Winners of Europe INNOVA Awards 2008

The winners are:

“Cluster Manager” award

Christoph Beer, manager of tcbe.ch-ICT Cluster Bern, Switzerland.

He energised the existing members and activated new cluster members through workshops, matchmaking events, and cross-clustering activities. He introduced a new management approach by establishing four task forces “Business Networking”, “Quality”, “Innovation” and “Communication”. The aim of the “Cluster Manager” award is to encourage the further development of good cluster management practice and prepare the ground for the recognition of cluster management as a new profession.

“Best Innovation Tool 2008” award

The IMP3rove Assessment tool, as a result of its impact on SMEs and its European added value.

The most interesting feature of the IMP3rove Assessment tool is that it offers the possibility for enterprises to benchmark their innovation management performance against competitors in the same sector across countries and in the same country across sectors. Benchmarking can also be carried out by size of company or type of innovation, hence providing companies with an in-depth analysis of current activities and their potential for improvement potential.

“Network of the Year” award

STAND-INN.

This Europe INNOVA network has made the most efforts in promoting public awareness about, and visibility for its activities. In practice, STAND-INN used new manufacturing processes based on common standards to create sustainable and more efficient business processes in the building & construction sector. With 31 partners, STAND-INN is also the biggest network of Europe INNOVA.