CROATIAN CHAMBER OF ECONOMY CCE

Their core work

The Croatian Chamber of Economy is Croatia's national chamber of commerce, serving as the primary institutional support body for SME innovation and business development. Within H2020, CCE operates as a Key Account Manager for the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), coaching Croatian SMEs through EU innovation funding instruments such as the SME Instrument and FTI. They also contribute sector-specific expertise in aquaculture value chains and social innovation assessment. Their core value lies in bridging Croatian businesses with EU research and innovation ecosystems.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

CCE's early H2020 involvement (2015-2018) focused on establishing their EEN Key Account Management role for Croatian SMEs, with a parallel entry into aquaculture through PerformFISH. From 2019 onward, their EEN work expanded to cover a broader set of funding instruments (FTI, FET-Open beyond just SME Instrument), and they added social innovation assessment and open innovation methodology to their portfolio. The broadening suggests a maturing intermediary that moved from basic SME coaching toward more sophisticated innovation support services.

CCE is expanding from narrow SME Instrument coaching toward comprehensive innovation support including social innovation and open innovation methods, positioning itself as a wider-scope intermediary for Croatian businesses.

How they like to work

CCE operates primarily as a project coordinator for its core EEN work (4 of 7 projects coordinated), demonstrating confidence in leading administrative and support-oriented actions. As a participant, it joins larger research consortia where it contributes business network access and dissemination capacity rather than technical research. With 51 unique partners across 13 countries, CCE functions as a national hub connecting Croatian industry to European research networks.

CCE has collaborated with 51 unique partners across 13 countries, reflecting a broad European network built through both its EEN coordination role and participation in multi-partner research consortia like PerformFISH. Their geographic reach spans across EU member states, with particular relevance to Mediterranean and Central European partners.

What sets them apart

CCE is not a research organization but a national chamber of commerce — giving it direct institutional access to the entire Croatian business community, which few research partners can offer. For consortium builders, CCE provides a credible national-level dissemination and exploitation channel into Croatian industry, particularly the SME sector. Their sustained EEN Key Account Management role means they have pre-existing relationships with innovation-ready Croatian companies.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PerformFISH
  Largest funded project (EUR 103,200) and their only research-intensive involvement, focused on Mediterranean aquaculture competitiveness — an unusual topic for a chamber of commerce, indicating real sector engagement.
• DepoSIt
  Demonstrates methodological sophistication through development of an Innovation Audit tool using randomised control trials, moving CCE beyond basic coaching into evidence-based innovation assessment.
• SSBI-CRO-KAM series
  Four consecutive coordinated projects (KAM2 through KAM5, 2015-2021) show sustained EU trust in CCE as Croatia's primary EEN innovation support node.