FoodPackLab 2.0 lessons learned and best practices

This is the second deliverable of Workpackage 5. It aims to provide tips and tools for the organization of international events for SMEs, both online and in presence. At the time of the proposal writing, almost all the events were designed for running in presence, and the experience of the clusters (partners of the project) was mainly related to the organization of this kind of networking and business events. The clusters are used to face Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA): four main challenges in the cluster mission to support European SMEs in increasing their competitiveness and resilience. These challenges were exacerbated by Covid 19 pandemic and made the whole consortium to re-think and re-build the organization of events and networking opportunities for SMEs. The management of the typical cluster activities thus changed during the project duration, and the partners had the possibility to explore new ways of building relationships with SMEs and with the selected countries outside Europe, carefully evaluating the changing travelling conditions due to the sanitary emergency and also studying new and innovative tools for creating business meeting. During the pandemic, clusters constantly monitored markets in search for new challenges and trends to develop, test, and evaluate targeted services for their members. Lastly, they established strategic partnerships with other ecosystems as gateways to go-to-market opportunities and support for companies. By acting this way, clusters became an important tool for SMEs to stay connected with the markets. This was done by organizing webinars to provide market insights, enhance companies´ visibility and matchmaking opportunities. Moreover, by strengthening the exchange of information between organizations, clusters acted as a marketplace with collaboration offers and hints on funding opportunities for their members. All these changes also affected the FoodPackLab 2.0 activities and the planned events. In this deliverable we are thus presenting the know-how of the consortium partners in the organization of in-presence events (i.e. before pandemic); the new digital tools that were adopted for networking during pandemic; new approaches for b2b meetings to face travelling restrictions; tips and tricks for hybrid meetings organized in the last months of the project. In the final conclusion paragraph a new way of managing this kind of projects is highlighted.