About NEXT - Creativity and innovation for industry

Presentation
Taking account of the ongoing global crisis, innovation and the ability to be creative are considered an essential driver for development and economical recovering. On the other hand, the crisis is depressing investments in creativity and innovation as the first costs to be cut are those related to immaterial learning and skill development. Particularly SMEs are concerned, as normally they employ external services and staff to develop innovation, but in crisis circumstances neither have internal resources, nor strategic vision to face the market competition. NEXT project tackles this problem. More in detail, the transnational consortium aims to support the spreading of a creative and innovative culture inside the organizations by transferring and implementing methodologies, tools and concepts developed by the Dutch company New Shoes Today as a systemic approach to creativity for enterprises and organizations.

Methodologies and tools, gathered in the book Creativity Today, deal with organizational development and with new product creation. Therefore, a comprehensive programme for innovation transfer has been set up by the transnational partnership; the consortium includes the source of innovation, the Dutch company New Shoes Today, which will make available its valuable expertise and will stimulate learning in participants, by showcasing the process of developing creativity and innovation. The consortium gathers bodies from four Member States (Italy, Hungary, the Netherlands and Romania): employers service organization in Northern and Southern Italy, Chamber of Commerce, SMEs and an operational organization of the Wood and Furniture Sector are involved. The outstanding outcome is the implementation of a mentality open to change and innovation in enterprises, experts, trainers and resource developers.

Others intangible outcomes include a three steps transfer strategy designed to spread concepts, methodologies and tools amongst participants. An adhocratic multicultural approach to partnership relationships has been provided. A crucial tangible outcome is the production of Action Plans for creativity and innovation development in enterprises, designed by participants and evaluated by the consortium, as a first step to spread the creative mentality inside beneficiaries’ companies. This will support and enhance mid and long term impact of the project, related to the consolidation of a “conceptual” economy, i.e. a market of innovative products and services whose realization needs a culture of creativity and innovation.

  

        

The project Gantt