The InnoCAPE DMA tool developed during the InnoCAPE project has attracted the attention of the countries and organizations beyond the Baltic Sea Region. One of them also includes the European Joint Research Center. At the beginning of 2021, the EJRC has started developing a digital maturity tool for all European digital innovation hubs in the European Union. As part of its activities, Sunrise Valley Science and Technology Park, coordinator of Sunrise Valley Digital Innovation Hub was invited to join the piloting of the tool phase and apply the experience gained by the InnoCAPE consortium.
During the implementation of the activities of this project, 15 different Lithuanian companies were interviewed using a prepared evaluation questionnaire. A detailed analysis of the data collected was carried out and a report was prepared with comments from both respondents and DIH experts.
The second report provided a more detailed overview of the specific recommendations for changes to the final tool. For this report, we have used the insights from InnoCAPE project partners, who have contributed most to the development of the InnoCAPE DMA tool – they have also provided their expert insights and recommendations. In the report, comparisons with the InnoCAPE tool were provided, recommendations for the wording of texts and questions were provided, as well as a list of indicators and visualization suggestions. All project implementers met in a final meeting to present the main aspects of the analyzes performed.
In parallel with Lithuania, pilot activities were organized in two other EU countries – Portugal and Romania. The aim of all activities is to test the questionnaire in different national or regional contexts, taking into account socio-economic characteristics, languages, differences between SMEs and levels of business digitization. Because it requires knowledge and experience to work with local businesses, different digital innovation centers have been used.
The tool developed by the EJRC was proposed to DG CNECT as a suitable format for assessing the digital maturity of EDIHs’ customers in their digitization projects. The final version of the tool was announced together with the launch of the Digital Europe program in autumn 2021.