Mairi Henderson, Project Manager, Scottish EnterpriseRegional Workshop: Selkirk, Scottish BordersDate: Tuesday 6th May 2014
Regional Seminar Agenda• Welcome• Superfast Broadband Rollout – Scottish
Government• Business Gateway – What we do?• Introduction to CREATE – Scottish Enterprise• Networking Session
• Meet the CREATE Advisor• Mak-Lab
What is CREATE?• Developing approaches to encourage the take
up & optimal use of Broadband & ICT by SMEs in rural areas
• Working in partnership with organisations across different regions in North West Europe to share skills & ideas and to test approaches in different environments
• SMEs will benefit from intensive support and business advice on how to exploit ICT
• The funding will provide support for • SMEs to receive 1-1 advice• Materials to be developed that encourage ICT & broadband take-up • Help SMEs to collaborate with other small rural businesses from across
North West Europe.
• The project is funded from the INTERREG IVB Programme which targets EU funding to encourage regional collaboration to develop new approaches to common problems
€2.6m EU Funded project (€1.3m of which is ERDF)
Story so far ..• September 2013 - Launched project with Conference in
Hereford • December 2013 - Appointed Leadership Panel of industry
experts• January 2014 - Transnational Seminar in Dumfries,
Scotland• February 2014 - Recruitment process for CREATE
Advisors• March / April / May 2014 – Regional Workshops being
delivered across all Partner regions
Aims to overcome• Structural Deficits of the Rural Economy
– Isolation from markets & skills– Lack of infrastructure– Lack of scale– Poor clustering opportunities– Lack of ICT expertise– Reliance on traditional sectors
www.scottish-enterprise.comwww.scottish-enterprise.com
Collection exerciseHSB Rollout/Demand stimulation• Specific marketing campaigns
attached to a rollout in an area to get uptake from businesses
• Bespoke seminars presenting specific advantages to the different target groups
Role of NGA Broadband • Digitally Mature SMEs grow at least 2 times faster• At the height of the recession digitally mature SMEs were 29% more
likely to grow than those with only basic use of IT
• More sophisticated IT – improves labour productivity - 10% in services; 5% in manufacturing– drives 20% of all productivity growth across sectors
• The annual total turnover of U.K. SMEs could be boosted by
£18.8bn if all of these firms sold and marketed online
Persisting Issues• High awareness of speed issue • Low awareness of potential • Poor exploitation will continue• Without action, economic effects will not be
realised • Latent economic potential must be unlocked
Snapshot of Pan Partner Survey
Don’t use any form of Social Media
Employees don’t have remote access to company email
Haven't received foreign orders for goods/services
Employees don't have business portable devices
Websites don’t host product catalogues or price lists
Haven't received orders for goods/services via a website
Don’t use video conferencing including Skype
Don’t access tender docs from eProcurement systems
Don’t use automated e-invoices
Don’t use an ERP package
Don’t offer order tracking on-line
Don’t allow online customers to customise products
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Why do this transnationally?• Technical capacity & skills • Gain scale • Technical & economic specialisms • Test approaches • Demonstrate how rural SMEs can benefit from
the global economy
Leadership Panel• Recruit a Leadership Panel
comprised of business & ICT experts from each partner region to the transfer of knowledge & skills across the partner regions
www.scottish-enterprise.comwww.scottish-enterprise.com
Collection exercise
• 1:1 CREATE Advisor support (expert advice)
• Business Directory• Business Review, identifying Action Plan
specific to your SME• E-Guides – Best Practice guides• Digi-Labs - access to lab which
showcases new IT Technologies • Clusters - Access to online knowledge
platforms
What will CREATE offer SMEs?
Business Review Diagnostic• Develop dynamic & tailored tool for delivery to a range of
SMEs with different levels of digital maturity• The tool will focus on ways that new technologies can be
incorporated into the business processes of rural SMEs to – encourage resilience, – increase efficiency, & – boost competitiveness.
• Delivered on the ground by local advisors until June 2015
Develop physical & virtual Digi-Labs as demonstrators and to facilitate transnational communication & collaboration
Digi-Labs
E-GUIDES
Virtual ClustersVirtual clustering of rural SMEs across NWE
To overcome barriers to market caused by remoteness & the lack of critical mass
The Cloud Clusters will provide SMEs with
• Significant exposure to other regions and countries • Opportunity to gain scale • Friendly environment to foster open innovation• New suppliers• New partners • Transfer of new processes that can cut costs & increase sales
youtube.com/user/createNWE
flickr.com/photos/createNWE
www.create-nwe.eufacebook.com/createNWE
twitter.com/createNWE
linkedin.com/groups/
Search LinkedIn for:CREATE – Connecting Rural Enterprise for a Transnational Economy
Keeping in Touch with #createNWE
Book Time with CREATE AdviserContact Dan Annison, Scottish [email protected]: 01387 245204
Mairi Henderson, Scottish [email protected]: 01387 245223