2nd International Learning Seminar of the Restart BSR project
On March 25, 2021, the 2nd International Learning Seminar of the Restart BSR project took place, organized online via Skype. 24 people took part in the meeting, and the organizer was Vilnius Gediminas Technical University.
Representatives of individual countries commented on the progress in the design of national Roadmaps, exchanged insights after national workshops and stakeholder meetings.
VILNIUS TECH cooperates with Lithuanian companies and non-governmental organizations in the development of the national road map. The 1st National Workshop will be organized to finalize the national roadmap and obtain confirmations / suggestions for improvement.
Poland has completed the national roadmap in cooperation with the Family Business Foundation, only minor corrections / improvements are needed.
Latvian partners have spent a lot of time analyzing their roadmap and joined the Early Warning Europe initiative. To ensure the sustainability of the project, they tested over 12 digital tools, as in pandemics and similar situations it is important which digital tools are best used.
Estonia has started piloting its Action Plan in one region. A national roadmap is under development, HEAK and Early Warning in Estonia are working on the development of an early warning system based on artificial intelligence and machine learning, and on the development of the ecosystem to detect companies that will be affected by the crisis. In the next period, they will refer companies to consultancy service providers and create a network of consultancy partners. In addition, they continue to pilot EWSs in all counties of Estonia.
In the second part of the meeting, the partners discussed the key issues.
Suggestion: There are quite a few entrepreneurs who want to invest in companies in difficulty. They could be part of a mentoring network, especially since start-ups could double their market value; in addition, successfully restarted businesses can become part of the network to motivate distressed businesses.
-It is important to build a permanent mentor network for the system to work.
-Companies want to be in a network of similar companies (in terms of size, industry, etc.).
Communication strategy (experiences of FFR Poland):
- Communication company with 3 references
- Very simple visualization of how we support companies in danger (animation)
- Familiar faces of mentors involved - personal brand (although no-name mentors had more time and more work)
- I traveled a lot to meet people, organize conferences, etc.
- He used our family business network
Threats:
- Financial delays
- Companies are losing trust
- You need more time for the system to work
- You must have a permanent network
- Hard to gain trust (support for free?)
- We cannot help anyone who does not want to get help - companies need to cooperate / be proactive. How do I get my business owner ready?
- The mentee can demotivate the mentor
Despite the ongoing pandemic, the project continues smoothly.
Skype Steering Committee 04.02.2021
On February 4, 2021, took place a meeting of the Steering Committee. Due to the epidemiological threat and difficulties in traveling via Skype.
9 people participated in the meeting, including representatives of the Steering Committee, authorizing the work of 5 Project Partners and the Project Leader.
The meeting was chaired by Ms Dorota Sało, Vice-President of the Steering Committee.
During the meeting, important issues were discussed, such as the plan for the next year, a summary meeting, an innovation laboratory, educational seminars, as well as the task between partners .
Participants have accepted the action plan for 2021, the stages will be implemented over the course of the next months.
3rd National Workshops for Poland
On December 8, 2020, the 3rd National Workshop for Poland took place, organized by the representatives of DIP for the Restart BSR Program.
The event was attended by members of the Polish Advisory Board. The aim of the meeting was to discuss the current status of the project (presentation by Dorota Sało), to continue working on the Road Map, to discuss key recruitment tools, training and motivation for experts and mentors (moderators: Eleni Tzoka Stecka, Konrad Bugiera, Katarzyna Gierczak Grupińska).
As part of the workshops conducted online using the Zoom conference system, participants:
- • Become familiar with the current state of implementation of the RESTART project, especially with the results of the report on Early Warning mechanisms and the ecosystem in Poland;
- • Committed to refining the Road Map describing support for entrepreneurs in difficulties;
- • Developed the basic assumptions of help for restarters in Poland;
- • Proposed measures to increase the effectiveness of recruitment, training and motivation of experts and mentors involved in the process of supporting entrepreneurs.
Despite the prevailing crisis related to the COVID-19 pandemic, measures taken over the past six months have been extremely fruitful and the project is ongoing.
