Business advisors need more skills in digitalisation and digital business models to support companies in using digital tools and building digital business processes. They need to be able to advise businesses on how to make use of new technologies, regardless of their situation – whether they need help at the business planning, growth, development, or generation change stages.
The Digital Adviser’s Toolkit for Business Advisors
In the Digital Business Advice project, we bring together available tools and methods to support digitalisation and technology use in businesses, such as maturity tools, canvas, skills assessments, and peer reviews. The tools will be compiled into a toolkit that will be tested by business advisors as the project progresses. The Digital Advisor Toolkit will be an important addition to the toolbox of business advisors.
We will also gather a network of business advisors, whose members will be trained in the use of the tools and methods in the toolkit. The network will allow advisors to transfer knowledge and skills to each other both during and after the project.
Ensuring the Suitability of the Toolkit
During the project, the Digital Advisor Toolkit will be piloted with 150 companies in the Turku region, Oulu region, Lappeenranta and Satakunta. The pilot will both help a large number of companies to move forward on their digital path and ensure that the advisory model is suitable for their needs. Nationally, these areas are home to businesses from different sectors and operating in different environments, so the pilot will ensure that the advice is suitable for different sectors and adapts to their specific needs.
A digital maturity mapping will be carried out for the participating companies to provide them with information on their own level of digital skills and to help them choose the right development targets.
The aim is that the guidance will
- support companies in the use of digital solutions
- improve their readiness to adopt digital tools
- the potential of digitalisation, data and artificial intelligence is seen in a more positive light; and
- increase motivation to use digital solutions.
An Open Guide to Digital, Data, and AI Advice
Based on the development work of the project, we are compiling a guide to digital, data, and AI advice. The guide and the toolkit will be available to all Finnish business advisory organisations and companies developing their digital capability also after the project. The materials will be kept on the TIEKE website, and thanks to the cc-licence, it will be possible to further develop the materials after the project.
Digital Advisor for Companies: Improving Digital Skills in SMEs by Digitalisation, Data and AI Counceling
The Digital Business Advisory project develops the capacity of business advisory organisations to advise businesses on their digital development journey.
The project will create a Digital Advisor Toolkit, a collection of the best tools and methods to support digitalisation and technology use in businesses, which will be piloted with 150 businesses during the project.
The project will significantly improve the access of Finnish businesses to digital advice tailored to their needs.
Project duration
1.12.2023-30.11.2026
Project partners
The project is coordinated by TIEKE Finnish Information Society Development Centre. The project partners are the City of Lappeenranta, Oulun Seudun Uusyrityskeskus ry and Prizztech Oy.
During the period 1.12.2023-31.8.2024 Business Turku Oy Ab was also involved in the project.
Funding
The project is co-financed by the European Social Fund plus. The funding has been granted through the ELY Centre of North Ostrobothnia.
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