CONTEXT

Nowadays organizations needed to maintain their business activity in world every time more uncertain and competitive. More and more products require a strong added service component to be able to compete with products from low cost products from the emerging economies.

European SMEs frequently limit their services to installation, training and maintenance related to the products, but to be able to offer the added value need for the profitability and lifetime of the product, their products need to consider great added value services such as customization of the product and taking charge of operations related to the use of the product at the client site. Offering new products and services means taking maximum advantage of the creative potential of the organization. Creativity allows the organization to transform own ideas or of others applied to their products and services in points of profitability, i.e. generate innovation in products and services.

OBJECTIVE

CREATIN pretends to improve capacity for innovation in products and services of European SMEs through the application of creativity techniques, creating a methodology for continuous learning for the human resources of the centers and organizations for SMEs support, and the human resources of the SMEs, giving them the skills and abilities to integrate and apply these techniques to the innovation in products and services. Focus will be on those human resources in support organizations that give direct services to the SMEs in the area of innovation (innovation agents) and the human resources of the SMEs dedicated to research, development and innovation (innovation managers).
The learning methodology is based on a self-learning system, available on-line, that integrates materials and contents concerning information, knowledge and training in the field of the innovation in products and services. It incorporates a knowledge base that allows guided access to the creativity techniques, with a description of their use and real-life cases of their application. This knowledge base is the key part of the system, which is complemented with a training area and a support system.

RESULTS AND IMPACT

CREATIN will increase the capacity of the SME support organizations by improving the skills and abilities of the personnel dedicated to giving support to SMEs in the field of competiveness, innovation and productivity. These support organizations will be able to give a better answer to the SMEs needs for innovation in products and services, integrating creativity in the services they offer them