CNA EMILIA ROMAGNA

Their core work

CNA Emilia Romagna is a regional branch of Italy's largest craft and SME association (Confederazione Nazionale dell'Artigianato), providing business support and innovation coaching to small enterprises in the Emilia-Romagna region. Within H2020, they delivered Key Account Management (KAM) services helping SMEs access EU innovation funding instruments, particularly the SME Instrument and Fast Track to Innovation. Their role is that of an intermediary — they bridge the gap between EU funding opportunities and local businesses that lack the capacity to navigate these programmes alone.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

CNA's focus has been remarkably consistent rather than evolving — all four projects are successive editions of the same KAMINLER initiative. Early projects (2015-2018) emphasized technology transfer and coaching alongside KAM services. In later editions (2019-2021), the scope broadened slightly to include support for FET-Open and Fast Track to Innovation instruments, suggesting an expanded remit beyond just the SME Instrument. The growing project budgets (from EUR 44,800 to EUR 75,779) indicate increasing responsibility within the consortium over time.

CNA is expanding from narrow SME Instrument coaching toward supporting a wider range of EU innovation funding pathways, making them a more versatile regional innovation intermediary.

How they like to work

CNA always participates as a partner, never as coordinator — consistent with their role as a regional service provider within larger coordination networks. With 12 unique partners across 4 projects and collaboration limited to 1 country, they operate within a stable, Italy-focused consortium that reconvenes for successive project editions. This makes them a reliable, low-risk partner for anyone needing SME outreach and coaching capacity in northern Italy.

CNA works within a tight network of 12 partners concentrated in Italy, reflecting their regional mission. The recurring KAMINLER consortium suggests strong, trust-based relationships with the same group of innovation intermediaries in Lombardia and Emilia-Romagna.

What sets them apart

CNA Emilia Romagna offers direct access to the dense SME fabric of one of Europe's most industrially productive regions. Unlike research institutes or consultancies, they are a membership association representing thousands of small enterprises, giving them unmatched reach into the local business community. For any consortium needing to disseminate results to Italian SMEs or recruit pilot companies, CNA provides a ready-made channel that no technology partner can replicate.

Highlights from their portfolio

• KAMINLER (2020-2021)
  The largest-budget edition (EUR 75,779) representing the mature, scaled-up version of their long-running SME innovation support programme.
• KAMINLER (2015-2016)
  The inaugural edition that established CNA's H2020 role, with an explicit technology transfer component not repeated in later versions.