MATCHER Data-Driven Innovation 2024

MATCHER is an International Open Innovation Program, financed by EEN, and Regione-Emilia Romagna and organized by ART-ER, aimed at supporting local companies to address specific business challenges by creating strategic matches with other actors of the international innovation ecosystem, in particular Start-ups and Scale-ups. 

The business challenges addressed by the fourth edition of the program regard the Data Driven Innovation, and they are grouped into three thematic clusters: Data collection and elaboration to support operators, Data analysis for strategic decisions and Data use for machine automation and performance

The program is composed by three key points.

Match.Point is the International matching program dedicated to the 12 selected companies based in Emilia-Romagna and to the admitted Start-ups/Scale-ups with the goal of addressing the companies’ challenges. Companies and Start-ups/Scale-ups will have about 3 months to match, connect and find opportunities to co-create solutions around shared business needs. The main phases of Match.Point are:

• Registration to the Call (25th March - 5th July): during this period Start-ups and Scale-ups can apply to the program

• Matchmaking with ER Corporates (2nd April - 5th July): during this period Start-ups/Scale-ups can organize matchmaking calls with ER Corporates

Big.Match and Final.Match are the closing moments of MATCHER, where further matches, as well as networking with the national and international innovation community, will take place. The two events will be open to innovation actors from all over the world and will take place respectively online the 14th of November and physically the 28th of November.

Start-ups and Scale-ups will be eligible to the program if they respect the three following criteria:

• Completeness of the application and consistency with the Challenges: applicants will need to provide all the information required by the application form, included complete documentation, and the connection of their solution (product or service) to the Challenges of the Program they applied for;

• Start-up/Scale-up maturity (Technology Readiness Level - TRL): information will need to be clearly stated in the application form. This will allow to respond to the TRL required by ER companies. Specifically, only Projects with minimum TRL 4 will be admitted to the Program;

• Registration in a country which is member of the Enterprise Europe Network. The full and updated list of the member countries of the Enterprise Europe Network can be found at this link: https://een.ec.europa.eu/about/branches.

  Please notice that this list can change over time and during the program. The presence of a country in this list represents a mandatory requirement for Start-ups and Scale-ups registered in those countries that want to participate to the program.

• Major companies operating in the Emilia Romagna Region (Italy) that applied to participate in the program. These will be looking for a match - with one or more Start-up/Scale-up - according to the fit between the challenges identified and the solutions proposed by the participants.

• These are: Bonfiglioli, CAMST, Caviro, Chiesi, CNH Industrial, Emilbanca, Fresenius Kabi, ITL (Fondazione Istituto sui Trasporti e la Logistica), Parmalat, Rekeep, Tetra Pak and XBW.

MATCHER Data Driven Innovation Edition is financed by the Enterprise Europe Network.

The Enterprise Europe Network helps businesses innovate and grow on an international scale. It is the world’s largest support network launched by the European Commission for companies and research institutes with innovative and international ambitions.

The Network is active in more than 60 countries worldwide. It brings together 3,000 experts from more than 600 member organisations. ART-ER is a member of the EEN since its creation in 2008 through the SIMPLER Consortium (Support Services to IMProve innovation and competitiveness of businesses in Lombardia and Emilia-Romagna). The Network offers free services on:

• international partnerships (international matchmaking events, company missions, technology, business and R&D partner search)

• advice for international growth, including Finance and EU funding and application support (e.g. Horizon Europe)

• support for business innovation (innovation management, sustainability and eco-innovation, Intellectual property rights – IPR, technology transfer support and Open Innovation).

Teams of Network experts in each member organisation offer personalised services to businesses. They know the local business environment and have contacts for business opportunities worldwide.

The EEN is co-financed under the European Union’s programme for the competitiveness of SMEs (COSME).

For information and advice, find a local Network contact point in your region. 

→ Visit the website Enterprise Europe Network Italia

MATCHER Data Driven Innovation Edition is financed by Regione Emilia-Romagna.

A region boasting excellent quality of life and widespread social cohesion

Emilia-Romagna is one of Italy’s leading regions in terms of per capita income and for many years has been classified as one of the richest regions in Europe. Emilia-Romagna also ranks amongst the top regions in Italy for bureaucratic efficiency and quality of life.

Small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the driving force of the region’s economy and have fostered the extraordinary spread of wealth across the entire regional territory. The dynamic nature of the production sector in Emilia-Romagna has resulted in high employment levels; indeed, employed inhabitants amount to over 68%, considerably higher than the Italian average.

According to the Regional Innovation Scoreboard, based on the indicators analyzed by the European Commission Emilia-Romagna ranks first at the national level.

These indexes consider indicators such as the economy, governance, broadband coverage, mobility, Data Driven innovation and the quality of life.

Technological innovation in Emilia-Romagna is a cross-sector that is proving to be more and more of a resource to the region and an opportunity for new investments.

Laboratories from the regional High Technology Network are related to new Data Driven technologies research areas and are also part of “Clust-ERs”, communities of public and private research centers, companies and training institutes.

MATCHER Data Driven Innovation Edition is organized by ART-ER.

ART-ER Attractiveness Research Territory is the Emilia-Romagna Joint Stock Consortium born with the purpose of fostering the region’s sustainable growth by developing innovation and knowledge, attractiveness and internationalisation of the region.

The Research and Innovation Division promotes industrial research as the main driver of sustainable economic development and collaborates with company associations to develop joint research and Corporate strategies and actions, facilities and services for industrial research, and the enhancement of human capital working in these areas.

It coordinates the regional innovation ecosystem that includes the Emilia-Romagna High Technology Network, the Technopoles, the business Incubators, the Clust-ERs and Startups and also operates through the local S3 AREAS as meeting places set up to foster the relationship between young people and the most innovative employment networks.

The Division aims at an open innovation model, where businesses, Start-ups, researchers and associations discuss and share experiences and models of action, have access to the same resources and have the opportunity to orient their activities towards the objective of generating innovative and impactful solutions for the whole ecosystem, to make Emilia-Romagna an open, inclusive and attractive region.

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