One of the biggest challenges facing businesses, intermediary organizations and advice consultancies is separating correct, relevant information from irrelevant information; in other words, finding a good way of filtering information. Wageningen UR Food & Biobased Research (in association with Syntens) is developing a knowledge system designed to give innovation advisors a helping hand. What makes this system unique is that it not only has an intelligent search function, but it can also emit proactive signals. The system will be ready for use in mid-2012.
Sjef van Herpt, project leader at Syntens for the ToekomstBedrijven (FutureCompanies) campaign, and Jan Top, team leader Intelligent Systems at Food & Biobased Research, today confirmed this collaboration.
Syntens Innovation centre is currently running the ToekomstBedrijven campaign in an effort to involve more small and medium-sized businesses in innovation networks by visiting entrepreneurs and pointing out the existing support opportunities that may be relevant to their company. The entrepreneurs in question are mainly people who make little (or no) use of innovation networks. The individual and personal approach is designed to generate interest, but it is just as important to keep the entrepreneurs interested in the innovation networks afterwards. This is where the knowledge system comes in.
The knowledge system can search various databases, the internet and many other sources using the latest insight and ‘stand alone’, and keep the innovation advisor up-to-date on new developments that may be important to specific businesses. Food & Biobased Research has both knowledge and experience of setting up practice-based systems for knowledge institutes. The offer came out of the public tendering procedure as best in terms of the price/quality ratio.
