The initiative also contributed to increased competitiveness for several of those who took part in the 79 support programmes. This is shown by the follow-up recently carried out by Compare and the other initiators of the project.
From autumn 2020, small and medium-sized enterprises in Värmland could apply for free expert hours for digital transformation for a limited period, to strengthen their survival capacity during the pandemic. The support offer included needs mapping, analysis and a matching service where suppliers in the region with in-demand expertise helped beneficiaries develop their digital presence.
The needs assessment was carried out using Compare’s methodology support “Be Digital”, a tool used to map and identify potential for digitising business travel.
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It turned out that most of the companies needed to strengthen or optimise their outward-looking digital channels in the form of websites, marketing and booking systems, which they received help with from experts in the field. With the support of the needs assessment, we also developed a customised hybrid workshop on building search engine optimised websites in WordPress, which was very much appreciated,” says Anders Solberg, Innovation Manager at Compare.
The transition needs were linked to the companies’ development plan and business concept so that the efforts would be beneficial in the short and long term.
- I was helped to build a new website and have participated in the hybrid workshop on building search-optimised websites. The help has been invaluable. Without it, I would not have had a decent website. I am very happy that I now know how to think about search optimisation. I notice that the number of visitors to the website has increased since I launched the new updated version,” says Nina Höjdefors at Karlstad Alpaca Farm.
A full 82% of those who received transition support and who responded to the evaluation survey stated that they had been inspired to develop their business as a result of the support.
Facts: The Ställ om! project
Karlstad Innovation Park is the initiator of the EU project “Ställ om!” to manage the effects of the Covid 19 crisis in Värmland. The initiative consists of three parts, where Compare via Be-Digital is responsible for the parts that concern digital transition. The project also includes Paper Province for support in service development and IUC Stål & Verkstad, which offers support measures for industrial companies. The three parts have been designed based on identified needs of the companies and offer support in both the short and long term.
