrepancybetweenprojecttargetsandactualoutputsisthenumberofHPSUsproceedingtosurgeriessofar,anumberhoweverwhichtheyexpecttocontinueincreasing.

ThesewillcontinueuntilSeptember,butseveralfactorsprobablyaccountforthislowfigureevenatthisstage.Opportunities to tender for appropriate public procurement contracts in niche HPSU areas may ariseinfrequently, and a precondition of a surgery is that a tender has already been submitted – and rejected.Tilburg points to such difficulties in providing the tender surgeries to the HPSUs that participated in thetrainingsessionson4thand5thofFeb2015.NoHPSUsubmitted,andthenfailedtowin,atenderinthepublicsector during the period the tender surgeries were offered. The offer was therefore extended to non-participating HPSUs in the region, and Tilburg and Bangor team are working together with a public sectororganisationintheNetherlandstodeliverthetendersurgeriestosomenon-participatingHPSUs.

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OUTPUTS&OUTCOMES

FeedbackwascollectedfromthePublicProcurementAwarenessDays inWales,andwaspositive.Thetablesbelowpresentstatisticalfeedbackprovidedbytheattendeesintheirfeedbackforms:

BelowisarepresentativesampleofcommentsfromWales:

- “Anexcellentevent,wellmanagedandwelldelivered”.

- “OneofthebesttrainingcoursesIhaveeverattended.Verywellorganisedanddelivered-wentfarbeyondmyexpectations.”

- “Ihaveneverputinatenderandfoundthe2daysinformativeandveryusefulgoingforward”

- “Brilliant.”

- “VeryUsefulconference.”

Feedback was also collected from the ten participants at the Public Procurement Awareness Days inEindhoven.

Someeightparticipants (80%) felt that thedurationwasappropriate,ninebelieving that thespeakerswereinteresting and inspiring. Speakers included four representatives from action partner at the Institute forCompetition andProcurement Studies, BangorUniversity,Wales.Again somenineparticipants felt that thesessionswereinteractiveandhands-on,withusefulinformationbeingobtainedtohelptosubmitabetterbidinatenderprocess.Theeventwasregardedasagoodopportunitytonetworkwithotherentrepreneurs.

Atotalof55%ofrespondentswouldagreetoparticipateatasimilareventagain.While80%ofrespondentsagreed that the event was professionally organized, only 50% felt that there were sufficient promotionalactivitiesfortheevent.

SomegeneralcommentsindicatedasfollowsfromTilburg:

- “Speakerswereverygood!”- “Veryusefulandpractical,especiallythesessionwherewehadtoassessthebid.”- “Iliketheapproachtheyhad!”- “Ienjoyeditverymuch,butitcouldberatheronedaythantwo.”- “Itwasusefulsessionandlotoffun.”- “SometimesitwastootechnicalandcomplicatedbutoverallIlearntalot.”

Partners felt that there ismoreofagap in supporting start-ups in tendering in theNetherlands,where thesupport infrastructure to assist applicants to tender for public procurement contracts is at a moredevelopmentalphase.Thismayalsobe related to the fact thatHPSUshavegreateraccess toprivatesectorcontractsintheEindhovenregion.

Excellent VeryGood Acceptable BelowExpectation Poor

PerformanceofTrainers 67% 33% 0% 0% 0%PresentersKnowledgeoftheTopic

50% 50% 0% 0% 0%

RelevanceofTopics 50% 42% 8% 0% 0%

Yes NoDidtheeventmeetyourprimaryobjectives? 100% 0%Wastheeventrelevanttoyourpractice? 100% 0%Willtheeventalteryourpractice/work? 100% 0%

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The networking aspect of the awareness days was important in both Holland andWales. By bringing keystakeholderstogether,theresultwasnotjusttosupportthetargetedcompanies,butalsotoraiseawarenessofpublicprocurementlocallyandthedetailsofthebiddingprocess.InHolland,themunicipalitylacksinformalandongoingworkingconnectionswithenterprises,sothisworkshopallowedforcontacttobemadebetweenthesestakeholders.Therewasalsoasecondarybenefit:ThePublicProcurementAgencyalsowasaffordedanopportunity tomakeconnectionswithHPSUs, somethingwhichoccursonly seldom in theirnormalworkingroutines.

Thesesuccessfulandunsuccessfulcompaniescanthenbereferredontothesurgeriesforspecificsupports.

The fully documented package of training and support, the content, the tendering support methodology‘ladder’,isthekeyoutputfromthisworkpackageaction.Itcan,thepartnersbelieve,bereusednotjustbytheTESLA partners but by others. The transferability of this output is supported by its analysis of EU publicprocurementpoliciesandframeworks.Basedontheexperienceofthepartners,someaspectsofthesupportmayneedfurtherfinetuning.Forinstance,giventhatsomeHPSUscouldnotattendthefull2days,oneoptionwouldbetoreducethetrainingtojustoneday,however,thismaydilutetheimpactofthetraininginthatitwouldbeprovidedatanoutlinelevelonly.Oneoptiontoovercomethis,wouldbetoofferpartofthecourseremotelyforimplementationintheHPSUsowntime.

TRANSNATIONALITY

1. Asnoted,thefocusofthisactionwasnotontransnational,orinternationalpublicprocurementcontracts,butratheronthoseoriginatingandtobe implementedwithintheHPSU’sownregion.Therationale forthisisthatitwouldnotberealistictoexpectHPSUstomastertheartofwinningtendersinternationallybefore they have done it on a domestic level and hencewould be a goodway to ease them into theprocess and gradually build an understanding. It also meant that they were more likely to build arelationshipwiththetenderpublicauthority.

2. Thereweresomesignificanttransnationalcomponents.

• Beingabletobrainstormtogetherfromtheirdifferentexperienceandangles(Bangor inthecentralprocesses of public procurement; Tilburg in legal aspects) in conceiving and designing theprogramme;

• Co-creatingthecontent,anddevelopingthemodulestogether;

• Refiningeachstepoftheprogrammesthroughongoingcommunicationbetweenthem;

• Co-deliveryoftheProgramme:ThreerepresentativescamefromTilburgtoCardiffforthedeliveryinMarch2014;andfourfromBangortoNetherlandsinFebruary2015

• Onlyrecruitmentwasdoneentirelylocally.

Bothpartnersbelieve that theActionbothdeserves,andwouldhave thepotential, tobe repeated inotherregionsandarewillingtoofferitinthatcontext,buildingonthedocumentedmodulesandactivities.

CONCLUSION

There was strong transnational collaboration between partners in this specialist area of support, and theparticipatingHPSUsbelievetheoutcomestobepositive.ThereareseveralstepsinvolvedinaHPSUstoreachthe point of tendering for transnational public procurement contracts, and in niche areas opportunities totendermaycomeinfrequently.ItwasthereforeneverexpectedthatparticipatingHPSUswouldgotheentirewayduringtheTELSAperiod.WhatthisActionhasproducedisafullydocumentedpackage,testedbyHPSUsandfoundtobepositive,thatcanberepeatedelsewherefortheperiodrequired;anda‘Surgery’componentthatcanbeutilisedonitownasHPSUsfindopportunitiestotender.

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3. ANALYSISOFSUPPORTINGINTERVENTIONSTESLA included twomain supportWork packages. As supporting activities, these were not discussed andjointly developed (with some exceptions) among partners to the same extent as the core Actions inWorkPackages1to4,andwereoveralldealtwithinamoreinstrumentalmanner.

3.1 WORKPACKAGE5:BESTPRACTICEANDCASESTUDIES3.1.1 CONTEXT,PARTNERSANDGOALS

Partners:Tilburg(InitialLead),Bangor(transferredafterfirstSteeringCommittee)


ThiscomprisedtwointerrelatedAction:

Action11:BestPracticeDocument

TheoverallobjectiveofWorkPackage5anditstwocloselyrelatedActionswasto:

• GatheralltheresultsfromtheimplementationofthepilotactionsinWorkPackages1to4);

• DocumentasetofparadigmaticandremarkablesuccessstoriesascasestudiesofwhatmustbedoneintheNWEregiontofosterentrepreneurshipandinnovation;

• Compile these into a Best Practices Document to include also recommended actions to fosterentrepreneurship and innovation, the creation, development, growth and internationalisation ofHPSUs,andtheoverallcreationofanecosystemfavourabletoknowledge-intensiveenterprises

Action14:PublicityandDissemination

Action 14was to take the results of Action 11 - the Best PracticeDocument – publicise and disseminate itsharing the relevant conclusions with relevant regions and more widely. This was also to include thedevelopmentofamainstreamingstrategytosustainthesuccessfulpilotactionswithinthepartnerregions.

InshortasawholeWorkPackage5wastodocumenttheentireTESLAproject,distillearningintermsofbestpractice and recommendations, and compile these into a Best Practice Document that would be widelypublicisedanddisseminatedamong stakeholders insideandoutside theparticipation regionsand thewiderNWE,andincludeasustainabilitystrategy.

Thiswastobecompletedinaseriousofninestepsasfollows:

1. Developmentofatemplateforgatheringdataarisingfromtheimplementationofthepilotactions;

2. Trainingsessionsforeachpartner,onrelevantknow-howforcompilingandprocessdatainthetemplate;

3. ElaborationofadraftconclusionspaperbyTilburgUniversityoffirstconclusions;

4. ReviewandbenchmarkingoftheinternalreportbyTESLApartners;

5. ElaborationoftheBestPracticesDocumentincludingcommentsandsuggestionsmadebythepartners,topincludebestpractices,policyrecommendationsandPilotActioncasestudies;

6. ExternalbenchmarkingofqualityandaccuracyofDocumentwithanindependentthirdparty;

7. Publicationandprintingof800copiestoensureawidedistributionovertheNWEregionandtheEU;

8 Disseminationtoawiderangeofinternalandexternalorganisationsthroughexistingnetworks;

9. Elaborationofamainstreamingstrategytosustainthesuccessfulactionswithinthepartnerregions.

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ThisbeganasanambitiousWorkPackagewithasignificantbudget,aimingtodocumenttheTESLAProgrammeas a dynamic laboratory to investigate the eco-system for a set of transnational actions to support HPSUs.Deploying partners to gather data in a systematicmanner, it hoped to situate the TESLA experience in thewider literatureon innovationeco-systems, todocumenteachof the interventions indetailandassesshoweach affected that eco-system, to extract best practices and to develop policy recommendations. It thusviewed the TESLA programme through themore ambitious of the two lenses outlined earlier in Section 1above.

Although the Work Package continues and the main output will soon be produced, overall the finalimplementationappearslikelytogeneratemoremodestoutcomes.

An initial changewas a shift in leadership, following the first Steering Committeemeeting, from Tilburg toBangor University. Due to the complexity of finance, dedicated staff could not be deployed and Bangor’sConfucius Institute decided to supplement thework through its own research fund. At first it remained anambitiousundertakingandTilburgwastocontinuetocontribute.AconceptualproposalwaspresentedtotheTESLACommittee inMarch2013reflecting the full scopeof theoriginalproposal.A reviewof the literaturewasbegunandadraftoutlineoftheBestPracticeReviewpresentedinJuly2013attheSteeringCommitteemeeting.ItwasalsoagreedthenthattenCaseStudieswouldformthebasisoftheGuide.

Overthefollowingyearauniformprotocolwasestablishedforandagreedbyallpartners,togatherdataonallactivities. However, the attempt to systematically document all TESLA actions appears not to have beencompleted,atleastsofar.

In2014BangorUniversityalsoinitiatedforaquestionnairesurvey,comprising28questions.Thesurveywouldcover HPSUs participating in a range of TESLA actions, beginning with Ireland and Wales, and sought todevelop amore systematic overview. However, the surveywas discontinued because of concerns that theenterpriseswerebeingoverburdenedwithsurveys,giventhatFeedbackformswerealsoarequirement(seebelow).Therewasalsoaconcernthatitmightduplicatethepresentevaluation.Thereturnedsurveysatthatpointweretoofewtobeofuse.

The focus turned to identifying anddocumenting case studiesof successful actions, two for eachActionbylead partners and concentrating on specific enterprises rather than on TESLA processes. Another potentialsource of best practicemay yet be the reports emanating from each of the staff completing transnationalplacementunderAction5.

3.1.3 OUTPUTS&OUTCOMES

ADraftBestPracticeDocumentwasproducedbyBangor inFebruary2015buildingontheearlieroutline. Itdrawsattention to TESLA’s goal of creating “a sharedecosystem inwhichbestpractices in accelerating thegrowth of smart firms with export potential, will be transferred between partner regions and the lessonsdisseminated throughout NW Europe” (p.5) and briefly describes TESLA’s conceptual underpinning. It alsooffersausefulreviewoftheliteratureandthinkingaroundsupportsforHigh-GrowthSmallandMedium-sizeEnterprises. Themain body of the report comprises a set of (as yet incomplete) case studies of successfulsupport of HPSUs, to bewritten by each partner. According to the table of contents, the final reportwillconcludewithcommentaryontheprecedingsectionsandasetofrecommendations. Thesemayalsocoversomeof thesewidereco-systemandpolicy issues, although it isnot clearat this stage theextent towhichpartners and other stakeholderswill be involved in articulating these recommendations, and the extent towhich they can draw on the wider formative and process based experience of TESLA beyond that of theindividualenterprises.

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ThebackgroundresearchworkatBangorhasgeneratedaconsiderableresourcebasefortheteam,includingmuchofknownbestpracticetodatefromleadingliterature.ThiswillbeusedtoholdamirroruptotheresultsofTESLAoncetheseareavailablecomprehensively.Thefinaldocumentisstillinanearlystage,andsofarthemainbodyofevidencefromtheTESLAexperienceisthesetofabout10HPSUenterprisecasestudies.Thusanevidentialbasisfordiscussionofthewiderissuesofanecosystemisonlyjustemerging.Deeperinsightsarelikely to take some time to glean and no doubtmorewill be documented before theOctober deadline forcompletionofTESLA.TheBangorteamintendstocontinuetoexplorethisknowledgebaseoveranextendedtimescale.

Many of the HPSU case studies documented in Best Practice Document will be presented as testimonialsduringtheupcomingTESLAConferenceonInternationalisingBusinessOpportunitiesinJune16thinGalwayinIreland.

TheBest PracticeAction continuesuntilOctober so there is considerable time to add to thework, and theoutput may yet approach the original broad vision for it. It will certainly touch on most of the areas, forinstanceTESLAasa laboratoryforatransnationalecosystem,evenifthedepthofanalysispossible isatthispointuncertain.TheCaseStudiescouldgenerateusefulopportunitiesforlearningandtogenerateinterestinandreplicatesomeoftheTESLAwork.Thescopeofthepolicyrecommendationsisalsonotyetclear,andnoris whether, as originally envisaged, a process of external verification for the overall document will beundertaken. The longer term possibilities, however, has significant potential as the data continues to beanalysedbytheteam,andthewidercontextisgraduallyfilledin.

WithregardtoacontributiontomainstreamingTESLAActions,thisappearssofartobetheresponsibilityofindividualpartnersandinsomecasesgroupsofcollaboratingpartnerswherejointworkiscontinuing.ItisnotclearasyethowthisWorkPackagemightcontributetothis.

Although no firm conclusion regarding the scaling back of the output of thisWork Package can be drawn,tentatively itmayberelatedtothedifferentbackgroundsandapproachoftwomainsetsofTESLApartners:onetheonesidethoseinvolveddirectlyinprovidingsupportsdirectlytoHPSUs,includingincubatorcentres,and in addressing theirongoingneeds in a sustainedmanner; and those involvedmoreacademically in theunderstanding wider issues of innovation ecosystems and their dynamics. This is raised again in theconclusions.

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3.2 WORKPACKAGE6:MONITORING&EVALUATION,ANDMANAGEMENTWork Package 6 Monitoring and Evaluation comprises two Actions, as its title suggests. A brief overviewmanagementoftheTESLAprojectisalsoaddedhereastheywereallcombinedtogetherintheoriginalTESLAapplication.

3.2.1 CONTEXT,PARTNERSANDGOALS

Partners:Líonra(MonitoringFeedbackandEvaluation);NWRA(ManagementandAdministrativeMonitoring)

IndicativeOriginalBudget:€210,784(excludingmanagement)

TheactivitieshereweredividedbetweentwoActions.

Action12OngoingMonitoringwasaninternallydrivenprocesswithtwostrands.

• Feedback monitoring, under the responsibility of Líonra, comprised the gathering and collation ofsystematicfeedbackfrombeneficiariesandstakeholders involvedineachofthepilotActionareas. Thiswould inevitably be at the level of outputs (as distinct from outcomes) and required systematictransnationalcoordination.Líonrawasresponsibleforthis.

• Administrative monitoring aimed to ensure that progress and timelines were monitored, milestonesnoted, actions delivered andbudget and expenditure recorded. Itwas focusedbothon TESLApartnersthemselves,andonreportingbythemanagingpartner,NWRA,tothelargerNWEProgramme.Concreteoutputs of the on-goingmonitoring process included the following: 1. Physical indicator data every sixmonths; 2. Pre-agreed progress indicators every six months; 3. Financial progress against approvedbudgetsandactionseverythreemonths.TheNWRAwasresponsibleforthisactivity.

Action13Evaluationcomprisesthecommissioningofanindependentex-postevaluation,anoutputofwhichisthepresentevaluationdocument.Thetermsofreferenceofthisreportwerebroadlyinlinewiththeoriginalplan. However this evaluation is being completed before the end of the TESLA Project itself, and this hasaffectedtosomedegreetheextenttowhichfullycompletedataisavailable.Thisiscommentedonelsewhereinthisreportandisnotpursuedfurtherinthissection.

TESLA Management, the responsibility of lead partner NWRA, involved compiling and submitting theobligatoryreportingtotheNWEProgramme,butalsoorganisingandchairingtheTESLASteeringCommittee,troubleshootingacrossallareas,financialandbudgetarymanaging,ongoingcommunicationandpublicityandconsideringandapprovingchangesandrefinementsofthebudgetsandactionsofproject.


FeedbackMonitoring

Theprocessofobtainingfeedbackfrombeneficiariesand,whererelevant,otherstakeholderswasdescribedinanEvaluationFrameworkpresentedbyLíonraandagreedbypartnersatthe4thSteeringCommitteemeetinginMarch2013.FollowingdiscussionamongTESLApartnersitwasagreedthataFeedbackTemplatewouldbedesignedandjointlyadoptedtoensurecomparability;andthatanattemptwouldbemadebyallpartnerstoachieve100%coverageofrelevantstakeholderviewsthroughouttheimplementationofTESLA.

AtthefollowingmeetinginJulyastandardsamplequestionnairewascirculatedthatcouldbecustomisedbypartnerstodifferentsituations,whileretainingthecorecontent.Feedbackwouldbeobtainedthoughshortsurveyscompletedbyvariousstakeholders,forinstancebyparticipantsatthecompletionoftrainingcoursesorawarenessdays;andbybothbeneficiaryHPSUsandMentorsatcompletionofamentoringprocess.Surveys

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weretobereturnedtoLíonraonanongoingbasis,andLíonraencouragedpartnersatsubsequentmeetingtocompletethem.

CITandLíonrapartnersdidcompletetheFeedbackSurveysonareasonablysystematicbasis,asdidLMT, inrelationtoAction4InternationalisationandAction7MentorPlus.Bangoralsogatheredsome.However,foranumberofreasons,notallactionswerecoveredandsomepartnersdidnotutilisethefeedbackforms.Insomecasespartnersfeltitinappropriatetoapproachtheclientwiththese,andverbalfeedbackwasobtainedaftersomesupportactions.Inotherspartnersfeltthesurveyitselfdidnotfittheirneeds.Overall,whilepartnersadmitted the relevance from the monitoring and evaluation point of view, many do not appear to haveprioritisedthegatheringofthismaterialor,whereproblemshavearisen,attemptedtoraiseandresolvethesewith the lead partner. The feedback returned so far is reported on in this evaluation under each action.Additionalfeedbackformsmayyetbereturnedforpreviousandongoingactions.

Administrativemonitoring,undertakenbyNWRAbytheleadpartners,involvedongoingthreemonthandsixmonthsreports.ItisnotthepurposeofthisEvaluationtoassessthisprocessinanydepth,butanumberofpointsdidemergefromtheTESLApartnerperspective:

• Partnersfeltthatadministrativeactivitieswereparticularlyonerousinthisprojectascomparedtoothers,arisingnotfromtheTESLAProjectmanagementpersebutfromdemandsatProgrammelevel.

• Without exceptionTESLApartners feel that the support providedby the TESLAmanagement teamwasexcellent in terms of facilitating and enabling the administrative reporting. Communication andresponsivenesswasverygood,andcreativesolutionswereoftenfoundtoproblemsfaced.

• TheprocessofhavingaleadTeslaPartnerforeachActioncompilingthereturnsfromtheothersforShortandLong-formReports, thoughdemandingconsiderableeffort (on thepartofLeadPartnersandTESLAManagement), worked well and enabled ultimately an effective reporting system that could drawtogetherinputsfromawidevarietyofpartnersandactions.

From a TESLA management perspective three clear requirements were identified for effective delivery ofactivitiesandreportingbypartners:CommitmentfromaSeniorManagementensureprogress ismaintainedandpriorities;aProjectOfficerasakeypointofliaison;andaFinanceOfficetoensurethatfinancialreportingwouldbetimelyandaccurate.Thesewerenotalwayspresentatalltimesineachpartner,resultinginsomeadditionaleffortbeingrequired,butoverall,ManagementwassatisfiedwithTESLApartners’commitment.

The AdministrativeMonitoring is producing on an ongoing basis a list of all outputs, based on the originalindicatorsofprogress.Asitistime-consuming,thesehavenotbeenfullyavailabletothisevaluationonanup-to-date basis. Given also that many Actions are still underway, the most recent figures available to thisevaluationwould greatly underestimate the actual outputs from TESLA. However, at the end of the TESLAProject,theManagementhopestoproducesfinalfullycompletedfiguresofoutputsinrelationtotheoriginalindicators.

TESLAManagement:Managementwasnotexaminedindepth.ButoverallTESLAappearstohavebeenwellmanagedandallpartnerscontributedtothis.TheregularSteeringCommitteemeetingswerewellprepared,attendedbyallpartners,wereclearlyminuted,andservedthepurposeintendedforthem.CommunicationasawholewithintheConsortiumwasgood,notwithstandingsomeshortcomingsindicatedhereandthereinthisreport.

The communication strategy for TESLA includes a Website with a newsletter and downloaded content;attendanceandpromotingatarangeofeventsbyvariouspartners;andtheproductionofvariousleafletsandbrochures.

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4. TESLAANALYSIS&CONCLUSIONS

4.1 ISSUESENCOUNTEREDANDWIDERLESSONS

ADIVERGENCEOFAPPROACHWITHINTESLA

Leavingasidetheleadpartnerwhoserolewastomanagethecontract,TESLApartnerscanbroadlyspeakingbedivided intotwotypes: thosedirectly involved inprovidingservices toHPSUsthrough incubationcentresalmost on a day-to-day basis, and those involvedmore broadly in analysing and nurturing an environmentsupportive of the emergence of HPSUs. Translated into TESLA objectives this meant that the former weremainly concernedwith running pilots and achieving practicalways for HPSUs, at least ultimately, to accessexternal markets; whereas the latter were exploring a wider transnational eco-system that might supportHPSUsingeneralinmovingtowardsatransnationaldimension.4

TheformergroupcomprisesCIT,LMT,INI-Nov,LíonraandEBN.CITandLMTengageHPSUsthroughthedirectprovisionofincubatorservices.INI-NovworksinclosepartnershipwithincubatorsanddirectlysupportsHPSUsinmanyways;Líonraisessentiallyasupportnetworkforaclusterofregionalincubatorsassociatedwiththirdlevel institutions in the region; and EBN is a European-wide network of incubators and innovation centres.TilburgandBangorUniversities,ontheotherhand,areprimarilythirdlevelinstitutions,undertakingresearchatlocaltoEuropeanandgloballevels,sometimesprovidingtargetedsupporttogroupsofHPSUsinspecialisedareas. The Bangor TESLA team in particular also works extensively with small companies, combining boththeoretical and practical experience. But overall, communication between the Universities and widerstakeholderssuchasfinanceinstitutionsorpublicprocurementbodiestendstobehigherthanfortheothers.

TESLApartners,informingtheconsortium,wereawareofthesedistinctions.DuringthedevelopmentoftheTESLAproposal,itwasbelievedthatthespecialistknowledgeofTilburgandBangorwouldenrichtheactionsof the other partners inworkingmore closely on the groundwith HPSUs, and that that enrichmentwouldoccurinatransnationalmannerbetweenpartnerregionsandinstitutions.TheinitiatoroftheTESLAconcept,Dr.DavidJoinerofBangorUniversity,notedthattheoriginal intentionwastoestablishaprogrammewithamultiplicityoffeaturesinaneco-systemtoprovidenewstimuli,learningandconnectionsfordifferentplayers,andthatBMW,asthemanagingpartner,woveapracticalsetofinitiativesaroundthisplannedinfrastructure.

Action9onsecuringfinanceforenterprisesandAction10ongainingaccesstopublicprocurementcontractswould,itwashoped,enableclientHPSUsoftheotherTESLApartnerstoaccessfinanceandtoactivelyengageinpublicprocurementactivities.Inpractice,however,Actions9and10weresomewhatdistinctfromtheotherActions. InonecasetheoutputoriginallyexpectedbyanotherpartnerfromAction9wasdevelopedbythatpartnerinitsowncontext,usingitsownresources,havingpulledbackfrombecominganactivepartnerintheAction. This gapmay also have influenced the scope ofWork Package 5: Best Practices, limiting the activeparticipationofpartnersattheconceptualbutalsoatthedatagatheringlevel.

Themore academic versus themore practitioner sides of TESLA have different – though complementary –widerobjectivesandcultures,andtheterminologyandlanguagedeployedbyeachalsodiffers.However,allparticipatedandcommunicatedeffectivelyintheTESLAmeetings.

4BangorUniversity’sparticipationcanmoreaccuratelybecharacterisedashavinga foot ineachcamp,andparticipated inTESLAthroughboththe Institute forCompetitionandProcurementStudiesandtheConfuciusInstitute.BangorwasinvolvedinatotaloffiveActions,andworksdirectlywithHPSUs.

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INTERPRETATIONOFANDCOHERENCEOFACTIONS

TESLA Actions, andWorks Packages, were conceived as a broad sequence. The ‘ideal’ TESLA HPSU evolvesfromanideaforaproductorservice,throughvariousstagestosuccessfullyaccessingatransnationalmarketandsellingtheproductand/orservicethere.Alongtheway,thevariousTESLAactionscanbeseentosupportoneormorestages,inacontinuum.

Action1focusedonthecreativeindustrysector,generallyconsideredtobeinneedofcapacityenhancementonthecommercialside,eventogetupandrunning.Action2focusedonthefirststepsofturningagoodideaintoanewproduct.Action3triedtodosimilarthingsforstart-upsthat lackthespecificthird-levelsupportswithintheirownlocalities.Action4andAction7bothfocused,throughtrainingandmentoringrespectively,ongettingHPSUsreadytoaccessaparticularmarket;andtheircomplements,Action6,offeredasoft-landingtopenetratethemarketidentified.Action9wouldlinktofinancetoscale-upforbuildinganewmarket;andAction10isameanstopenetratetheextensivepublicprocurementmarkets. Action8wasaspecialcase:apilottoaddresswhetherlargercorporationscouldcapturemoreoftheirinnovativecapacityandspinitintoin-housedevelopmentornewHPSUs.

Ofcourse,thisrisksimposingalogicalsequencewithinasystematicallycoherentframeworkbeyondwhatwasintended.

TESLAisperhapsmoreaccuratelydescribedasasetoftargetedpilotinterventionsalongaloosecontinuumofa HPSU’s progress. Each pilot intervention is more or less coherently coordinated and following the samebroad objectives; and these interventions may or may not articulate with each other, being amenable toflexibleadaptationtodosointhedifferentcircumstancesfacedbyeachpartner.

This looserandmoreflexible interpretationmeantthatTESLApartnerssometimesinterpretedanddeployedthesameaction indifferentways.Therewas,withineachActionandbetweenActions,significantscopefordiversityandevenoverlap.Amentorprovidedoveraperiodoftimecouldinpracticebedoingthesameworkasone-to-onesupportininternationalisation.Differentactions,implementedflexibly,convergetoperformthesamerole;whilstthesameactionimplementedbydifferentpartnerscandivergewithdifferentoutcomes.

Thisflexibilityledtodiversityofresponses,adaptationtolocalneedsandsometimestocreativesolutionsthatoftenachievedpositiveresults.

Adrawbackwasthatitbecomesmoredifficulttomonitoroutputseffectively.Asingleactionwhenmodifiedbydifferentpartnersmightnolongerproducecomparableoutputs.Forfeedbackpurposesitalsomeantthattheuniformfeedback templatewasnot ineverycaseconsideredbypartnersasappropriate foruse in theirmodified context. (As noted, this partly accounts for the absence of consistent and comprehensive outputfeedback.)Overall,italsomakestheevaluationofoutcomesamorechallengingtask.

NWEREGIONALBOUNDARIES

AnissueidentifiedbyINI-Novationisalsoworthyofmentioninthecontextofcoherentinterventions.ItreferstotheregionalfocusonTESLAprojectexclusivelyonNWE,asrequiredbythefundingprogramme.

INI-Novation instances a couple of cases where support activities were judged to be ineligible forreimbursementbecause the locationof that supportwasoutside theNWE. Anexamplewas an enterpriseseekingtoraisefinanceinBerlin;andanotherseekingtoattendasalesshowatCEBITinHanover,bothinthecontext of Soft-Landing action. Given that the benefitswould be derived to enterpriseswith theNWE, therationalforexcludingthesepossibilitieswasnotclear.Intheevent,becauseofthenatureofINI-Novationasaprivate independent innovationsupportcentre, theycouldenter intoaprivatearrangementandsoprovidethe servicebasedona contractualagreementbetween the two. Suchan issuecameup fromtime to time

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amongother partners, often in smallways. It seems likely that itwas particularly noticeable inDarmstadtwhichissoclosetoindustrialandfinancialcentreofGermanyandpartofthesamemarket.

THEPARADOXOFSUPPORTINGA‘SOFT-LANDING’:

Afurtherissueworthraisingmayhavefuturerelevanceandpotentialforexploration.

Thereisanapparentparadoxinherentintheideaofanincubatororinnovationcentresupportingthiskindofactivity.IneffectitappearstobeacaseofinvitinganotherHPSUintotheregionwithaviewtosupportingittogainafootholdinthelocalmarket.Thiswouldseemtobepotentiallyatoddswiththegoalofmostincubatorcentres,which ispreciselytosupport localenterpriseseitherwithintheirownregionalmarketsortoaccessexternal markets. Why support external enterprises in this manner? The literature (references to it areincludedintheDraftBestPracticesReport)suggestsanumberofrationales:

First,aSoft-Landingplatformisnotnecessarilyfocusedsolelyonmarketsandsellinggoodsorservicesoftheexternal enterprise. Often what is sought are partners and collaborators in market entry and growth, inproductionas themarketexpands,or in franchiseexpansion, all ofwhichpotentially generateemploymentandbuildcapacitiesinthehostregion.(ATESLAexamplewasofaproducttotreatequinehooves,developedbyanenterprisesupportedbyCIT,butlinkingupwith20orsoFrenchcompanieswhosupplythelocalhorseindustry,enablingthemtosupplyabetterservice.)Assuccessgrows,extensivelocalexpertiseisdrawnupon,suchaslawyers,accountantsandadvisors.

Second, there is a wider picture of interest to the European Union. For bringing in innovative externalenterprises can raise the level of competitiveness of local enterprises, and so prepare them for accessingexternalmarkets.Thustheoverallcapacityoftheregioncanrise.

Third,andthis relatesespeciallywherethere isawithdrawalofstatesupportoranabsenceof theminthisparticularniche,thereisagrowingmarketinthesupplyoftheseservicesinwhichaspecialistsupportsectorcanemergeintheprivatesector.Suchaprivatesectorhasnocompunctionaboutservinganycustomerthatcanpay,irrespectiveonitsregionaldevelopmentimpact.

There is one more related issue. There is some evidence from TESLA that the ‘traffic’ in soft-landing ispredominantlyoneway,fromthemore-peripheraltothestrongerindustrialregionswithlargermarkets.

However, the extent to which these benefits and dynamics may apply, and the circumstances that mayencouragethem,havenotbeenexaminedamongthemoreperipheralregionoftheNWE.Thisisanissuethatmaybearfurtheranalysis.

4.2TRANSNATIONALITYOFTHETESLAPROJECT

Transnationalitywithin theNWEmustbeaprominent featureofanyproject fundedunder the Interreg IVBNWEProgramme.Buttheprecisenatureanddynamicofsuchrequiredtransnationalityisnotpredeterminedandwillinevitablyvaryindifferentcircumstanceandinrelationtoaddressingdifferentneeds.Transnationalityisnottobesupportedsimplyforitsownsake.WhiletheNWEprogrammestressesdesigning,developinganddeliveringtransnationally,asasingleconsortium,tofollowsuchacourseblindlyisclearlynottheintention.

Intheend,onlysuchtransnationalityissupported,orshouldbesupported,inTESLAthatcancontributetotheoverall outcome sought: i.e. to design and pilot new interventions that enhance the transnationalcommercialisationofHPSUs. Indeedthegoalof theseActions,allofwhichcanbeconsideredaspilots, is tohelptoidentifywhichformsoftransnationalactioncancontributetoachievingthisobjective,andhow.

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REDUCEDTRANSNATIONALITY

Incertain respects, theTESLAprogrammeas implementedexhibitedamore limiteddegreeof transnationalcooperation than had originally been envisaged in the programme application. Many of the Actions, asdescribedabove,wereoriginally foreseenasbeingdesignedand implementedas a commonaction in eachregion, throughcooperationandcollaborationbetweenpartners. InallTESKAActions, the initial stepsweretaken together, for instance designing the Terms of Reference, developing needs assessment tools, anddesigningTrainingProgrammecontent.Butthesewereveryoftensubsequentlyadaptedbypartnerstotheirown circumstances, andmost often delivered solely by partners in their respective regionwith little or noinput from the rest of the TESLA team. There were of course some exceptions to this, and completetransnationaldeliveryanyhowposedpracticaldifficultiesinmanycases.

Anumberoffactorscanaccountforthis.

A key one was an emerging realisation among TESLA partners of the regions, in terms for instance of thenature and level of development of start-up enterprises, the array of existing supports available to HPSUswithineachregion,differentialaccesstorelevantexpertise(forinstancenotingthatagoodmentormustoftenhave a thorough knowledge of the local environment, and not simply of an external market), and thecharacteristics of local markets. Such diversity meant that Actions had to be significantly modified to beeffectiveinangivenregion.

ThecircumstancesofmostoftheTESLAregionsarenottypicalofwhatmaybecalledtheindustrialcoreoftheNWE.While the Tilburg and Darmstadt partners are in, or very close to, major innovative and technologyindustries, the others are inmore remote corners ofNWE. This too affects the nature of the transnationalactionsthatwouldorcouldemergefromTESLAaswellastheextentofinnovationhappeningonthegroundand the number of HPSUs emerging. Thewider geographical/industrial differentiationwithin theNWE alsoaffects the nature of transnational activity. For instance, HPSUs from the more remote areas (and indeedothers)tendtolooktomajorcentressuchastheUKandGermanywhenseekingtoaccessexternalmarkets,rather than to othermore remote areas (though thismay not always, in fact, be the optimal approach forthem).Asnotedearlier,thefundingboundariessetontheTESLAprogrammei.e.thatexpenditureshouldbewithintheNWEregion,also,atleastinafewcasesactedasaconstraintontransnationalaction.

Forthemostpart,thisevaluationconcludesthatwhereatransnationalcomponentwasreduced,inthesensethat there was a lower level of interaction, cooperation or collaboration between partners than had beenanticipated in the initial applications, it was a sensible and appropriate response to the circumstances theAction faced in terms of practical implementation in the different regions and by partners with differentstrengths.Furthermoresuchbeneficialchangeswerepossiblebecauseofthegoodqualityofcommunicationthat, in general, was a feature of the TESLA Consortium and between groups of partners in most of theindividualActions.

Inpractice,italsomeantthatsomeoftheinterventionsimplementedbyindividualpartners,developingtheirown interpretation of an action, had very limited or virtually no specific transnational component per se,whetherthatbetraining,mentoring,workshops,productdesignor localmarketdevelopment. Rather, theywere seen in the circumstances of the particular region and partner as preconditions to the potentialemergence of a transnational dimension, usually bringing new starts-ups to a point where they mightrealisticallyenvisagethepossibilityofaccessinganewmarket.Particularlyinmoreremoteregions,thisseemsto be a valid response to the TESLA objective, even if in itself it involves directly a limited transnationalcomponent.

TheverydifferentTESLApartnerprofiles–betweenthose involvedfromincubationcentrestothoseheavilycommitted to more academic research – has, as noted, also played a part in constraining one strand ofpotentialtransnationalcooperation.

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This points to a larger issue that can only be hinted at here: How well is suited the NWE Programme tosupportingHPSUsintheseregions;anditwasconceptuallydesignedwiththeminmindatall.Onepointisaquestion of scale. TESLAmay seem large, at €3.8million invested by the EU and by partners. But in thecontextoftheNWEProgrammeofover€330millionwithERDFfunds,itisverysmall.Putanotherway,thereis an apparent expectation, from a purely administration and management perspective, on the NWEProgramme managers at EU level to develop large projects that can absorb significant funds. Yet theinnovationcentresinsomeoftheseregionsaremodestinsize,servingregionswithfarmorelimitedcapacityfor innovation and accessing external markets than the core industrial parts of the NWE. There was anexpectationontheTESLAconsortiumtoscaleupatthetimeoftheapplicationtotheprogramme,anditdidnotnecessarilyleadtoanoptimalscaleorallocationofresources,andcombinationofpartnersandactions.

Thisagainisworthyofdeeperconsideration.

EFFECTIVETRANSNATIONALITY

Comingat thequestionsof transnationality from theotherwayaround:Whichwere the strongestareasoftransnationalcooperation,andwhy?Thisapproachfocusesmorecloselytotheissuesofwhatlevelandnatureoftransnationalityisappropriate,andwhatpositivelessonsemergefromTESLA.

Itisinterestingthatoneofactionsmostwelcomedandappreciatedbyallparticipatingpartners(Tilburgwasthe only one not to participate)wasAction 5: Transnational Placements. Formost of those involved thisbroughttwosignificantbenefits.

Firstitallowedahands-onhighly-motivatedandfocusedsharingofbestpracticeacrossregions.Inthenormalcourseof theirwork, staff at innovation centresand incubators tendnot toengage inmuchexchangewitheachother,atleastatalevelsufficientlydetailedtoenabletheshareofbestpractice.Eachtendstofocusonitsownassetswithintheregionandonbuildingsmallenterprisestothestageoflocalmarketlaunch,atleastintheearlyyearsofthesecentres.Everydaypressureofworkmakesitdifficulttofindthetimeandspace,andjustify it toseniormanagement, tovisitandgettoknowanothercentrewhenthebenefitsseemsomewhatvagueanduncertain.Thuseachinnovationcentre,especiallyinlessindustrialregions,hastendedtoinventitsownapproach– inpractice leading toan interestingandcreativediversityamongcentres in theirapproachandspecificprogrammes.

ThisTESLAAction5meantthatbestpracticesfromamongthatdiversitycouldbeidentifiedbypartners,thetimecouldbefoundtofullyexplorethemand,inatleastafewcasessofaranditisongoing,toadaptforuseintheirowncontext.

Second it created a foundation for ongoing and future interaction and networking between innovationcentres,includingcollaborativetransnationalactions.OnepointthatTESLA,andindeedmanyotherEUfundedprojects,highlightsisthatthedeepertherelationshipsbetweenpartnerandtheirfamiliaritywitheachother’sneedsandapproaches,themoreeffectivearejointproposalsandcollaborationsthatemerge.Beyondseekingjoint funding such close communication and networking between centres leads to ongoing enrichment ofwork.

The emergence of the informal but ongoing ‘matchmaking’ discussions between Innovation Centres acrossregionspointstoonedirectionthismighttake.

Onearea inwhich thatenrichmentcanhappenspecifically is inbuilding relations that translate into sharedsupportforclientHPSUs,specificallyintheformofsoft-landingandco-incubation,alliedwiththepreparationfor market access. This covers several of the TESLA Actions, especially Action 6 Soft-Landing, Action 4Internationalisationandtotheextentthatitwasusedtosupportthese,Action7MentorPlus.

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TheprecisenumberofHPSUsparticipatingintheseActionsthathaveandwillproceedtosuccessfulexternalmarket penetration is not known at this point, though there are a number of documented successes. Theevidencedoes suggest strongly, however, that theparticipatingHPSUs feel theyarebenefiting significantly,evenwhereithasnotyetresultedinexternalmarketaccess.Thisisanimportantachievement:TherealisationbyaHPSUthatitarenotyetreadytoenteramarketisastepforward,andpossiblymoreHPSUsfromweakerregionsarelikelytoarriveatsuchaconclusion.

However,more important is that between these three Actions, a tailored toolkit has been developed thatincludes: needs assessment instruments for HPSUs to determine their readiness and needs; training andmentoringsupportinhowandwheretointernationalise;acomprehensivesupportmanualfora‘soft-landing’in a targetedmarket and for co-incubation cooperation; and a transnationalmechanism that in the futurecouldevolveintoanOnlineSoft-LandingExchangeSystem.

AnumberofTESLApartnersarecooperatingcloselyaroundthedevelopmentof these,andhopefully in thecontextoftheEBN,willcontinuetodoso.IndeedtheEBNitselfisbenefitingfromacloserrelationship,andevenmembershipof,TESLApartnerswhichlookslikelytocontinuetostrengthen.

ToalesserextentAction1:CreativeIndustrieshasalsodevelopedthepotentialthroughtheemergingonlineCreative IndustriesPlatform tobuildongoing transnational supportandnetworking in the sector. Howeverthisislikelytorequireconsiderableadditionalworktogettothepointoftakeofforsustainability.Mostofthespecific support provided to HPSUs here (as in several others areas) would fall into the category of pre-transnational i.e.theyareprerequisitesoffuturetransnationalaction(andinthatsensecontributeto it),bybuildingcapacitiesthatmightinthefutureenableparticipatingHPSUstoaccessinternationalmarkets.

Asimilarcommentaboutbeingpre-transnationalappliestomuchbutnotalloftheworkunderAction2NewProductDesign&Development.ButTESLApartners,asfarascanbediscernedfromtheevidence,havebeenparticularlysuccessfulindevelopingdifferentbut,eachintheirownway,effectivemeanstosupportHPSUsinproductdesign.The issuehere (and in someotherareas) isnotnecessarily that theseHPSUshave failed toachieveexternalmarketaccess,but that theTESLA timescalewas tooshort to take themfromwhere theywere through to that more developed state; and that given time perhaps they will achieve it. MostparticipatingHPSUsarecontinuingtoreceivesupport.

Action3: InnovationOutreach isworking inasimilarmannerwithHPSUs, thoughofferingawider rangeofsupportstargetedespeciallythosecurrentlybeyondthereachofthirdlevelsupport.Thetimeconstraints,duetodelays,areevengreaterthere,andnosubstantialtransnationalelementhasemergedasyet.Theexceptionhere is the work in INI-Novation, which – though not itself providing extensive support - has enabledconnectionsbetweenmanyHPSUsresearchandothersupportneededacrosstransnationalboundaries.

Action 10 Public Procurement can similarly be characterised as pre-transnational, or prerequisites oftransnationality.Fromthestartthefocuswasonfasttrackingthescale-upofHPSUsthroughhelpingthemtosecure public procurement contracts. However, these were to be through local and regional publicprocurementagencies,consideredtobethemostfeasibleforHPSUs.Thusitisonlylaterthattheymightmovetoatransnationalscale.Therewas,however,sometransnationalcooperationindesigningandco-deliveringtheprogrammeandinexchangeofskillsbetweenthetwopartnersinvolved.

The transnationality of Action 8 Spin-Ins was based on a well-researched and promising idea that largetransnationalcorporationsmightbeabletogenerateemploymentandenterprises locallythroughexploitingunderutilised capacities for innovation, and that such a model could be shared across TESLA innovationcentres.Unfortunately it did not achieve its initial aim – it drewonly limited interest in the idea in Irelandwhere it originated, and in Tilburgwhich also pursued it. However LMTdid learn from this experience andimplementedit inarevisedform,building inpartonanexistingprogrammeoftheirownbutusingmuchof

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thematerialsdevelopedinIreland.Thishadalreadyachievedsomesuccess.Overall,however,thefocushereisonlearningfromtheexperience.

Action 9 Entrepreneurial Finance, as implemented by the lead partner Tilburg, was highly transnational innature.OfalltheTESLAActionsthisconcerneditselfthemostwithinvestigatingandexploringthewidereco-system for HPSUs, specifically in relation to financing issues and the potential of different types andstakeholders.Inaseriesofevents,eachlargerthanthelast,HPSUsfromtheNetherlandshadtheopportunityto mix with and understand the wider eco-system issues of attracting finance and to pitch their ideas toexperts.Follow-upsupportisongoing.Somewhatironicallygiventheoverallfocus,andforreasonsdiscussedearlier,thetransnationalparticipationofotherTESLApartnerswasverylow.

LMTsactions inthisareawas moremodestandmoreregionallyfocused–andsucceededalready inraisingfinanceforthreeHPSUsthatwillenablethemtomoveintotargetedexternalmarkets.

4.2 OVERALLCONCLUSIONThe aim of TESLA was: “through transnational cooperation, to design and deliver a suite of tools for thesuccessfuldevelopmentofknowledgeintensivefirmswithhighpotentialtoexportandthroughcollaborativeanalysis and pilot actions, to enhance the partners’ regional innovation ecosystems to support such firms,includingSMEsandMicroEnterprises,tosecureexportmarkets.”(TESLAapplication)

TESLAhas to a reasonabledegree succeeded in that core goal. A suiteof tools, comprising some individualelementsandacoupleofinterlinkedsetsoftools,hasbeenpilotedwithdifferentlevelsofsuccess,elementsofwhicharelikelytoenhancethateco-system.

Ithas implementedasetofpilotsactionseachofwhich, todifferentextents,hasyieldedresults thateitherdirectlyorindirectly(thoughintermediaries)benefitHPSUs.Aspilotssomeactionsshowmorepotentialthanothers,butsomelearninghasbeengainedfromallofthem.AmoreprecisefigureofhowmanyHPSUshavebenefited should be available after allmonitoring data is submitted and collated at the final completion ofTESLA.

Thecoresetof transnational instrumentsdevelopedaroundpreparation forandaccessingexternalmarketshas theclearestpotential forwiderandsustained implementation.Butonly towards theendofTESLAhavethe different components achieved the potential to be articulated together into a coherent transnationaloffering.Additionaleffortwillberequiredbythepartnersinvolvedtorealiseitsfullpotential.

A second set of actions tendedmore towardswhat is described here aspre-transnationality i.e. they havesuccessfullybroughtHPSUs–andthefeedbackevidencesupportsthis–asteportwoclosertolaunchingorfurther developing successful products or services through needs assessment tools, training and capacitybuilding, mentoring and other actions. In doing so, the TESLA partners engaged in various levels oftransnational cooperation, exchanging with other, learning, and sometimes sharing implementation. WhilefewoftheparticipatingHPSUshaveyettodevelopasustainabletransnationaldimension,mostareclosertodoingsothanbeforetheirengagementwithTESLA.Thusthenatureof,andtargetsfor,transnationalitymustbetailoredtothecircumstancesofdifferentregions,andTESLAismostlyoperatinginmoremarginalregions.

One outcome that does emerge from TESLA is the value of networking and cooperation among innovationcentres, incubatorsandother supportagenciesand intermediariesworkingdirectlywithHPSUs. Thevalue-addedwasbyitsnaturetransnational,forinstancethroughtheexchangeofbestpractice. Butthepotentialbenefitstothoseengaginginsuchcooperationandsometimesongoingclosecollaborationrunacrossalltheirsupportactivities,whetherornottheseareexplicitlygearedtowardssupportHPSUs(orotherenterprises)toaccessexternalmarkets.Thisisapotentialthatmanyofthepartners,andtheEBNnetwork,lookssettobuildon.

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