Feasibility of the project

During the Definition phase all partners put effort in order to establish the projects feasibility. More specifically the following aspects of the project were examined: · The existence of IMT tools available and already developed in a stage that they could be offered to SMEs · The possibility and the technical requirements for the networking of the four parks, and the offering of IMT tools to the SMEs over the Internet. · The availability of training modules in the thematic areas of the project.

Also during the definition phase all partners performed a survey on IMT tools available on each thematic area covered by the ONLI project. A copy of these reports is attached at the end of this chapter.

During the partners meeting held in Thessaloniki extensive discussions took place on the above-mentioned topics. All partners have agreed that the idea of: "Linking Technology Parks, Universities, and Technology Transfer Centres in a European virtual one-stop-shop network to provide on-line services related to Innovation Management, Technology Transfer, and Spin-off Support to European SMEs" is feasible.

ONLI project builds on the services currently offered by Technology Parks and Technology Transfer organisations and aims at

1. using and validating existing approaches,
2. assisting in the dissemination of Innovation and knowledge and contributing to European Integration,
3. assisting in the development of new methodologies and approaches,
4. developing mechanisms to promote and facilitate innovation more easily and make it more widely accessibility to SMEs,
5. transferring results to other thematic areas and research,
6. facilitating and encouraging the participation of SMEs in innovation, and
7. promoting innovation throughout Europe.

SMEs will have interactive access to on-line technology matches, training, consultancy, self-assessment tools, success stories, best practices, and information links through telematic tools already identified above. A platform will be created whereby SMEs can interact on-line with both research and innovative organisations. Through this project information flow among European companies and research organisations will be enhanced and the otherwise fragmented knowledge accumulated in each of the participating country will be accessible to all.

Further to this, the ONLI project will meet the goal of advancing knowledge by furthering "state of the art" knowledge in terms of Innovation management tools. On-Line Innovation will also provide a springboard to test and develop new schemes and tools in Innovation management as well as assist in validating old ones and adapting them to the characteristics of different countries. That's why some of these tools may require further development for their web adaptation as well as for their interactive structure. In order to accomplish this goal all partners have agreed to include a web adaptation Stage to the project's work-plan.

The most interesting tool for "Financing Innovation" was fund in the INOREGIO project (named R$Guide) and it is due to be ready mid October. Taguspark (partner responsible for the thematic area) assured the partners that they will make the necessary effort in order to include the above mentioned IMT tool in the ONLI project.

The technology needed for the project implementation is considered as a standard networking technology HTML pages, which is worldwide accepted. Limited software requirements will be needed for the end user in order to access the future Virtual One Stop Shop. A simple Internet browser (available to all PC connected to the Internet) is needed and that is a key factor for the fast, easy and widely acceptance of the service from the SMEs.

Hosting of the ONLI virtual one-stop-shop will be done via the interlinking of the existing Web sites of the four Technology Parks. SME's as end users of the services provided will face a common interface while the information acquired and the tools used by the SME will be adapted in their regional environment.

There aren't any significant hardware requirements for the provision of such services nor there will be any hardware requirements for the end user. (Software downloads, preferences adjustments etc) a simple use of a dial up connection and a desktop PC will be enough.

The Internet is quickly becoming a standard technology for SMEs. It is critical that those involved in Innovation management utilise this tool effectively. The growing trend for even more use of Internet based services from SMEs will enable the promotion of the ONLI services to the European SMEs in a cost effective and quick manner. Another critical factor is the increasing number of SMEs making use of the Internet (information searching, e-mail communication, SME home page etc), this will enable the use of a direct marketing approach for the ONLI project.

ONLI ensures that the results are going to be disseminated to a large number of SMEs throughout Europe by the creation of the web sites. The necessity of a one-stop shop for SMEs that are looking for Innovative services is well established in the research literature and that adds to the sustainability of the project. Moreover, the utilization of the Web as a tool is increasing steadily. All these point to the fact that the proposed project has great sustainability and potential to be used by SMEs long after its completion.

Thus, all partners have agreed that for all the thematic areas covered by the ONLI project, it is feasible to provide an interactive, web based IMT tool for the SMEs and that these services will be widely accepted from the European SME community. Furthermore the ONLI project is a Pilot action and the lessons learned from each implementation can be transferred in the future to a number of other thematic areas.