Innovation Management and Innovation Funding for Smes
The vast majority of SME's are normal businesses created to serve a market demand be it local or international. Their total motivation is paying the wages and bank overdrafts and expanding their business For a significant number of years (if ever) they are not concerned with developing new technology but applying what is on the market. Only when they are mature, of a certain size and involved in the manufacture or application of more advanced technologies do they have the luxury of looking to develop new products or processes. Others are formed to develop one new technical idea. They may be a spin out of a university or individuals passionately wedded to the idea of a new technology. However the survival rate of these organizations is statistically extremely poor. As a company we innovate and help others including SME's to do so because we have a 70 year applied technology history and are experienced in raising grant funding etc. However even for us paying the wages and running costs comes first. You can have an innovative business culture and R&D capability but the must be a market/technology pull. Innovation is not just good ideas there are loads of those. It is a will on the wisp which needs a proven demand, patience and a big bell jar to capture it. At company level it's easily driven if the management has the will and sees the benefits. High tech companies both small and large are more likely to have this type of culture because of the people they employ and the fact they are always thinking to solve technical problems. Many continuous improvement management systems/techniques also involve getting the primary through to tertiary work groups to think of better and innovative methods of working or developing new techniques and technologies. Most SME's have to see a short term benefit normally associated with development rather than research. The other level is local awareness campaigns through the different industry associations or local business networks sponsored by the government. Most SME's just do not have the time to look around and really need to be made aware by their peers. Also an initial small scale look see funding route that is not too complex is needed. By this I do not mean giving funding to the universities to go sell their research capabilities at technology shows giving away EUR10000 innovation vouchers if the SME signs up. Basically because the SME is not interested in research but shorter term industry focussed innovation. Funding via the industry associations which they can spend as they like on innovation would tend to bring like minded SMEs together at national level and possibly European level all with similar problems related either to their own businesses or the demands of their client markets which the SME's can see a profit in solving. This is a somewhat simplistic approach but complexity is always likely to put SMEs off as the demands on their time are high and the bank and taxation is always there with their hand out.