CyberBreakfast
About this good practice
CyberBreakfast is the monthly meeting of local cybersecurity SMEs in Brittany. In 90 minutes, it allows participants to: a) get an overview of the regional, national and European news related to the cyber sector (including information on calls for proposals, new EU regulations, etc.); b) exchange on the state-of-the-art technology and get a technical analysis of the latest cyberattacks, threats and vulnerabilities; c) focus on and discuss about a specific cybersecurity-related topic, with the help of an external expert (e.g. cybersecurity and healthcare, recruitment of Asperger profiles, etc.).
CyberBreakfasts are organised every month (1/month) by Bretagne Development Innovation, the development agency of Brittany. The initiative has been launched based on a request from local companies, that needed a time to know each other and share information. From the perspective of a business support organisation, these events are an efficient tool to drive the community of local SMEs and facilitate the integration of new players in the regional ecosystem. For local SMEs, it represents an opportunity to keep abreast of the cyber news, exchange with peers and networking.
Key factors of success include: a) the informal nature of the meeting, which promotes the active participation of all attendees and the exchange of information; b) the time of the event (8.30-10AM), that minimises the chance to overlap other business meetings, thus allowing a greater participation of CEOs.
Expert opinion
CyberBreakfast is a good example how with just a small amount of resources the public sector can support the local ecosystem. By providing a room and organizing monthly get-togethers the public sector can help facilitate cooperation by bringing together all the relevant actors. In the case of CyberBreakfast it is noteworthy that the initiative was launched as a response to demand from the local businesses. This has surely helped to maintain an active participator base. A positive aspect to emphasize is that other industries have been interested in participating and sharing their needs to the CyberBreakfast community. This sort of communication between different actors/sectors would have been harder to manage if these regular events would not take place. Compared to many other methods of supporting local SMEs informal monthly get-togethers are relatively cheap, but even so it can bring about very relevant cooperation and help disseminate relevant information among the ecosystem. Therefore, this practice could have great interest for policymakers elsewhere.
Resources needed
- Budget/month for breakfast (depending on the number of participants)
- 1 meeting room
- Time needed for the organisation of the event (e.g. definition of the agenda, communication, etc.)
- Experts to focus on specific topics
Evidence of success
- High participation rate (30-35 participants/month)
- Interest showed from other industries in participating and sharing their needs in terms of cybersecurity
- Transfer of this good practice to other business support organisations located in other cities in Brittany
Potential for learning or transfer
This Good Practice is extremely easy to transfer, as it requires few resources and can apply to any regional cybersecurity ecosystem. It has already been adopted by other local business support organisations located in Brittany.
Further information
Website
Good practice owner
You can contact the good practice owner below for more detailed information.
Bretagne Développement Innovation