RESOLUTIONS
Published on 23 May 2019
France
This is the good practice's implementation level. It can be national, regional or local.
About this good practice
PROCESS:
1-Call for issues: Formulation of issues (1 month): entrepreneurs are invited to express their development issues in connection with the selected subject (the 1st subject was Blue Growth) --> Selection of 5 issues (2 months): 5 enterprises are selected and benefit from a customized coaching to restate their issues into innovation opportunities.
2-Call for innovations: Solvers’ application (1,5 month): the opening of the call for solution is formalized by an event on the selected subject during which the 5 restated issues are presented. The SOLVERS are invited to apply on the website with an online application form and a short video --> Solutions selection (15 days): 3 SOLVERS per issue are preselected by a jury. Solutions are presented during a regional event and the ENTREPRENEURS designate the winner. To be developed, each winning solution is awarded 20.000€
3-Team work : Co-development of the solution (3 months) ENTREPRENEURS and SOLVERS work together to develop the solution.
Ultimately, the objective is to favour fast marketing of new and efficient solutions in order for Pays de la Loire to become a territory where businesses are moving faster and stronger by increasing their development through innovation.
1-Call for issues: Formulation of issues (1 month): entrepreneurs are invited to express their development issues in connection with the selected subject (the 1st subject was Blue Growth) --> Selection of 5 issues (2 months): 5 enterprises are selected and benefit from a customized coaching to restate their issues into innovation opportunities.
2-Call for innovations: Solvers’ application (1,5 month): the opening of the call for solution is formalized by an event on the selected subject during which the 5 restated issues are presented. The SOLVERS are invited to apply on the website with an online application form and a short video --> Solutions selection (15 days): 3 SOLVERS per issue are preselected by a jury. Solutions are presented during a regional event and the ENTREPRENEURS designate the winner. To be developed, each winning solution is awarded 20.000€
3-Team work : Co-development of the solution (3 months) ENTREPRENEURS and SOLVERS work together to develop the solution.
Ultimately, the objective is to favour fast marketing of new and efficient solutions in order for Pays de la Loire to become a territory where businesses are moving faster and stronger by increasing their development through innovation.
Expert opinion
RESOLUTIONS is an interesting practice of supporting SMEs/star-ups and businesses by using a reversed logic where the needs of mature business are identified in the first phase. In the second phase start-ups and other actors can offer their solutions. The strength of this practice is to tackle existing problems and needs head on. Coming up with a novel business idea or identifying a problem that needs solving can be difficult at times for young entrepreneurs. By identifying the problems first, innovative teams from SMEs, start-ups and research institutions can start brainstorming solutions that are needed. The RESOLUTIONS support framework could have replication value in other contexts.
I also recommend looking at the BIND 4.0 practice from Spain which works on similar principles - large companies provide challenges and contracts to accelerated companies. Available here: https://www.interregeurope.eu/policylearning/good-practices/item/1374/bind4-0/
I also recommend looking at the BIND 4.0 practice from Spain which works on similar principles - large companies provide challenges and contracts to accelerated companies. Available here: https://www.interregeurope.eu/policylearning/good-practices/item/1374/bind4-0/
Works at
Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform
Resources needed
Résolutions represents an annual budget of 400.000€ (4 calls a year). Each call for solutions has an envelope of 100.000€ (5X20.000€) to help the SOLVERS co-develop their solution. Around 20 000€ are allocated by the Region to the regional agency to operate this scheme (communication and staff)
Evidence of success
6 topics covered (including blue growth, industry 4.0, smart building, digitalisation, tourism...) / 120 issues analysed / 30 duos entrepreneurs / solvers / 600 K € financed by Pays de la Loire Region
Potential for learning or transfer
For the past 5 years , we have witnessed an important development of open innovation approaches. The purpose of these approaches is to enable enterprises to work with innovative start-ups agility in order to accelerate their own dynamic of innovation. Many start-ups contests have also been developing, they aim at highlighting promising innovation in order to help fundraisings or uncover market opportunities. However those initiatives have two main limits: open innovation is not addressed enough to SMEs and the existing start-ups contests do not always allow to finance the development of the structure or to find its market. On the basis of Anglo-Saxon experiences, Pays de la Loire Region wanted to favour a “reversed logic”. The idea was to organise the encounter of needs expressed by mature businesses and solutions brought by start-ups and applied research labs This is a regional approach which relies on regional existing events and on innovation actors who assist entreprises daily.
Further information
Website
Good practice owner
You can contact the good practice owner below for more detailed information.
Organisation
Conseil Régional Pays de Loire
France
Pays de la Loire
Contact