BRETAGNE DEVELOPPEMENT INNOVATION

Their core work

BDI is Brittany's regional innovation and economic development agency, acting as a bridge between SMEs and EU research opportunities. Their core work is delivering Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) services — helping small and medium enterprises access innovation support, find technology partners, and navigate EU funding instruments. They also contribute to cross-border projects in food technology, photonics sensing, and ocean energy, reflecting Brittany's maritime and agri-food industrial strengths.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early period (2014-2016), BDI focused broadly on innovation ecosystem development, peer learning, and technology transfer policy — keywords like "open innovation," "policy mix," and "innovation agency" suggest a strategic, policy-oriented role. From 2017 onward, the focus narrowed and became more operational: "innovation management," "EEN," and domain-specific applications in food technology (S3FOOD) and ocean energy emerged. The shift indicates a move from exploring how to support SMEs toward delivering concrete, sector-specific innovation services.

BDI is increasingly combining its SME support expertise with specific industry verticals — food technology and marine energy — suggesting future projects will be sector-focused rather than generic innovation support.

How they like to work

BDI never coordinates projects — they consistently join as a participant or third party, which is typical for regional innovation agencies that bring local SME networks and dissemination capacity rather than scientific leadership. With 61 unique partners across 21 countries, they operate as a well-connected network node rather than a repeat-partner organization. Working with BDI means gaining access to the Brittany SME ecosystem and a reliable partner for innovation management work packages.

BDI has collaborated with 61 unique partners across 21 countries, a remarkably wide network for a regional agency. Their reach spans Western and Southern Europe, reflecting the EEN's pan-European structure and their participation in multi-country coordination actions.

What sets them apart

BDI is not a research lab or a consultancy — it is the official economic development agency for Brittany, giving it direct institutional links to regional government, SME networks, and industry clusters. This makes them uniquely valuable for projects that need to reach real companies on the ground, particularly in Brittany's strong agri-food and maritime sectors. For consortium builders, BDI offers something hard to find elsewhere: a single partner that combines EU project experience, EEN membership, and deep roots in one of France's most industrially active regions.

Highlights from their portfolio

• S3FOOD
  Their largest project by funding (EUR 154,513), combining smart sensor systems with food safety — a concrete application of their regional agri-food strengths.
• OCEANERA-NET COFUND
  An ERA-NET Cofund in ocean energy, reflecting Brittany's strategic position in marine renewables and BDI's emerging role in this sector.
• TRANSINNOV
  A peer-learning project on knowledge transfer to SMEs that captures BDI's core institutional mission of bridging research and business.