"<< Background >>Micro and small companies need to start an innovation journey that will enable them to empower their business and organizational structure to overcome the challenges of the digital economy. If it is true that many businesses have survived without making use of digitization, the pandemic has revealed the unpreparedness of many other business to deal with a reality they were unaware of: digitization, which led to the closure of thousands of businesses that were not prepared to find alternative ways to provide services to local economies through digital tools.But the challenges of the digital economy for micro and small companies are not only overcomed with digital tools, but rather, it is necessary to prepare their human resources to know how to deal with digital tools and take advantage of their full potential.The Small.Com project aims precisely to develop a program that begins by diagnosing the needs of micro and small companies in the face of the latest developments that the digital economy can provide them, and at the same time it aims to empower its human resources through an individualized training program, so that the implementation of digital tools in micro and small companies can be done in a sustainable way.The activation of the digital presence will allow them to capture new customers, both in the physical and digital worlds, access new markets and optimize the organization's processes and procedures. But the digitalization of business is not limited to the possibility of having an online presence. Moreover, micro and small companies still have many other gaps in terms of digitizing their businesses, whether using computer tools that allow, for example, to speed up customer service, but also with regard to bureaucratic aspects and documentation, in addition to digitalization of processes capable of streamlining and optimizing business development.While digital skills are shaping the future of humanity and are increasingly having an impact on societies, organizations and people, education and learning systems need to be rethought to respond to the needs arising from this context in a constant change promoted by technological advance that is constantly redefining economies. For this reason, this project aims to mobilize entrepreneurs, employees and employers to learn how to implement digitalization in their businesses, through the adoption and incorporation of technology in business models and dematerialization of processes with customers and suppliers.The Small.Com project will be fundamental to overcome the training difficulties that managers and employees of micro and small companies have, with tailored contents, worked to adjust to the specific needs of each trainee and business, helping them to deepen their knowledge, understand concepts, follow the latest trends and implement various aspects of digitalization in your business.<< Objectives >>The digital transformation in companies is no longer a question ""if it will happen"", but a question of ""when it will happen"", and the answer is clear: those who do not adapt will hardly be able to survive in the market.In fact, digital technologies bring enormous benefits to businesses, whether to improve process performance, increase business reach or ensure more rigorous decision-making based on factual data. However, digital transformation is not just about technology: this change also involves people, who makes the company's culture. Therefore, employees need to be part of this transformation, acting as key elements for the company's success in the Digital Era. On the other hand, digital transformation does not happen if there is not a sufficient digital literacy knowledge from those who have the power to decide and implement structural changes in organizations, giving an essential role to technology.It is therefore essential to unlock the role of human potential to influence the adoption of digital technologies, particularly in micro and small companies that are characterized by being more resistant to change and adapting to new scenarios.The Small.Com Project aims to play an active and fundamental role in unlocking the human potential for acceptance and willingness towards the digital transformation process of micro and small companies.It is commonly accepted that lifelong learning, particularly in the context of work, is a good practice that must be taken care of so that organizations keep employees up to date and with high performance. However, classical training in the classroom, where the trainer debits generic and theoretical information, has lost more and more “adepts”, precisely because the trainees do not see themselves in the way the training is delivered and feel that the process of learning is not effective. For this reason, Small.Com starts with the premise of making a diagnosis of needs and subsequently adapting the training content to the trainee and company needs. Further, the fact of being online allows the trainee to decide the moments that are most convenient for him to learn, not overburdening the life of each employee and allowing him to decide on how and when he wants to take the training actions.In parallel, by instructing HR on the topic of digital transformation in a practical way and by teaching how to implement it in the day-to-day life of organizations, the Small.Com project will provide the willingness of employees to take action and implement technologies that can quickly impact the business.In short, when implementing this project, the consortium intends to overcome two fundamental gaps. On the one hand, to overcome the absence of training content associated with business transformation in Micro and Small Enterprises, which fits the reality of each trainee and which is not generic and superficial. On the other hand, it is intended to create framework conditions through informed and well-trained employees so that, in a next phase, micro and small companies can start the journey towards the digital transition.<< Implementation >>In technical terms, the project is structured to achieve 5 main results:O1: Report on “Digital transformation: trends and needs of micro and small companies”O2: ""Small.com"" digital transformation maturity assessment modelO3: Small.Com training modules (free online intensive courses)O4: Small.com e-learning platformO5: Expansion of the Small.Com project to other regions and sectorsThese results imply the pursuit of activities and tasks that culminate in the achievement of those same results.Thus, in summary, for O1, activities include conducting questionnaires, collecting primary data and statistical analysis to understand the latest trends in “Digital Transformation” in companies and based on these results, perceive / identify the technical profiles and the skills needed for workers to be an active and educated part in the process of moving micro and small businesses towards digital transformation.In parallel, to achieve O2 results, it will be necessary to investigate and define a diagnostic model to assess the digital maturity of micro and small companies, where companies will be able to identify and compare the degree of digital transformation they are in and what future measures to implement.Output/Result 3 concerns the creation of Small.Com's training content, and the activities planned for this result include analysing all the information collected in O1 and O2, in particular in O1 and subsequently introducing new content that will be developed by the partners. based on their prior knowledge but also based on research on what the market trends are in terms of digital transformation.In order to reach the target audience with a structured training tool, O4 proposes to create an e-learning space where Small.Com will have its learning platform. This result implies the execution of programming and computer development activities as well as the structuring of the training contents that will later be available to the target audience.Finally, in order to achieve O5, it will be necessary to carry out communication and dissemination of results in a targeted manner to reach the main national stakeholders and potential international partners. These activities associated with O5, will be based on a global dissemination plan that is foreseen in the project related to the “management and dissemination” activities.The partnership has the knowledge and experience necessary to carry out all activities subordinate to the project, as well as benefits from having close daily contact with the target audience of this project, knowing their needs very well and being able to involve them in the results of the project.<< Results >>Not so long ago companies used faxes to transfer documentation and digital processes. The shift from an analogue to digital world has taken place at an accelerated rate and is now a reality that has enabled companies to become more competent and global. However, digital technologies have grown at a faster rate when compared to the updating of skills of human resources who, not being educated and trained, cannot implement digital transformation in companies. That is why this process of change in companies is a process that is happening slowly and is not limited to the adoption of new IT tools or operational changes. The digital transformation goes much further and requires new business models and trained and prepared employees from micro and small companies to help implement the change.While it is certain that the skills and knowledge of employees are essential for the digital transformation of SMEs, with the implementation of this project the aim is to achieve the following results with micro and small companies:• Develop digital training tools tailored to the trainees;• Increase the level of knowledge of employees of micro and small companies to become more prepared for the implementation of digital technologies in companies;• Promote digital transformation in companies and thereby ensure greater business competitiveness, whether through more efficient processes, cost reduction, increased productivity, among others;• Possibility of creating new business models associated with traditional companies, providing them with a greater capacity to respond to new market dynamics;• Promotion of the economic fabric and digital skills of employees, in particular small businesses that find it difficult to find training courses tailored to their needs.In short, the results of the project aim to fill a gap related to the lack of training content that can help adult workers to acquire skills in the Digital area applied to their businesses."