By Prof. Dr. Elena Garcia Barriocanal, Universidad de Alacalá.

Self-assessment can be a powerful tool for SMEs to support sustainable growth. It helps SMEs to monitor performance, identify areas for improvement then develop smart strategies, that engage employees and adapt to changing market conditions. By leveraging the insights from self-assessment, SMEs can position themselves to achieve long-term success and growth.

In, the SME Cluster Growth project, Universidad de Alacalá  created a web-based self-assessment tool for SMEs. It helps them assess their capacity for growth in terms of internationalisation, engagement with universities, valorisation of knowledge and talent, growth financing, and collaboration with ecosystems and clusters.

This tool enables self-assessment of SME management practices based on these criteria. It also identifies bottlenecks and suggests actions and recommendations based on the specific bottlenecks detected.The self-assessment tool is open source and is intended to be adapted, reused or enlarged according to the particular needs and situation of an SME. It could also be extended to integrate with existing systems, for example, a learning management system (LMS).

The tool has been designed to be used within an SME training or mentoring process rather than as a long-term database or service. It complements the training and mobility toolkit carried out in the framework of the SME Cluster Growth project.The open-source tool and is available on GitHub. The tool does not require any authentication, so can be used by anyone with the URL.

Download the toolkit HERE to help you assess your SME management practices, identify bottlenecks and plan actions towards growth.