One Stop Shop
The OSS project will work towards the main objective; Improve policies for SMEs competitiveness by enhancing advisory support services for first-time entrepreneurs.
OSS want to build a complete ecosystem for the entrepreneur starting a new business. Every partner will contribute expertise and best practices from their First Line Service (FLS) system, and when OSS is finished, the Toolbox of experience and expertise will be presented.
Together, OSS will enhance an advisory support service adapted to the needs of the entrepreneur. With the experience in each partners policy, and stakeholders from different levels to participate in changing the policy affecting our main objective, we anticipate changing the different regions advisory services.
OSS will look at the possibility to make the advisory services more accessible with the evolvement of digital capabilities.
SME Competitiveness Business support packages.
Main features: Utilizing ERDF to provide support for startups, rural diversification programme, Innovation network and research/development, business support programmes. Each Local Enterprise Partnership area sets its objectives reflecting overarching ERDF priorities and then introducing local conditions. The priority objective areas are common to each ERDF strand.
Why: Public policy recognizes the importance of new businesses and supporting entrepreneurs, but there is not enough focus on the urban/rural different agendas, and also a lack of a cohesive programme across our region.
The LEP model, which is the local voice of government in all the regions of UK England and Wales, all have a separate approach. While this is welcome in terms of reflecting local needs, it also breeds duplication of efforts and fragmentation in support services for first-time entrepreneurs, when a cohesive joined-up approach would bring a more dynamic and cost-effective solution.
This project gives us a wider base of knowledge and comparison to influence policy across our region related to start-up and entrepreneur policy.
County Councils and local authorities can provide an element of support for entrepreneurs but funding is limited and not strategically delivered across the region. ESIF allow significant investment in first-time entrepreneur programmes. An amount of 4 MEUR is estimated to be influenced by this project.
- 7th Newsletter of OSS project (May 2021) OSS v COVID – Partners share support best practices during these uncertain times.
- 6th Newsletter of OSS project (Feb 2021) Sharing Best Practise recordings from our online meetings.
- 5th Newsletter of OSS project (Nov 2020) The fifth semester of the project implementation has ended. Unfortunately, a delay in some aspects of the project has been incurred due to the ongoing pandemic.
- 4th Newsletter of OSS project (May 2020) On May 15, 2020; the OSS International Stakeholders Online Workshop took place. We can be proud of intensive activity during these workshops, as 36 participants took part in it, which is an impressive number. During the meeting, information on Good Practices from Norway and Spain were presented.
- 3rd Newsletter of OSS project (December 2019) On 17-18 September 2019, the third meeting of the OSS project partners took place. This time, the subject of the meeting was mentoring and facilitation of collaboration between the startup and relevant business.
- 2nd Newsletter of OSS project (May 2019) One of the most important goals of the project is to improve the SME competitiveness policy by strengthening advisory support services for novice entrepreneurs. As a result, a complete ecosystem will be built for entrepreneurs who want to enter the market with their activities. The second semester of the project is coming to an end. Therefore, we would like to introduce to you what happened during this semester.
- 1st Newsletter of OSS project (November 2018) This project is looking to support creating an attractive, tailor-made ecosystem for start-ups. The aim of our project is to improve the growth of SMEs, entrepreneurs’ skills and overcome numerous barriers.
EU FUNDING SET TO HELP SUPPORT BUSINESS START-UP PROGRAMMES IN HAMPSHIRE
A new EU funded programme is set to help business support agencies to develop new ideas to help entrepreneurs n Hampshire.
Feb 2020
Tasked with sharing challenges, ideas and practical experiences on public policy that enables European programme partners to review and improve their own business support strategies, Interreg Europe projects have provided invaluable opportunities for regional and public authorities across Europe to share ideas.
A study visit to Solent Creatives at Solent University led by WSX Enterprise for 6 European partners involved in the One-Stop Shop Programme is just one of many examples of some of the work going on behind the scenes to share good practice support and look at up to date ideas to enhance business support for early-stage entrepreneurs.
The lessons from the visit enabled the lead partner and stakeholder from Norway to gain ‘immediate impact’ from the programme; the stakeholder presented Solent Universities entrepreneurial support solution to the Deans of University for Creative Industry in Møre and Romsdal who are now establishing a connection to Solent Creatives and planning a visit to learn more about the programmes.
Learning about one particular aspect of the programme called “Commercialise your creative skills”, inspired the University to set up a project with other partners from Finland, Slovenia and Italy that will enable them “To develop mandatory education on entrepreneurial skills for higher education”, – developing entrepreneurship as part of the curriculum.
Other regions in Norway are also starting to develop smaller courses on entrepreneurship at several universities and colleges in the County (that will be integrated into formal education).
All this as a result of the Study Visit to Hampshire.
Another stakeholder attending the study workshop participates in a project group between Molde University and the Incubator Protomore.
He presented the results on collaboration between students and business at Solent Creatives and as a direct they have now established a new meeting point to connect business and students, to pitch ideas, relevant jobs, and student’s projects.
The initial problem identified at Molde University was that students, previously unaware of businesses and relevant opportunities in the region, would leave Molde after completing their University course.
With this action, the region hopes to encourage more students to stay in the region.
‘The study visit has had a big impact, and unexpected result, and will eventually result in policy change on education in entrepreneurship’.
Where is support offered?
At the end of the programme, a Toolbox of Experience and Expertise will be made available to the public.