WIN - European programmes on work and labour innovation - a benchmarking approach

2005 – This report discusses the main findings of the benchmarking exercise with various programs that was carried out in 2005 as part of the WORK -IN-NET project ‘Labour and innovation: work-oriented innovations- a key to better employment, cohesion and competitiveness in a knowledge-intensive society’.
   The WORK-IN-NET was a Coordination Action (CA, 2005 – 2010) in the ERA-   net and  aimed to collect, analyze and disseminate information on national    activities in the field of innovation. By improving the quality of work and    making more use of the creativity of the employees Europe can keep up with    the demands of today’s economy. The information was shared with other    Member States of the European Union where workplace innovation is not yet    on the agenda. WORK-IN-NET wanted to reduce economic and social    disparities between countries.

Purpose
The main purpose of this first meeting between the WORK -IN-NET experts was to exchange information and best practices related to innovation projects and focused specifically on the activities in the field of Research & Development (R&D), previous programs and funds focused on innovation.
The idea behind the workshop was not to get known each other’s strengths and weaknesses but to learn from each other, to identify successful best practices and find a way to get these practices on the European political agenda.

Approach
The first step in the benchmarking process involved gathering information about the R&D activities of the participants – 23 people from six European countries – using a questionnaire named: Naschold ‘s Best Practice Model for National Workplace Development strategies. The information gathered was sent to the participants prior to the workshop. This information made the differences between the parties clearly visible and served as input for the discussions during the workshop.

Results
Eight different European programs were compared on the following points:
political context
international orientation
Participation project activities
Education and training
Networks
Internal opportunities (time, finances, staff).

Reference

See the annex for the full article ‘European programs on work and labor of innovation’ (2005) by T. Alasoini, T. Hanhike, M. Lahtonen and E. Ramstad.