Key Region Leiden has received a contribution of €100,000 from the Ministry of Economic Affairs to better support entrepreneurs in the Leiden region*. The allocation from the SME Services Action Agenda will be used to improve the connection between knowledge clusters and entrepreneurs and to make the knowledge present in the region land more in SMEs.
*The municipalities involved are Katwijk, Leiden, Leiderdorp, Noordwijk, Oegstgeest, Voorschoten and Zoeterwoude.
Finding each other faster
The Leiden region has a lot of knowledge and innovation, but not all entrepreneurs know how to make use of it. At the same time, entrepreneurs have much to offer that the knowledge clusters can benefit from, but these worlds do not meet enough. “We are going to strengthen the interaction between our strong knowledge economy and the diverse SMEs in our region so that knowledge, innovation and market demands find each other better and faster,” said Leonie Hussaarts, director of Key Region Leiden.
Doing, learning and improving
The approach is concrete. “We want to land more procurement in the region, create more chain cooperation and ensure optimal interaction between supply and demand. The most important thing is that we are going to do, learn from it and improve ourselves,” Hussaarts adds. “In doing so, companies must also take a step forward themselves. With interested parties, I’m happy to engage in conversation.”
Broad prosperity
On behalf of the region, the Municipality of Leiderdorp was the lead agency for the application. Responsible Alderman Herman Romeijn: “We are happy to get to work for all those entrepreneurs who work hard every day in and on our local and regional economy. The stronger connections will have a positive effect on the earning capacity of the region and everyone benefits from that.”
Here’s what we’re going to do
- Demand activation: supporting entrepreneurs in formulating their future questions and helping them translate them into concrete actions.
- Making connections: better access to knowledge institutions, innovative companies and regional networks.
- Pilots and collaboration: joint projects between SMEs, knowledge institutions and government to try out new ways of working.
- Learning and adjusting: continuously monitoring what works in our region and sharing these insights with other knowledge regions in the Netherlands.
“We are going to connect the blood groups of knowledge clusters and entrepreneurs so that a chain of suppliers is created towards the knowledge clusters and innovation lands in SMEs. Companies must also step forward themselves in this process. With interested parties we are happy to engage in conversation.”
Broad SME
The primary target group of this approach is the broad SMEs in the Leiden region (Katwijk, Leiden, Leiderdorp, Oegstgeest, Voorschoten and Zoeterwoude), especially small and medium-sized companies (2-250 employees). The region is home to about 8,800 small SMEs and about 340 medium-sized companies, together accounting for about 90,000 jobs. These companies are active in a variety of sectors and play a crucial role in employment, livability and regional economic stability.
Primary target group
The approach focuses primarily on entrepreneurs who have a (latent) need to innovate and/or collaborate, but lack the time, network, knowledge or overview to make the right connections. We serve both the broad SMEs (the pack) and the knowledge-intensive companies (the leading group) in their search for cooperation and connection, and also link to the secondary target groups.
Secondary target group
Secondary target groups are knowledge institutions, (innovative) larger companies, municipalities and civil society organizations. For these parties, the approach offers better organized access to regional innovations, regional service providers and cooperation opportunities.
Intended impact
The intended long-term impact is an SME that participates more actively in knowledge and innovation networks, becomes more innovative and strengthens its competitive position. At the same time, it creates a knowledge economy that is better connected to the regional market, which means that knowledge and innovations are applied earlier and better match concrete demands from SMEs and businesses. This contributes to stronger regional suppliers, more sustainable regional trade relations and increased regional spending.
This approach provides practical insights and offers tools for upscaling. In addition, we actively participate in the learning program of the national SME Action Agenda, so that knowledge and experience gained will also become available for other (knowledge) regions.
Stay informed: sign up through our newsletter.
