Digitalisation – Strategy Development Tool for the Digitalisation of SME Erasmus Project

Project Title

Digitalisation – Strategy Development Tool for the Digitalisation of SME

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Enterprise, industry and SMEs (incl. entrepreneurship); New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

Digital Transformation – Step by Step

The digital transformation of the economy brings new personal challenges with it. There is a need for decision makers and employees who have a fundamental understanding of the potential of digital applications and who are able to moderate a process of change in their companies. The project ‘Digitalisation’ makes a tangible contribution towards this with the development of a self-learning tool for these challenges that is freely available online and that can be used directly at the workplace (digital-transformation-tool.eu).

2 products were developed in the project ‘Digitalisation’:
1) Digital transformation process model
2) Digital transformation learning tool

The digital transformation process model shows in an understandable way how the process of digitalisation in an SME can be systematically advanced, one step at a time. This forms the theoretical foundation of the digital transformation learning tool.

The digital transformation learning tool offers practical analytical, learning and planning materials for the digital transformation of companies and the ongoing development of business models. These materials can be used directly on the job by learners (work-based learning approach).

The digital transformation learning tool consists of the following components:
1. Quick check: the quick check tool gives learners a first impression of their company’s current position.
2. Driving forces that change the world: with the help of short learning modules, learners can unlock the most important technological developments for themselves, e.g. big data, artificial intelligence, or cybersecurity.
3. Digital transformation – step-by-step instructions: learners are led systematically through the process of developing a strategy for the digital transformation of their company. This is done with the help of short learning modules and worksheets. In addition to this, a prioritisation tool has been specially developed to support the users as they implement their own digital transformation.

The two project products are available free of charge online and do not require a login. They have been structured in a user-friendly way, edited to be easily understandable, and tailored to the needs of the target group, in particular SME in the business services sector. The process model is available in English and the learning tool in Bulgarian, German, English, Italian and Greek. They can be accessed here: digital-transformation-tool.eu.

Alongside the large number of people that have been reached via the project partners’ various channels for dissemination during the course of the project, 576 people have been directly integrated in the project activities. Those who have participated in or directly profited from the project have been primarily representatives of SME (leaders, managers and employees). The project’s target group, here particularly representatives of SME in the business services sector, was intensively involved in the development of the learning tool (online surveys; conversations with experts, two test phases). As well as this, these individuals were guests at the project’s central dissemination activities (multiplier events).

To show this in more detail, there were 304 participants in an online survey across Europe, 20 people were interviewed and shared their experiences, 18 people personally participated in the test phase of the learning tool (focus groups in three project countries) and 79 testers tested the tool online. At the end, 155 people attended the project’s five multiplier events in the five project countries.

The project’s sustainable effectiveness in the coming years will be primarily due to the project results being available free of charge online. Even during the project there was already very positive feedback about this, in particular from the participants of the multiplier events. The project will display its full potential in the coming years when up to 5,000 leaders, managers and employees in SME use the learning tool free of charge. Amongst other things, the project’s sustainability is ensured by the fact that the materials developed for the online learning tool in the course of the project are very well suited to the preparation of work-based training courses. For example, the project’s lead partner emcra, together with the German project partner IBWF, will offer a new certified training course from 2020 for digital managers in Germany. In key areas this training course is based on the curriculum in the ‘Digitalisation’ project results.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 290110,64 Eur

Project Coordinator

emcra GmbH & Country: DE

Project Partners

• LVH Bildung & Service Gen.
• LUISS LIBERA UNIVERSITA INTERNAZIONALE DEGLI STUDI SOCIALI GUIDO CARLI
• TOURNIS SYMVOULEFTIKI EE
• CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY VRATSA SDRUZHENIE
• Cyprus Project Management Society
• IBWF Institut für Betriebsberatung, Wirtschaftförderung u. -forschung e.V.