BUSINESS AND CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT CENTRE

Their core work

KEPA is a Greek intermediary organization that designs and delivers innovation support services for SMEs, with a strong focus on using design thinking methodologies to help small businesses become more competitive. They specialize in building and testing innovation support schemes — the programs and tools that help SMEs access design-driven innovation, financial instruments, and coaching. Rather than doing R&D themselves, they improve how innovation reaches businesses, acting as a bridge between EU-level innovation policy and the SMEs that need practical support on the ground.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In 2015–2017, KEPA focused on introducing design and service design as tools for SME innovation, with projects like TOURISM ID applying design thinking to specific industries and EISS delivering eco-innovation support. From 2019 onward, the focus shifted decisively toward measuring impact, improving the effectiveness of innovation support schemes, and ensuring SME sustainability and competitiveness. The later portfolio shows a more mature, systems-level approach — moving from "how do we deliver design services?" to "how do we measure whether they actually work and how do we make them financially sustainable?"

KEPA is moving toward evidence-based evaluation of innovation support programmes, making them a strong partner for projects that need to demonstrate measurable SME impact.

How they like to work

KEPA overwhelmingly leads its projects — 9 out of 11 as coordinator — which is unusual for an organization of this size and funding level. Their consortia are small (14 unique partners across 11 projects), consistent with the Coordination and Support Action (CSA) format they exclusively work in. This coordinator-heavy profile means they are experienced at managing EU project logistics and reporting, but their typical project budgets are modest (around EUR 50,000), so they operate best in lightweight, focused initiatives rather than large research consortia.

KEPA has built a moderately sized network of 14 unique partners across 12 countries, indicating broad European reach despite being a small organization. Their partner diversity suggests they connect with different national innovation agencies and SME support bodies rather than relying on a fixed set of collaborators.

What sets them apart

KEPA occupies a niche at the intersection of design thinking and innovation policy — they don't just deliver innovation services, they design and test the service delivery models themselves. Their near-exclusive focus on CSA projects and their high coordinator rate make them an efficient, low-overhead partner for policy-oriented innovation support actions. For consortium builders, KEPA brings practical experience in SME engagement, programme design, and impact assessment from a Greek/Southern European perspective that can strengthen geographic balance.

Highlights from their portfolio

• DCS-iSMEs
  Highest funding (EUR 60,000) and most comprehensive scope — combining design-for-innovation with SME sustainability and competitiveness assessment.
• DesImO
  Represents KEPA's evolution toward evidence-based practice, building an observatory to systematically measure the impact of design on SME innovation.
• DestinationUX
  Applied user experience methodology to innovation support programmes themselves — treating SMEs as 'users' of the support system and redesigning their journey.