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Small and Medium Sized companies are in many ways important for innovation and growth in Europe. They often lack skills, resources or networks to reach their full innovative potential. They therefore catch the eye of public policy makers. However, SMEs form a heterogeneous and opaque group, and are hard to address by current public innovation stimulating activities. Not-for-profit intermediary Syntens implemented "FuturizedBusinesses" in cooperation with Regional partners to improve participation of a 'middle group' of SMEs. Since 2008 the campaign committed nearly 2000 non-participating SMEs in innovation networks. The data indicate that they, notwithstanding their many weaknesses, show a considerable ambition to innovate in new markets, products, processes and organization. Data are presented in a cluster analysis indicating three emerging profiles of SMEs, with different ambition levels and capabilities to innovate. Three case descriptions with interventions to improve innovation enrich the three profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new audio-visual information base services, to be completed in the fall of 2007, offer the European educational society model recommendations for pedagogical use, as well as adaptation and effective integration of audio-visual communication and collaboration services for transfer of training, competence and knowledge to Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME). This includes technical advices based on expert knowledge, good practices based on collective end-user knowledge, train-the-trainer courses for teaching personnel, and best practises containing examples offering improved learning experiences through audio-visual communication. The services aim at the creation and fostering of a community within distance education for the sharing of information related to the integration of audio and video technology within pedagogical methodologies. Blended learning methodologies are given special attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]