No funding application, no waiting, no administrative hassle and no costs either: the new European Digital Innovation Hub “Crowd in Motion” offers tailor-made advice and services for SMEs and the public sector for green and digital transformation in the tourism, sports and leisure industry.

Digitalisation and innovation capabilities are crucial for both SMEs and the public sector to achieve sustainability goals and to profitably use the digital transformation. The new European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH) “Crowd in Motion” supports the digital transformation of the tourism, sports and leisure industry as well as the public sector. “In the innovation hub “Crowd in Motion”, we rely on a unique combination of artificial intelligence and human swarm intelligence to increase the innovative power and readiness for change of SMEs and public organisations,” says Markus Lassnig from Salzburg Research and head of the new EDIH “Crowd in Motion”.

Low-threshold access to free support

The new EDIH is a one-stop shop where organisations and companies – especially small, medium and mid-cap companies – can get support in innovating products and services, in value creation processes and business models. They get low-threshold access to digital expertise, testing infrastructure, networks and funding advice.

“Companies can register via the website. In a first meeting, we analyse the initial situation together and explore the digital transformation potential as well as support possibilities through the EDIH. The next step is implementation – completely free of charge for SMEs and mid-caps,” explains EDIH Director Lassnig. “There is no “application risk” in the EDIH, there are no complex funding and billing mechanisms.”

Tailor-made services for the tourism, sports and leisure industry

Since the beginning of 2023, we have been working with over a hundred small and medium-sized enterprises and public organisations on their digital transformation for an initial period of three years. In the EDIH, companies receive direct access to customised consulting and services based on current research results that fit their individual level of maturity in the digital transformation. Through a coordinated, complementary consortium – from the idea to analysis and prototyping to financing – we thus achieve an acceleration and strengthening of innovative strength and implementation.

A total of 68 services are available in these four thematic areas:

• Advanced Digital Skills and Training: trainings, workshops and seminars that offer specialised knowledge on the latest state of the art and demonstrate concrete solutions.
• Open Innovation Ecosystem Building, Crowd Ideation & Networking: know-how, support and implementation of idea generation with the help of crowd knowledge
• Test before Invest: individual innovation potential analyses, individual business model workshops, trying out new technologies, access to test data and prototyping infrastructure
• Support to find investments: help in the search for (crowd) investments

Practical example: From wildly parking excursionists to sustainable tourism mobility

A crowded excursion destination, the hikers’ car park is constantly overcrowded. The locals’ displeasure is growing, and guests are also starting to complain. The tourism association of the region is striving for sustainability certification and wants to support the mobility turnaround. The only question is: how? The technical feasibility of potential measures and their expected acceptance is difficult to assess. As an after-effect of the pandemic, there is an austerity budget, and it is not easy to push through an innovation project in the municipality that is by nature risky. “This is where the EDIH “Crowd in Motion” comes in. The innovation experts of the EDIH advise the tourism association and explore the digital and green transformation potential. For example, depending on the relevance, an innovative nudging concept could be developed to motivate tourists to more sustainable tourism mobility by means of incentives,” says EDIH head Markus Lassnig from Salzburg Research.

Real-life example: From idea to viable app with crowdfunding.

A start-up is planning a novel, AI-based app for improved outdoor experiences. The requirements of the stakeholders who necessarily need to be involved are unclear. The company needs better access to the ecosystem of the Austrian leisure industry and would like to analyse the innovation potential in advance in order to advance digital product development in the most targeted way possible. For the implementation, the company needs a financing service, e.g. in the form of crowdfunding. “At all these points – access to the ecosystem and relevant stakeholders, innovation potential analysis up to crowdfunding – the EDIH “Crowd in Motion” offers active support,” says Lassnig. “In addition, there are comprehensive training services and offers for rapid prototyping.

Background information on the EDIH Crowd in Motion and European Digital Innovation Hubs in general:

• Press release (in German): EDIH Crowd in Motion: Innovations-Support für die Tourismus-, Sport- und Freizeitwirtschaft