A sound promotion of innovation is essential for the future of the Baltic Sea Region, in particular to support the small- and medium sized enterprises. For this purposes stakeholders from medium-sized businesses, science, politics, and administration met at the seventh Hanseatic Conference in May 2012 in Hamburg. For two days the participants discussed about "Innovation and innovative strategies in the regional policy around the mare balticum" to further strengthen the region. It became evident, that a sustainable promotion of innovation demands a closer cooperation within the regions, on a transnational level but also between administrations and especially between companies and R&D institutions. The Baltic Sea area will only be one of the most innovative and strong regions in the world, if the bordering countries build a unit. This publication included the presented papers and summarizes the discussion of the participants.

This publication gives an overview of the current state and development potential of the Baltic Sea Region and proposes a concrete strategy programme for innovation in regional policies. One prerequisites is a strong cooperation between the regions and states, but also the promotion of regional competition while preserving and strengthening the specific regional cultures around the Mare Balticum. For a competitive Baltic Sea Region, it is also essential that the regional policy supports the innovation in the small- and medium sized enterprises, since 99,8 % of all companies are SMEs and thus the economic and social backbone. A creation of real knowledge-alliances between universities, public administrations and businesses is highly recommended. These political strategies are the result of intensive discussions and experiences of a three year running project with 40 partners from 11 countries around the Baltic Sea Region, called BSR QUICK. They are adopted and recommended by the 47 Members of the Hanse Parlament and 16 Members of the Baltic Sea Academy. The book contains the identical text of approx. 55 pages in English, German and Polish. The book concentrates on - Cooperation and integration - Regional competition and fiscal equalization - Equivalent living conditions and functional division of labor - Independent cultures and regional self-esteem - Endogenous potentials and smart specialization - Regional economic cycles and intense range development - Small and medium-sized enterprises and networks - Innovation and knowledge partnerships Decentralization and autonomy

At the 9th Hanseatic Conference 2014 in Hamburg, representatives from business organisations, academic institutions and policy makers from all countries around the Baltic Sea exchanged their experiences. This book contains the presented papers and a summary of the discussion of the participants. The elimination of discrimination by gender and age in working life is an important social concern, regardless of economic needs. But increased labour force participations of women and older people are also essential for economic reasons in the light of demopgraphic developments and changed conditions. Currently high and ever growing shortage of entrepreneurs, managers and professionals are the factors that increasingly limit economic development. There is an urgent need to make better use of local labour potential, particularly via higher labour force participation of women and older people in general. Global competition requires high innovation and strong increases in productivity of the entire Baltic Sea region, and especially in the countries to the south of the Sea. The innovations and productivity of companies benefit from increased proportion of women. The greatest innovation and productivity reserves lie in the staff and organisational development, including education; improvements in this respect stipulate equal opportunities and strengthen competitiveness. This publication was developed as part of the flagship project of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region “Innovative SMEs by Gender and Age (QUICK-IGA)”.

Objectives and strategies for education policies in the Baltic Sea Region The Baltic Sea Region is often considered the most innovative and economically strongest region of Europe. However, these strong developments and dynamics are at risk to face their limits. A rather high unemployment rate exists in many countries in the region, while at the same time, a lack of skilled work force is growing - which might indicate, that the existing qualifications are not in line with the actual demands. A strong commitment is needed from all countries around the Baltic Sea Region, in particular with respect to the most important pillar of any well-working system, the education policy. The whole region is clearly characterised by small- and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). To stay competitive on a global scale, these companies need employees with the best possible qualifications. The text included has been discussed and adopted by the Hanse Parlament, an umbrella organization of 50 Chambers of Crafts and/or Commerce, and the Baltic Sea Academy, a network of 16 academic institutions that closely cooperate for the benefit of SMEs in the region.This publication summarizes the opportunities and challenges to then provide concrete recommendations, from early childhood education, general education, vocational training and higher education. The book includes the identical text in English, German, Polish and Russian language. Bildungspolitische Ziele und Strategien für den Ostseeraum

The ageing of society does not stop at company owners. More and more companies have to be handed over to the new generation. This process is a challenge for all parties involved. The support of business transfer assistance is just as essential for the European economy as the promotion of start-ups because both are critical to the development of the European economy. Over 450.000 firms with over two million jobs are transferred to a new owner in the EU-28 each year. Around one-third of these transfers fail, and the companies are closed. The future growth and sustainability of innovative companies in the Baltic Sea Region are severely limited by failed business transfers. Furthermore, due to a lack of available and appropriate successors, many firms are liquidated rather than transferred. This publication is part of the project INBETS (www.inbets.eu), highlights the background to the current situation of business transfers in the Baltic Sea Region, and proposes a policy program to promote business successions and open up new target groups of potential successors. Part-financed by the European Union (European Development Fund and European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument) within the INBETS project. This publication does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Commission.

All countries in the Baltic Sea Region face a growing lack of skilled work force. However, the large potential of a better inclusion of females and elderly employees and managers remains often untapped. Also female and elderly employees can increase the innovation level of a company. This publication provides strategies how to better include this important group in companies. It was developed as part of the flagship project of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region “Innovative SMEs by Gender and Age (QUICK-IGA)”. The project addresses the following objectives: - levelling of equal opportunities for women south of the Baltic Sea with the ones of northern countries; - strengthening the promotion of innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises by developing working cultures that explicitly improve the equal opportunities of women; - supporting regional development in order to optimally develop human capital and competitiveness through gender and education policy. The manual containing all the project results and additional tools for the management of demographic change at enterprise level. Part I of the book incorporates the strategy programme on "Age, Gender and Innovation: Policies and Strategies to Improve Employability and Work Ability of Women and Older People in the Baltic Sea Region”, whilst part II contains action plans for the Hanse Parlament (network of business chambers) and the Baltic Sea Academy (network of academic institutions) “Promoting the employment of women and older people”.

Vol. 10 of the BSA - Series “Shareholder value”, the old, egocentric mantra of business is obsolete. Modern entrepreneurs care about society and the environment – simply because employees as well as more and more customers appreciate fair and sustainable business conduct. Enterprises try to meet this demand by implementing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), a strategic tool to engage with important stakeholders, build trust and enhance long-term competitiveness. SMEs are predestined for such close relations to customers and communities. But still SMEs hesitate to fully engage in CSR, mostly for their tight time resources and budgets. The authors of this book demonstrate that for SMEs in the Baltic Sea region CSR is a key to future success, that does not need to be overly sophisticated or costly. Women are still underrepresented as entrepreneurs in the Baltic Sea Region. In the second part of this book the authors look into the barriers that hinder women from starting their own business and develop strategies to change this in order to tap two of the great resources of the Baltic Sea Region – the knowledge and creativity of half its workforce. The texts in the book are printed in German or English.