Overview

Delivered by Athziri Moreno, Manager of International Relations at the Central Bohemian Innovation Center, and featuring Jakub Pechlat, Chief Operational Officer at SIC, this best practice session brings together key concepts explored throughout the organisational-level training for Business Support Organisations (BSOs).

Through practical examples, case studies and experiences from innovation support organisations, the session examines approaches to strengthening organisational sustainability and performance. It connects sustainable funding and business models with talent management, digital maturity and data-driven decision-making, helping participants identify practices that can be adapted to their own organisational and ecosystem contexts.

What You Will Learn

The training covers:

• Sustainable funding models: approaches to diversifying income streams and reducing dependence on individual funding sources.
• Business model planning: using tools such as the Business Model Canvas to align value propositions, activities, partnerships, costs and revenue streams.
• Cost management: understanding fixed, variable and hidden costs and their implications for organisational sustainability.
• Financial forecasting and control: using realistic scenarios, budgeting, approval processes and monitoring mechanisms to strengthen financial resilience.
• Cost and impact assessment: considering the relationship between resources invested and impact achieved when making programme and organisational decisions.
• Talent management: connecting organisational sustainability with the ability to attract, develop and retain appropriate talent.
• Digital maturity: considering how digital capabilities can support organisational processes, management and service delivery.
• Data-driven decision-making: using organisational and programme data to inform planning, resource allocation and continuous improvement.
• Practical BSO experiences: learning from real-world examples and approaches used by innovation intermediaries in different contexts.
• Transferable best practices: identifying practices that can be adapted to strengthen the performance, resilience and long-term impact of BSOs.

Key Takeaway

Strong and resilient BSOs require an integrated approach to organisational management. Sustainable funding, effective talent management, appropriate digital capabilities and evidence-based decision-making need to reinforce one another rather than operate as separate areas.

By assessing their organisational model, understanding costs and impact, strengthening internal systems and adapting proven practices to their own context, BSOs can improve their performance while building greater resilience and long-term sustainability.