UpGradeSME PROJECT Gilda Lidia NICULESCU Head of Development Department programe@adrmuntenia.ro 26th June 2017  Annual meeting EEN MAMAIA

GENERAL OVERVIEW Project financed through Interreg EUROPE Program General objective: Improving policies in the field of SME competitiveness development Project value: 1.534.775 Euro, SMRDA - 170.900 Euro Implementation period - 5 years, 1st April 2016 – 31st March 2021

PARTNERSHIP 8 Partners - 6 countries Pannon Business Network Association (HU) South Muntenia Regional Development Agency (RO) BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FRIESLAND FOUNDATION (NL) MUNICIPALITY OF LEEUWARDEN (NL) Steinbeis Innovation gGmbH (DE) ADRAVE – Regional Development Agency of Vale do Ave (PT) San Sebastian SocioEconomic Development Agency Ltd. (ESP) Ministry for National Economy (HU)

UpGradeSME project 6 policy instruments to be analysed and improved Implementation 6 policy instruments to be analysed and improved Active involvement of the Managing Authorities and intensive partners collaboration Increased role of Local Stakeholders Improved Policy instruments in form of Action Plans

IMPLEMENTATION PHASE 1 PHASE 2 (Interregional learning phase) - Monitoring the implementation of the Action - Analysis - work shops, study visits, peer reviews, Plans staff exchange actions - In – depht analysis of the Policy Instrument - Preparatio of the Action Plans - Preparation of the policy recommendations

Analysis of the Policy Instruments 4 ISSUES 1. METHODOLOGY 2. IMPACT 3. COMMUNICATION 4. INTEGRATION RESEARCH PAPER INTERNATIONALIZATION

Analysis of the Policy Instruments 4 ISSUES 1. METHODOLOGY 2. IMPACT 3. COMMUNICATION 4. INTEGRATION RESEARCH PAPER INTERNATIONALIZATION

RESEARCH PAPER INTERNATIONALIZATION - PRELIMINARY FINDINGS Proposed objective Comparison of Core and Peripheral regions with regard to SME internationalization - How the decisions are made? - What are the objectives of internationalization? - What are target countries and entry modes selected? How governments could help SMEs seeking to internationalise Peripheral regions – Hungary, Romania, Portugal, Spain Core regions – Germany, Holland Growing the global economy through SMEs, Edinburgh Group The copyright belongs exclusively to the UpGradeSME partnership

Proposed methodology Validation of the theoretical model on the Core – Peripheral split by case studies Is there a difference by origin? What are the characteristics? How should support measures approach to it?

Preliminary findings

International background

Target countries Peripheral countries are more German and EU-oriented than core ones

Reason to go abroad

Targeted segment

Forms of going abroad

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