The European Project Compete In – Competitive Territories through Internationalization: SMEs Competitiveness in Globalized Regions has been awarded the funding for an additional year of activities, related to the impact of the pandemic on the internationalization of SMEs and territories. Started in 2016 and completed in 2020, the project, led by the Municipality of Reggio Emilia, is aimed at strengthening local policies to support the internationalization of SMEs through the involvement of local key players.

The Research, Innovation and Internationalization Unit of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia at the Reggiane Innovation Park participated in the Interreg Europe call and went through a very competitive selection, gaining a total budget of € 326,640.00.

These additional activities will focus on sharing and comparing the tools and initiatives adopted to face the impact of Covid-19 and support local companies in internationalization processes in this new scenario.

The Municipality of Reggio Emilia leads a partnership made up of four subjects from four different countries: ART-ER Attractiveness Research Territory – Emilia-Romagna Consortium Society (Italy), the University of Leeds-Beckett (UK), Ivace – Competitiveness Agency of the Valencia Region (Spain), and the Municipality of Gӓvle (Sweden).

At the local level, the project will be developed in collaboration with the main local stakeholders and will focus on some specific issues: smart and digital solutions, circular economy, supply chains and logistics, innovative services and tools for SMEs. In this context, the Reggiane Innovation Park will play a pivotal role as a territorial hub able to gather together research, business, and innovation.

“It is a very important acknowledge for Reggio Emilia – says Saverio Serri, coordinator of the Unit of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia at the Innovation Park – because it values the results achieved in years of activity by a group of European regions led by our city. Reggio Emilia, through the crucial role of the Reggiane Innovation Park, confirms itself as an international reference for policies and projects on economic development and attractiveness “