EMPOWERED by NEIA brings together a team of stakeholders from 7 EU countries (2 Regional Innovation/Development Agencies and 5 Business Support Organizations - incubators and accelerators) with he ambition to engage in a process of peer mutual learning and cooperation and support Clean Tech for Sustainable Development. Based on an in-depth analysis of strengths, weaknesses, challenges and gaps in the ecosystems they represent, the EMPOWERED by NEIA team members strive to bring together the members of the innovation ecosystems they represent as active stakeholders in bottom-up policy-making activities tailored to their needs. Through an Entrepreneurial Discovery process, we aim to stimulate a participative process that will allow to identify the best innovation opportunities in each ecosystem and align them with the ones of the peers. The results of the Entrepreneurial Discovery run locally by each partner will represent the foundation of Action Plans, elaborated according to the European Entrepreneurial Region approach, to strengthen the collaboration between the Regional European Innovation Ecosystems. These plans will be back up with collaboration and project ideas for which public and private funding will be sought. Through the involvement of the EMPOWERED by NEIA consortium partners in landmark initiatives such as the European Association of Development Agencies (EURADA), the Vanguard Initiative or the activities of the European Entrepreneurial Region initiative, we will connect with external peers to expand the learning and cooperation process, disseminate our activities and increase their impacts.

Futurepreneurs has become an international entrepreneurship development programme focusing on business sustainability and raising a new generation of conscious and responsible entrepreneurs. The initiative motivates young people, especially those with fewer opportunities, to engage into generating sustainable and impactful business ideas, teamwork and learning opportunities along with successful business mentors. The programme was developed in cooperation with company Pure Birds (the Netherlands), Baltic Environmental Forum (Lithuania), and Lower Silesian Regional Development Agency (Poland) in the frames of Erasmus+ Strategic Partnerships for Youth project “Futurepreneurs”. In spring of 2017 the programme was piloted in Lithuania, and in 2018 was held in both Lithuania and Poland. Over 900 young people expressed their desire to become entrepreneurs of the future. Futurepreneurs has also contributed to promoting women's entrepreneurship, with more than half of the young people interested in starting a sustainable business being women. The success of the Futurepreneurs initiative has been driven by intensive work with stakeholders - science and education institutions, businesses, youth organizations, media. Within 3 months, the teams took part in 5 thematic workshops. According to established criteria, the teams were awarded in the categories of clean-tech, fin-tech, ICT, security and defence, best sustainable idea and best prototype. Futurepreneurs attracted European Business Angels and Luxembourg Business Angel networks. Besides the developed methodology, Futurepreneurs also offers a list of sustainability problems and online training materials available on www.futurepreneurs.eu, Facebook and Youtube channels. Futurepreneurs initiated by Sunrise Valley Science and Technology Park brought the participants and like-minded people into a community, sharing good practices and continuing teamwork. The participants noted that Futurepreneurs encouraged them to take initiative and allowed to believe that not only the most intelligent or wealthiest can create start-ups - the success comes to those who have a goal and work purposefully. 90% of the respondents would recommend their friends and colleagues to take part in Futurepreneurs. Futurepreneurs started off as Erasmus+ Strategic Partnerships for Youth project and continues under coordination of Sunrise Valley Science and Technology Park.

The objective of the project is to contribute to and enhance the innovation potential and innovation management skills within the SMEs in the West Poland area. The project will follow a developed methodology to help the regional businesses to increase their innovation capacity and to innovate profitably. The project will be implemented via 2 specific schemes: 1) Service ‘Key account management for SME Instrument beneficiaries’ This service will be aimed at SMEs which will be successful in applying for the SME Instrument Programme under the Horizon 2020 (Phase I or Phase II). Upon the receipt of the information (potential beneficiary’s contact details) from the EC/EASME, the project partner will contact the potential beneficiary in order to explain the service and convince the SME to use the potential it offers. 2) Service: ‘Enhancing the innovation management capacity of SME’s’. This service will be aimed at promising SMEs capable of growth and successful internationalisation that have real potential for innovation via proper development of their products, processes, services or business model but who lack the right skills, knowledge and experience to manage the innovation activities. The aim of this scheme is to first of all support those SMEs in order to make them unlock their potential for better management of the processes linked to innovation. The project will be implemented as a testing phase from May 2014 until December 2014.

The objective of the project is to contribute to and enhance the innovation potential and innovation management skills within SMEs in the West Poland area. The project will follow a developed methodology to help the regional businesses to increase their innovation capacity and to innovate profitably. The project will be implemented via 2 specific schemes: 1) Service ‘Key account management for SME Instrument beneficiaries’ of Phase II /EIC Pilot. This service will be aimed at SMEs which will be successful in applying for the SME Instrument Programme under the Horizon 2020 (Phase II). Upon the receipt of the information from the EC/ EASME, the project partner will contact the potential beneficiary in order to explain the service and convince the SME to apply for the coaching scheme. 2) Service: ‘Enhancing the innovation management capacity of SME’s’. This service will be aimed at promising SMEs capable of growth and successful internationalisation that have real potential for innovation via proper development of their products, processes, services or business model but who lack the right skills, knowledge and experience to manage the innovation activities. The aim of this scheme is to first of all support those SMEs in order to make them unlock their potential for better management of the processes linked to innovation.

The objective of the project is to contribute to and enhance the innovation potential and innovation management skills within the SMEs in the West Poland area. The project will follow a developed methodology to help the regional businesses to increase their innovation capacity and to innovate profitably. The project will be implemented via 2 specific schemes: 1) Service ‘Key account management for SME Instrument beneficiaries’. This service will be aimed at SMEs which will be successful in applying for the SME Instrument Programme under the Horizon 2020 (Phase I or Phase II). Upon the receipt of the information (potential beneficiary’s contact details) from the EC/EASME, the project partner will contact the potential beneficiary in order to explain the service and convince the SME to use the potential it offers. 2) Service: ‘Enhancing the innovation management capacity of SME’s’. This service will be aimed at promising SMEs capable of growth and successful internationalisation that have real potential for innovation via proper development of their products, processes, services or business model but who lack the right skills, knowledge and experience to manage the innovation activities. The aim of this scheme is to first of all support those SMEs in order to make them unlock their potential for better management of the processes linked to innovation. The project will be implemented as a testing phase from January 2015 until December 2016.