INDUSTRIE- UND HANDELSKAMMER HOCHRHEIN-BODENSEE

Their core work

IHK Hochrhein-Bodensee is a regional Chamber of Commerce serving the Lake Constance and Upper Rhine area in southern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Their core function is supporting local businesses — especially SMEs — with innovation management, technology transfer, and access to European markets. Within H2020, they operated exclusively as part of the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) Baden-Württemberg consortium, helping SMEs in their region connect with EU-funded innovation opportunities and cross-border business partnerships.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

IHK Hochrhein-Bodensee's focus has remained remarkably stable across H2020. From 2015 through 2021, all four projects center on the same mission: SME innovation management through the EEN Baden-Württemberg consortium. The later projects (BW-KAM 4 and 5) shift their framing from general capacity building to explicitly "targeting innovation for Europe," suggesting a growing emphasis on helping regional SMEs access European markets rather than purely local support.

Their trajectory is consistent rather than shifting — expect continued SME advisory work through the EEN, with increasing focus on connecting Baden-Württemberg companies to European innovation ecosystems.

How they like to work

IHK Hochrhein-Bodensee never coordinates — they join as a participant in every project. All four projects are part of the same BW-KAM consortium series with 10 partners, all apparently within Germany (only 1 country in their collaboration data). This is a loyal, repeat-consortium member operating within a stable regional EEN partnership rather than seeking diverse international collaborations.

Their network is narrow and domestic: 10 consortium partners across a single country (Germany), all within the Baden-Württemberg EEN consortium. This reflects their role as one node in a regional support network rather than an internationally connected hub.

What sets them apart

IHK Hochrhein-Bodensee offers direct access to the SME ecosystem in the economically strong Hochrhein-Bodensee region bordering Switzerland and Austria. As a Chamber of Commerce, they have institutional relationships with thousands of local companies that research organizations and technology providers typically cannot reach directly. For consortium builders, their value is not technical expertise but rather regional business networks and the ability to mobilize SMEs for pilot testing, market validation, or technology adoption.

Highlights from their portfolio

• BW-KAM 5
  Most recent EEN grant (2020-2021), representing the latest iteration of their regional innovation support mission with refined European market focus.
• BW-KAM2
  Their entry point into H2020 (2015), establishing IHK as an operational EEN partner for SME innovation management in Baden-Württemberg.