1. Action 2: Internationalisation
2. Background & Rationale
Most companies located in the partner regions clearly understand how to operate in their own markets but face significant hurdles in trying to “internationalise” their businesses. The background and rationale /justification for the action is to improve significantly technology based growth orientated businesses with export potential competence to build their international markets. Most technology based growth orientated businesses with export potential in each country have a key focus on export markets to help drive growth in their business. A large number of these companies struggle in this area due to:
ü Lack of Understanding of the new market, its drivers and mechanisms
ü Insufficient investment and business planning to enter the market effectively
ü Inability to break through to achieve first sales in the new market
ü Inability to effectively support customers and partners in the export market
Breaking into new markets and securing their first export sale is crucial to the survival of these companies as it enables them to access the larger export markets.
3. Specific Objectives
The Internationalisation action will design and deliver targeted supports involving dedicated internationalisation experts and programmes specifically designed to support technology based growth orientated businesses with export potential to develop markets abroad and address the areas outlined above. The action will work very closely with the co-incubation and soft-landing actions in delivering a complete package to potential beneficiaries.
4. Definition of Intended Beneficiaries
The principal targeted companies will be technology based growth orientated businesses with export potential located within the partners’ incubators and regions. These companies will have shown rapid advancement from their date of inception and will have clearly demonstrated that there is an international market potential for their products/ services.
5. Detailed Action Plan
Supports: The supports to be offered will be centred around the provision of an internationalisation expert in each participating partner area, who will be available to companies on a regular basis each month to provide tailored support, advice and guidance on building their international sales. These experts will also assist in undertaking a gap analysis on the internationalisation skill-sets of the participating partner companies. This analysis will be used to highlight the supports that will be required for participating companies to successfully enter new foreign markets.
Support Tools: Jointly the Partners will design and deliver a pilot internationalisation course which will be delivered to client HPSUs across the partner region who have identified gaps in their skill-set. In some regions similar supports may already be offered by another agency and in these cases the TESLA partners will work with these other agencies to deliver a more tailored programme to the beneficiaries. Areas covered by this programme may include:
ü Market Assessment
ü Business Strategy, planning & Investment
ü Sales & marketing Strategy
ü Product & Support Preparations
ü Sales & Marketing Execution
ü Customer Support
Timeframe:
September 2012 – December 2012 / Planning & Skills Gap analysisJanuary 2013 – December 2014 / Internationalisation Expert Provision
January 2013 – December 2014 / International Selling Programme
Partners Involved & Roles:
CIT / Lead the actionProvision of internationalisation expert
Conduct regional skills gap analysis
Provision of potential beneficiaries
Development of training programme
EBN / Provision of internationalisation expert
Conduct regional skills gap analysis
Provision of potential beneficiaries
Development of training programme
Lionra / Provision of internationalisation expert
Conduct regional skills gap analysis
Provision of potential beneficiaries
Development of training programme
INI- NOV / Provision of internationalisation expert
Conduct regional skills gap analysis
Provision of potential beneficiaries
Development of training programme
Laval Mayenne Technolpole / Provision of internationalisation expert
Conduct regional skills gap analysis
Provision of potential beneficiaries
Development of training programme
Locations for delivery: The supports will be delivered in each region with the strong possibility of partners delivering expertise and supports into other partners regions as required.
6. Selection Process for Experts
Each of the partners participating in this action will identify one or two internationalisation experts whose expertise will be available to all partners and will contract them to deliver these services. It may transpire that each region has expertise in different market sectors, e.g. medical devices, ICT, and that the experts in one region would be available to the businesses in other regions.
Each partner will be responsible to adhere to national procurement procedures as well as European regulations on procurement when securing the services of these experts.
7. Promotion to Potential Beneficiaries
The Internationalisation service will be promoted to all potential client businesses in all regions. It will be promoted through presentations, promotional material and links on each of the partners’ websites. The nature and objectives of the pilot action will be explained to the potential beneficiaries through the promotional materials as well as through one to one meetings.
8. Application Format:
Potential beneficiaries will be required to complete an assessment form in writing. A single assessment form will be used for the Co-incubation, Soft Landing and Internationalisation Actions.
9. Selection Criteria:
Each partner will propose a number of businesses (potential beneficiaries) that they feel would benefit from either taking part in the training programme and/or accessing the expertise of the internalisation expert. The potential beneficiaries will complete the assessment form which will be reviewed by the local partner. The local partner will meet with the company to assess their readiness to actually enter the international marketplace, be engaged in the internationalisation training courses, or to access soft-landing and co-incubation services. Once the needs of the company are confirmed the local partner will inform the other partners of the required needs of the company and see if collectively the needs can be addressed.
10. Conditions of Participation/Eligible Costs
The condition of participation is that the potential beneficiaries have successfully come through the selection process above and have confirmed their readiness for export market. They will qualify to access either or both of the following supports:
ü The services of the internationalisation expert for set periods of between 1 and three 3 hours per week, depending on the intensity of supports which are deemed appropriate by the local TESLA partner in each region.
ü Access to the international selling programme to help build the skills within their business
11. Indicative Action budget by partner
The indicative budget for the action is broken down between supports delivered by staff and supports delivered by external experts. Cost inputs are estimated as follows:
Partner / Staff / External Experts / Other / TotalCIT / €67,000 / €40,000 / €21,220 / €128,220
EBN / € 10,038 / € 17,801 / € 6,421 / € 34,260
Lionra / €6,500 / €19,500 / €1,000 / €27,000
INI-NOV / €22,610 / 0 / €1,000 / €23,610
Laval Mayenne Technolpole / €12, 254 / €25,650 / €1,348 / €39,252
Total Budget: €252,342
12. Expected Outputs & Results:
Together the partners will design and deliver a pilot internationalisation course which will be delivered to HPSUs across the partner regions having identified gaps in the skill-sets in their regions. In addition the HPSUs will have access to internationalisation experts in their own regions as well as in the other regions. What may transpire is that regions have different strengths and it is anticipated that the HPSUs can access different expertise in the different regions. The number of expert days delivered are outlined below.
The participating partners will deliver the following specific outputs:
CIT / EBN / Lionra / INI-NOV / LMT / TotalNo. of companies engaging with the internationalisation expert / 10 / 20 / 15 / 20 / 9 / 74
No. of companies taking part in the pilot internationalisation course / 6 / 10 / 8 / 10 / 9 / 43
Internationalisation expert days provided to client companies / 50 / 80 / 60 / 80 / 36 / 306
13. Complementarities with other Initiatives
In the case of the Lead Partner, CIT, the internationalisation action delivers a new suite of supports to technology based growth orientated companies with export potential. Current supports are mainly in the areas of incubation provision and business mentoring supports covering business and financial advice directed at developing home markets. This is a new departure and one which CIT believes will make a significant difference in terms of the pace by which client companies successfully enter into export sales.
This action of the TESLA project links well with the other action areas of TESLA including Mentor Plus, Transnational Placements, Co-incubation and Soft Landing.
In the case of CIT it complements a local regional initiative, Beacon, which aims companies in the region to expand both in the home market and internationally.
Other EU programmes that it links to include:
ü Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs
14. Transnationality
In addressing issues of transnationality, the frontline partners viz. those who are directly involved in the delivery of the action will work closely in all aspects of designing, managing and delivering a common set of supports across the regions. There will be opportunities when necessary for experts to assist with issues or challenges identified in other partner regions and the overall action will be evaluated as a composite set of supports. Non frontline partners- i.e the other partners in the consortium will be involved in inputting ideas and suggestions to the initial design of the actions and in subsequently examining on-going actions and outputs. They will also be very involved as receptors of best practice from the on-going pilot actions.
A common training course will be developed and structures established for each of the Internationalisation experts to liaise with one another and to provide cross regional supports to businesses in other regions of the partnership should the need arise.
15. Potential for Continuation / Mainstreaming
In embarking on this set of supports for businesses we believe that once the services are established over the two pilot years of 2013 and 2014, that a business case can be established whereby following the pilot action, businesses will pay a market rate for the internationalisation service as well as attending a proven internationalisation training programme. The successful delivery of the TESLA pilot will be a key determinant in this regard.