Innovation, research and development at enterprises

Innovation measures and grants

The business world, globalisation, and the extraordinary ability of an increasingly demanding society are all pushing changes in business. This is a constant source of challenges that opens up a huge range of opportunities for innovation.

On occasions, innovation is exclusively associated with Research and Development (R+D). While the technological factor is present in the majority of companies’ innovative activity, innovation is a much broader concept, including all changes in products, processes, or services, with the objective of adapting them to the user’s needs.

“A BUSINESS INNOVATION is a new or improved product or business process (or combination of both) that significantly differs from the company’s previous products or business processes and that has been introduced to the market or implemented at the company.” Oslo Manual 2018. Further information

For some time, innovation has ceased to be an opportunity and has become a need, so it must be a structured factor in the organisation. It must be systematic and knowledge-based.

How to innovate and/or accelerate and make business innovation more effective? Open Innovation is an innovation strategy by means of which (according to Henry Chesbrough, who coined the term in in 2003), “companies go beyond their borders and develop cooperation with outside organisations or professionals.” For years, this strategy has been used with the objective of accelerating company capacities.

In line with EVIC “ Estrategia Viva de Innovación en Cooperación (Living Strategy for Innovation in Cooperation)” we seek to promote open innovation in cooperation  with the different agents on the food and wood chain of value in the Basque Country, and in rural and coastal areas, with the goal of accelerating their sustainable growth (economically, socially, and environmentally).

COOPERATION means building new shared ideas, new values, and new projects, integrating different perspectives (Arrospide, et al., 2017) without confusing cooperation with consensus based on a search for the lowest common denominator.

INNOVATION IN COOPERATION, as such, means sharing knowledge, interaction, and communication as equals between different agents participating in the start-up of a new idea, developing shared leadership.

To this end, we have  KATILU- BROKER DE INNOVACIÓN ALIMENTARIA (KATILU-FOOD INNOVATION BROKER), based on the agreement between Hazi Fundazioa and Innobasque Basque Innovation Agency. HAZI. Landa, Itsasertz eta Elikagaien Sustapena | Rural, Coastal, and Food Development.

With the collaboration of Technological Centres such as Azti, Basque Culinary Center Innovación, Leartiker, Neiker, Elika Foundation for Food Safety, and the Food Cluster of Euskadi, Konfekoop Nekazaritza, and other agents in the agrarian ecosystem.

Step up… bank on innovation in cooperation… we’ll help you…