Prestudy: Swedish Mining Innovation SME Network

Purpose and goal

The feasibility study aimed to map the mining industry´s need for an SME network, what activities, aim and vision the network should have, how it should be financed, operated and managed and the actor map around the potential network in the form of other supporting actors to collaborate with. All parts of the purpose and goals have been met – there is a clear need for a network and now also a well-founded plan for how this will be realized

Expected results and effects

The result of the feasibility study is an understanding of the need for an SME network in the mining industry and how such a network can be established in an optimal way. SMEs need support related to 1) creating business opportunities, 2) initiating collaborations, 3) obtaining industry-specific insights and 4) business development and to realize this a coordinator should be funded and given a mandate to establish the network according to the results

Planned approach and implementation

The project group has used interviews, workshops and external analyzes to develop all deliverables in the project and summarized the results in a basis for decision-making with the program office for Swedish Mining Innovation as the primary recipient. 40 actors in the mining industry have participated in the data collection, mainly SMEs but also larger mining and supplier companies as well as SME-supporting actors. The method has worked very well and led to an anchored and substantiated results.