The current project partner meeting of the “Futures by Design” project took place in Bremen from December 13 to 15, 2021.
Due to the current situation in connection with the pandemic, the project partner meeting took place both in Bremen and online as a hybrid event. aconium GmbH, as the German project partner, hosted the meeting in the conference room of the newly opened “Casino Futur” in Bremen’s liveliest district, which, with its modern facilities and central location, provided the project partners who had traveled to Bremen with a good basis for collaboration over three days.
“Futures by Design” is aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises and their various stages of digitalization. The aim of the project is to sustainably promote the use of data-based work processes in small and medium-sized enterprises. To this end, the participating companies first undergo an online self-evaluation to find out the current status of their work in terms of data usage and are then provided with tools specially developed for the project that can support them in their work. This is accompanied by workshops in which further knowledge is imparted on various digitalization topics relevant to the companies. This allows participants to share their experiences and network with each other. Key topics include SEO, social marketing and analytics tools. In addition, small and medium-sized enterprises are supported in the creation of their own small data projects on the topic of “Futures by Design”.
At the meeting, the upcoming work steps were coordinated and the content further developed. The project is currently in the implementation phase. Almost all participating companies have been registered and have gone through the self-evaluation, tested the appropriate tools and provided feedback on the applicability of individual tools. This has resulted in a number of data projects, the first of which have already been completed. The close exchange with the companies in the project has provided insights into the issues that are a priority for small and medium-sized enterprises in particular with regard to data-based work. Together, they worked out what other needs exist in the companies and what other tools are needed to find solutions that can increase efficiency and profits.
In the afternoon of the first day, Dr. Marta Jacuniak-Suda from the Office for Regional Development Weser-Ems was our guest online. In her presentation, she gave a very informative outlook on the upcoming funding period of the Interreg North Sea program and was available to answer questions from the participants. She pointed out the changed program area, as well as the new “small scale projects” and explained the three spotlight topics that should be considered in every new application if possible. She expressly encouraged all those present to submit their ideas and projects again in the coming funding period and reminded them of the submission deadlines for the first call for proposals in spring 2022. At the end of the meeting, there was another exciting input from Robel Bilen, SEO expert and workshop lecturer as part of the project. He gave an insight into how even small and medium-sized companies can start optimizing their website or online store for search engines with the help of certain tools and within a few hours, and thus achieve better visibility on the net.
The next “Futures by Design” project partner meeting will be hosted by the Belgian partner in March 2022 and will take place in Antwerp; the entire project will run until January 2023.