TILLVAXTVERKET

Their core work

Tillväxtverket is the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth, a government body responsible for strengthening the competitiveness of Swedish businesses, particularly SMEs. Within H2020, they coordinate Sweden's Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) consortium, delivering innovation management services such as innovation health checks, key account management, and SME Instrument coaching to growth-oriented companies. They also participate in cross-border initiatives supporting SME digitalisation and circular economy transitions through voucher schemes and peer-to-peer learning.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Early projects (2014-2016) focused heavily on building foundational EEN services — innovation specialists, key account managers, and general innovation management capacity for SMEs. From 2018 onward, their scope broadened significantly to include digitalisation support, peer-to-peer learning methods, voucher-based innovation instruments, and circular economy themes through C-VoUCHER. The most recent Swennis iteration (2020-2021) introduced new service labels like EIMC services, Innovation Health Check, and IDD4SME, signaling a shift toward more structured, assessment-driven innovation support.

Moving from generic innovation advisory toward structured diagnostic tools (health checks, IDD4SME) and thematic support in digitalisation and circularity — expect future interest in green and digital transition programmes for SMEs.

How they like to work

Tillväxtverket overwhelmingly leads projects (5 of 7 as coordinator), reflecting their role as a national-level public authority managing the Swedish EEN consortium. Their 34 unique partners across 9 countries indicate a broad but EEN-structured network — many partners are likely fellow EEN nodes or national agencies. As a participant, they join larger thematic consortia (C-VoUCHER had significant EU-wide reach), suggesting they selectively engage in multi-country initiatives that align with their SME support mandate.

Connected to 34 unique partners across 9 countries, primarily through the Swedish EEN consortium and pan-European SME support networks. Their network is concentrated in EU member states with active Enterprise Europe Network presence.

What sets them apart

As Sweden's national agency for economic growth, Tillväxtverket brings governmental authority and direct access to the Swedish SME ecosystem — something no private consultancy or university can match. They are the entry point for any EU initiative seeking to reach Swedish SMEs at scale, with established channels through the Enterprise Europe Network. For consortium builders, partnering with them means gaining a credible national-level anchor with policy influence and on-the-ground SME engagement infrastructure.

Highlights from their portfolio

• C-VoUCHER
  Their largest funded project (EUR 410,946), focused on circular economy value chains — a thematic departure from their core EEN work, showing capacity to engage in broader innovation policy topics.
• Swennis 2020-2021
  The latest evolution of their flagship EEN coordination, introducing structured assessment tools (Innovation Health Check, IDD4SME) that represent their most mature service model.
• P2P Digital
  Demonstrates their expansion into digitalisation support for SMEs through peer learning and voucher instruments — a bridge between their EEN role and emerging digital transition priorities.