The Rural Innovation and Business Systems - RIBS
Ireland, Scotland, Iceland, Sweden and Finland
The Rural Innovation and Business Systems (RIBS) project will specifically help SMEs to address the effects of the economic downturn and strengthen their competitiveness and growth potential.
Based on needs analysis of SMEs and the business support community in the target regions, RIBS will develop Business Growth Programmes (RIBS products) in four main areas: SME Growth, SME Internationalization, Entrepreneurship, and Rural Clustering. RIBS will facilitate rural cluster development through adopting an explicitly cross-sectoral approach.
The RIBS work programme combines leading innovation system research and knowledge and the accumulated expertise of actors in the field of SME support. RIBS will develop four new business support products that have been tested in 120 SMEs and refined through feedback from the SMEs and independent experts. Learning will be captured and disseminated through a new collaborative web platform.
The lead partner in the RIBS project is Highlands and Islands Enterprise from Scotland, and other partners are Iin Micropolis Oy from Finland, Luleå University of Technology from Sweden, West Iceland Regional Development from Iceland and WESTBIC from Ireland.
The main funder is the Northern Periphery Programme of the EU, and other funders are national authorities and the partners themselves.
Additional information:
Kari Autio
tel. +358 40 588 9867
kari.autio(a)micropolis.fi
