How to improve performance and create a culture of innovation

Grants of €7,500 available to small and medium-sized firms in Ireland

Small and medium sized Irish businesses are being asked to apply for EU funding to implement working practices associated with improved business performance, innovation capacity, and employee engagement and well-being.

The Start-At-Best programme is awarding grants of €7,500 on a competitive basis to SMEs seeking to adopt practices associated with ‘workplace innovation’, a concept first created by members of our team for the European Commission.

Applications must relate to improvements in one of the following areas:

Action 1. Jobs, Teams and Technology
Action 2. Organisational Structures, Management and Processes
Action 3. Employee Driven Improvement and Innovation
Action 4. Co-Created Leadership and Employee Voice

We can help businesses apply for this grant so that they can use our services specifically designed to support the uptake of workplace innovation by companies across Europe.

How we can help

1. Let’s talk. Contact us and we’ll arrange a free-of-charge, no obligation telephone discussion about the resources available to help you meet the challenges and opportunities facing your business. We can share ideas, signpost you to a range of resources, and help you identify priority actions for your application. We’ll follow up the call with a detailed proposal.

2. Preparing the application. Once we’ve agreed the proposal, we can prepare your application to the Start-At-Best programme for you. You’ll just need to complete the administrative details.

3. Delivering support to your business. Assuming your application is successful, we will provide a customised programme of support worth €7,500. This might include:

    • The Workplace Innovation Diagnostic®, an employee survey measuring employee’s experiences of the workplace practices associated with the four Actions above. The results are action-oriented, enabling you to identify and target the most important changes for your company.
    • Expert advice and support, sharing experiences from leading companies across Europe and providing access to practical tools and resources.
    • Support for change leaders, providing them with the knowledge, skills and practical resources to drive transformation.
    • Change facilitation, including in-house engagement events, team development and individual mentoring.
    • Leadership development including accredited e-learning programmes, profiling, individual coaching and Emotional Intelligence. Our programmes are highly action-oriented, stimulating changes in leadership styles and encouraging employee voice throughout the business.
    • Bespoke introductions to leading companies with great experiences to share. Take part in our programme of webinars and facilitated one-to-one discussions.

Given the current COVID- 19 crisis, all of the above can be delivered online via our interactive Fresh Thinking Labs platform (www.freshthinkinglabs.com) and webinar technology.

Full details of the call for proposals can be found at https://startatbest.eu/open-calls/call-for-funding-proposals-n20200302-ie/

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: 6th May 2020 (at 17:00).

About us

Workplace Innovation Europe CLG is a not-for-profit company registered in Ireland and the UK, and our team created the concept of workplace innovation as part of a major international project for the European Commission in 2001. Since then, our unique expertise and experience has helped many different types of company achieve great results with workplace innovation.

Our practical approach is based on the four actions listed above, and we’re delighted that Start-At-Best has chosen to adopt them as the basis for its project. This places us in a unique position to help you win one of the €7,500 grants and begin a journey that will lead to real gains for your business and its people.

Fill the form below to get in touch.