STAROPOLSKA IZBA PRZEMYSLOWO-HANDLOWA

Their core work

The Staropolska Chamber of Industry and Commerce is a regional business chamber based in Kielce, Poland, operating as a node of the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN). Their core activity in H2020 has been delivering innovation management support services to SMEs — coaching companies on how to access and benefit from EU funding instruments like the SME Instrument, Fast Track to Innovation, and the EIC Pilot. They act as a bridge between EU innovation programmes and local small businesses in the Świętokrzyskie region, helping SMEs strengthen their innovation strategies and navigate the EU funding landscape.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Throughout 2014-2016, the chamber focused on basic EEN service delivery — SME innovation coaching and key account management for SME Instrument beneficiaries. From 2019 onwards, their scope expanded significantly to include support for Fast Track to Innovation (FTI), FET-Open, and eventually EIC Pilot beneficiaries, reflecting the EU's own evolution of innovation funding instruments. The broadening from a single instrument (SME Instrument) to multiple EU innovation schemes shows growing capability and trust within the EEN framework.

They are tracking the EU's shift from the SME Instrument toward the European Innovation Council ecosystem, positioning themselves as a comprehensive EIC support hub for regional SMEs.

How they like to work

The chamber exclusively participates as a partner, never as a coordinator — consistent with their role as a regional EEN node executing centrally designed support programmes. With only 8 unique partners across a single country, they operate within a tight, stable Polish consortium that has been renewed repeatedly over seven years. This suggests a reliable, low-risk partner for nationally-focused coordination and support actions.

Their network is compact: 8 unique partners, all within Poland. This reflects their function as a regional EEN node working alongside other Polish chambers, agencies, and intermediaries in a nationally coordinated consortium.

What sets them apart

As the EEN node for the Świętokrzyskie (Kielce) region, they provide direct access to a specific Polish SME ecosystem that larger organizations cannot easily reach. Their seven years of continuous involvement in the KAM2SouthPL series demonstrates institutional stability and deep familiarity with EU innovation support delivery. For anyone needing a trusted intermediary to reach innovative SMEs in south-central Poland, this chamber is the established channel.

Highlights from their portfolio

• KAM2SouthPL2
  Renewed four consecutive times (2015-2021), demonstrating sustained trust from the EC and consistent delivery of SME innovation support services.
• KAM2SouthPL
  The initial 2014 project that established the chamber's role in the Enterprise Europe Network's SME innovation coaching programme in southern Poland.