The First Innovation Tour de France… Now you can read the Report !
The Report with the findings of the first Innovation Tour de France, 2021, is now available ! Prof. Alain Storck, former President & Vice-Chancellor of UTC and President of the Hauts-de-France Innovation and Development Agency (HDFID), was in charge of editorial coordination and writing of certain chapters of the Report, entitled: «Regards croisés sur le développement de l’innovation et l’international dans les PME-PMI de territoires d’industrie : bilans et perspectives» [Analyses of Innovation and International Development Policies for SMEs & SMIs in industry-intensive territories: status reports and future prospects].
The first ” Innovation Tour de France ” in its industrial territories, which took place from June to October 2019 and in which UTC participated, was a success. The assigned objective was to identify the needs of SMEs and SMIs in terms of innovation and international skills. Among the thirty-six staging towns of the first edition of the Innovation Tour de France in industrial territories, four were in Hauts-de-France, including Albert-Méaulte and Saint-Quentin. Some thirty HE (higher education) establishments, including UTC, were mobilised to support this initiative of the InnovENT‑E Institute with the support at national level of the Interministerial Delegation for Industry-intensive territories, BPI France, the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, the CPME, the Pink Innov’ association, the MMA Entrepreneurs of the Future Foundation, APEC and several other economic and social development players from each territory analysed.
A report that focuses on innovationand international development
This Innovation Tour de France resulted in a summary document, a useful tool for companies and local players, in order to meet the needs of the field via a skills reference framework. “We were able to draw conclusions and write a 252-page report. Beyond the restitution of the thirty-six stages and the portraits of the companies, we were able to highlight the benefits observed and the obstacles encountered around innovation as a factor of economic development, human resources and the territory. And above all, to make recommendations. I am particularly proud of this work”, confides Alain Storck, President of the HDFID Agency and of the InnovENT‑E institute. What’s next? “A second edition will be scheduled between September 2021 and April 2022, this time following a call for applications during which the territories will be able to put forward all their specificities. At the same time, we are launching the territorial clubs, the aim of which is to identify the needs of SMEs and SMIs, to identify and invent ways of meeting them with partners, and to propose solutions,” invites Alain Storck. “The third line of work is the setting up of an innovation observatory, providing a database and associate case studies to help with decision-making.“From its very first edition, this Innovation Tour de France has been rich in actions and commitments for the benefit of the territory.
Promoting innovation
The InnovENT‑E Institute is a partnership-based Foundation created in 2018 to promote the development of innovation and international skills among SMEs. It is a continuation of the IDEFI (the French Government Initiative of Excellence in Innovative Training) actions of the same name launched in 2011 as part of the Future Investment Programme (PIA). The institute promotes the grouping of economic and academic players, structured in a network of territorial networks. It aims to contribute to the development of employment and the competitiveness of companies through the co-construction of a training offer around the themes of innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship (ICE), labelled and adapted to the specificities of SMEs.