IMG INNOVATIONS MANAGEMENT GMBH

Their core work

IMG Innovations Management is a German consultancy specializing in innovation management services for small and medium-sized enterprises. They operate exclusively through Coordination and Support Actions (CSA), delivering structured innovation support programs rather than conducting technical research. Their recurring "Innosupport" project series — running continuously from 2014 to 2021 — indicates they provide an established, repeatable service helping SMEs navigate innovation processes, with increasing focus on energy-sector clients and key account management in recent years.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

From 2014 to 2016, IMG focused purely on generic innovation management support for SMEs with no sector specialization. Starting in 2017, they shifted toward energy-sector SME clients and by 2019 added key account management as a distinct competence, suggesting a move from broad consulting toward more targeted, relationship-driven client engagement. Their growing project budgets (from EUR 22,400 in 2014 to EUR 90,281 in 2020) reflect an expanding scope of delivery over time.

IMG is narrowing from general innovation consulting toward energy-sector SME support with a stronger commercial orientation (key account management), suggesting they are positioning as a sector-specialized business development partner.

How they like to work

IMG exclusively coordinates its projects — all five H2020 actions were led by them, with zero participation as a partner. They work with a very small, tight network of just 3 unique partners within a single country. This suggests a self-contained consultancy model where they design and deliver their own programs rather than integrating into larger consortia.

Extremely compact network: only 3 unique partners across 5 projects, all within one country. This indicates a stable, recurring set of collaborators rather than a broad European network.

What sets them apart

IMG's distinctive value is their sustained, iterative delivery of the same innovation support program across seven years, refining it through five consecutive editions. This track record demonstrates proven methodology and reliable execution in SME innovation consulting — useful for consortia needing a dependable support-action partner. However, their narrow project scope and small network mean they are best suited for focused consulting roles rather than broad research collaboration.

Highlights from their portfolio

• INNOSUPPORT (2020-2021)
  Their largest project at EUR 90,281 — nearly double the previous edition — suggesting significant scaling of their innovation support methodology.
• Innosupport (2019)
  Marks the pivot point where key account management was added as an explicit competence, signaling a shift toward more commercial, relationship-driven services.