PROBLEMS TO BE ADRESSED

Lack of qualified staff is one of the main reasons for SMEs to not being as innovative as possible. At the same time the available human resources are not fully employed. In the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) the labor participation of women and elders is very low particularly in the countries south of the Baltic Sea. The employment rate of women ranges from 53% in Poland to 74% in Norway, the rate of older people from 32% in Poland to 70% in Sweden.

Working and organizational forms that enhance innovation capacities encourage the employment of women and elders vice versa. This project supports the development of working and organisational structures in SMEs in order to increase the employment rate of women and elderly and concurrently increases innovation capacities. Concrete solutions for a strong Baltic Sea Region to be developed: increasing the innovation potential through adjusted working and organizational structures and increased number of employed elderly and women, decreasing regional disparities, improving innovation absorption capacities also in rural areas through specific solutions for each spatial type (e.g. rural areas, areas with development centers, agglomerations etc.), responses to demographic challenges, supporting innovation of SMEs.