03/04/2006

The strengthening of the strategic planning and competitiveness of small to medium enterprises (SME), through socio-economic studies on the international business environment, is the objective of the European project PLATON, coordinated by the Greek company Q-PLAN V.E. Ltd. The project is co-financed by the European Community and includes organisations from Italy, Estonia, Poland, Germany and the United Kingdom.

PLATON provides SMEs with the opportunity to be briefed on the most significant international social and financial changes and their consequences to the broad business environment, which are important to long-term enterprises planning. Additionally, it gives small and medium enterprises and their collective bodies (chambers, networks, clusters, etc.) the chance to extend their partnerships, to participate in social and human sciences research projects and make use of relevant results.

The project includes, among others, informative and training seminars take place, which are expected to inform more that 2,000 enterprises, collective bodies, research organizations etc. Furthermore, the creation of a database with "co-operation profile" and search capabilities is forseen.

Additional information is available in the project's Web site.

Source: PLATON