FERTILIZER
Grant agreement ID: IPS-2000-029075

The principal and final output of the FERTILIZER project will be the Milieu Efficiency Plan. This operative tool seeks to facilitate the process of supporting the innovation in the SMEs and the creation of new innovative enterprises, in order to increase the possibilities for the successful creation and growth of innovative firms. From FERTILIZER point of view, this signifies a more indirectly aid and focus the efforts of the regional development agents on the preparation of an innovative SME environment.

 In FERTILIZER project the partners will analyse the efficiency and the degree of transferability of the measures and strategies to support the creation of new innovative firms. They also will identify and self-audit the Networking Key Factors that are important for the creation and encouragement of an innovative milieu. The Milieu Efficiency Plan will aggregate the results of the measure analysis and the networking key factors self-audit, and will so facilitate an operative tool for the idealisation of the general conditions for the creation of new innovative firms. We will consider especially the similarities and the differences between the various local experiences and between the results in the networking key factors self-audits.

The approach is to learn from the experiences, to make transferable the advantages that offer the innovative systems and to reduce the difficulties and problems that hamper the process of innovative enterprises in specially designed milieux. The work will be developed at local level and at a certain abstract level, in order to obtain lessons to improve the local innovative work and the networking. The Milieu Efficiency Plan will serve as checklist for all agents of regional development to improve their work and to offer a kind of breeding ground for new businesses. Specific results expected The specific results expected at the end of the project lifetime are:

 - Analysis of the efficiency and the degree of transferability of the measures and strategies implemented by the partners to support the creation of new innovative enterprises;

 - Definition and self-audit of the networking key factors crucial for creating an innovative milieu and for improving the co-operation environment in the partner regions;

- Elaboration and validation of an instrument for more efficiency in the work of regional development agents, focussing aspects like networking and soft aid measures: The Milieu Efficiency Plan.

FICYT, a private non-profit making foundation, was set up in 1984 with participation of the Principality of Asturias Government, the Chambers of Commerce and 36 regional companies, the Savings Bank of Asturias and the University of Oviedo. The foundational objective of FICYT is to promote and stimulate activities of applied scientific research in all fields of economic and social life, which can contribute to the development and improvement of living conditions in the Asturian community.

The North Milan Promotion and Sustainable Development Agency (Agenzia Sviluppo Nord Milano, ASNM) is a private-public company. It is promoted by the municipalities of Sesto San Giovanni, Bresso, Cinisello Balsamo and Cologno Monzese and by the province of Milan. Its primary aim is to help the area in its productive reconversion, economic regeneration and local development.

Greater London Enterprise is an established city-wide economic development and consultancy company in London with over 15 years experience.