Why is it important for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in rural areas to see data as a valuable resource and how can these SMEs be supported in using their own and external data to optimize processes and increase their innovation and competitiveness?
The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted how important it is for companies to address the topics of data and digitalization and integrate them profitably into their day-to-day work. As the business processes of many companies have been turned upside down over the past two years, the need for new, digital solutions has never been greater. However, the ever faster pace of developments and constantly new requirements in this area pose major challenges for SMEs, especially in rural regions.
For SMEs in the North Sea region that do not know how to take advantage of the opportunities offered by digitalization and generate added value through data-based work, support is available in the form of an Interreg North Sea Region project. At the beginning of 2019, a total of 12 project partners from Sweden, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Germany set out as part of “Futures By Design” to raise awareness of data and digitalization among SMEs in the North Sea region and to support them in optimizing work processes using data-based work with the help of specially developed tools and workshops, among other things.
Together with the Swedish Alexanderson Institute, aconium GmbH is responsible for communication management as part of Futures By Design and is also responsible for implementing the content with SMEs from north-west Germany. At the heart of the project, a virtual hub has been set up at www.futuresbydesign.net, where SMEs can find out about news on topics relevant to the future, such as artificial intelligence, drones and virtual currencies. Through the project partnership, horizon scanning is continuously carried out and exciting information relevant to SMEs is recorded in clear papers that are available for download on the hub. To date, the following horizon scanning papers have been published from the transnational partnership:
In addition, the online hub brings together the transnational knowledge of the project partners and continuously collects forward-looking (mostly English-language) publications and desk studies on the topics of data and digitalization, such as a guide to the “Industrial Internet of Things”, quantum computing or big data for small businesses. In the participating project regions, SMEs also receive support directly on site. aconium GmbH is accompanying a total of 60 SMEs from northern Germany on a so-called data journey.
At the beginning of each “journey”, the status quo with regard to data-based work was determined using a questionnaire. Depending on whether a company is classified as a beginner or already has knowledge in the field of data use, individually helpful tools are compiled and a central question is worked out, which is ultimately dealt with by the company as part of a data project. The 18 tools to date have been developed within the Futures By Design project partnership and include guidelines on topics such as data cleansing and structuring, data security and social media marketing, as well as online tools such as the Zipcode Explorer, which can be used to map customer data and make marketing more targeted. An overview of all tools can be found at www.futuresbydesign.net/tools/.
Another focus of the work with SMEs was the free workshops that aconium GmbH has offered to companies in northern Germany in recent months. Due to the pandemic-related restrictions, online solutions were found instead of face-to-face events, but these proved to be very successful. The workshops were geared towards the companies’ needs, which – due to the lockdown – mainly related to online activities and online visibility. On this basis, interactive online workshops were designed together with experts on topics such as SEO (search engine optimization), social media marketing, Google My Business and the use of pivot tables in MS Excel. The participating SMEs were a mix of retail, hospitality and service companies, which contributed to an exciting, insightful exchange.
Ultimately, all SMEs were able to take away many ideas for their daily work and also generate ideas for their own Futures By Design data project. In the meantime, some of the companies have already been able to implement what they have learned and successfully complete their data projects. Further projects are currently in progress and will be completed in the course of this year. In addition, the constructive exchange between the SMEs has also created a network from which the participants will continue to benefit in the future, in addition to the knowledge gained through Futures By Design. The focus of the transnational exchange between the project partners currently remains on the implementation of the SME data projects and on planning the final phase of the project, which ends in January 2023. The partnership last met at the end of June in the Swedish province of Halland at the Varberg-based Alexanderson Institute to present the results of the data projects to date and discuss the next steps.
The next meeting will be the final conference organized by the lead partner, the Dutch province of Friesland, at the beginning of October 2022. For more information on the Futures by Design project, please visit the official project website www.northsearegion.eu/fbd/ or contact the aconium GmbH project team at fbd@aconium.eu.
