D4-POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the state of the art (WP1) and on the findings of the empirical analysis (WP2), this deliverable proposes recommendations to policy makers on the one hand, and to service and AMT providers on the other, to address the main issues that limit the uptake of AMT by SMEs. As a first step, the new knowledge acquired by Consortium partners through empirical analysis was critically discussed and shared in an internal workshop with the main scope to agree on the main issues affecting the adoption of AMT by SMEs. Partners contributed to issues identifi-cation, also on the basis of their knowledge and experience in European and International pol-icy processes. The identified issues represent significant drivers and barriers that can be ad-dressed through specific actions of policy makers and service/technology organisations. In parallel, a desk analysis of the policy context and of the service offering systems for the up-take of AMT by SMEs was conducted at European, national, and regional levels as well as out-side the EU. This analysis allowed to derive additional issues to the ones previously identified and, in addition, outlined a number of inspiring examples to address issues through proper recommendations. Issues were then aggregated in a unique framework including financial, funding, compe-tence/skills, technology, supply chain cooperation, service offering and policy framework is-sues. To address issues, macro-areas for improvement (named actions of improvement) were defined: provide suitable resources for uptake, achieve better qualification for uptake, create new frameworks and infrastructure for cooperation in uptake, create diffused and efficient networks of service provision and improve the political framework for uptake of AMT by SMEs. Finally, detailed recommendations to address the actions of improvements were elaborated for policy makers and service/technology organisations, exploiting in an integrated way the body of knowledge acquired in the course of the study (detailed drivers and barriers per technology type, geographic areas, inspiring examples, etc.). Finally, draft recommendations were validated during a policy workshop that took place in Brussels on 13 September 2016.