Sustainability and competitiveness through renewal – project lessons for SMEs
Supporting the competitiveness of SMEs in Kanta-Häme has been the main theme of the NUOTTA – customer-driven service innovation in a digitalising environment -project, co-funded by the European Union. The project has strengthened enterprises’ ability to respond to market changes by developing their capacity to identify and develope their own capabilities.
We developed a range of tools to support innovation and business development in SMEs. One of them was a tool to assess the current state of SMEs’ customer understanding and service innovation capabilities, with which we conducted company-specific analyses for a total of 15 SMEs in the region.
Some of the companies that participated in those analysis went on to the next phases of the project, where their service development was supported through company-specific development plans and pilot projects. In our first pilot project, we worked with the company to create a communication plan and materials bank and to develop their marketing and communication process. Our second project focused on mapping the skills needs of the company’s staff and identifying and developing their skills.
We published two articles, six blog posts and two theses, which are available on the project website. In addition, 12 webinars produced during the project are available on the website, covering topics related to service development and customer-oriented approaches and the technologies, practices and solutions that facilitate them.
The project website also includes an online guide to mapping SMEs’ service innovation capabilities, which was completed this spring. The guide is specifically designed for companies at the beginning of their development path, and who want to become more sustainable and competitive. The guide will be available online even after the end of the project.
We presented the guide and other project results at a results seminar on 14 May 2025 at Järvenpää House together with the main project partner, Teknologiakeskus TechVilla. Heikki Ruohomaa, project manager of the HAMK sub-project, discussed future growth paths for SMEs, which can be found in new business opportunities related to the circular economy and security of supply, among other things. He also noted that digitalization, responsibility and the growing importance of data will continue to drive SMEs’ renewal needs.
More information:
The NUOTTA project has been running from 1.11.2022 to 31.5.2025. The results of the project will be available on our website even after the end of the project.
