Smart Latvia - Diginno Tool
Smart Latvia ('Gudra Latvija' in Latvian) is an initiative that aims to promote digital skills and foster understanding of digital technologies for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Latvia and neighbouring countries. Its biggest achievement, the SME Digital Maturity Online Recommender Tool (Diginno), is based on methodology by LIKTA, the Latvian Information and Communication Technology Association, and is supported by the the project "#R050 DIGINNO of Interreg Baltic Sea Region". Other stakeholders behind the initiative include the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as different industry sector associations and companies within the information and communication technology (ICT sector).
The online tool primarily targets employees on a management level of industrial small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), such as board members, development managers, owners, and directors. The tool provides an easy-to-use methodology and assesses digital maturity across ten business dimensions:
- Digital transformation and competition.
- Financial data management.
- Human resources environment.
- Customer relationship management.
- Resource management.
- Communication and customer relations.
- Digitalisation of processes.
- Security policy and practices.
- Digitalisation in production.
- Innovation and growth perspectives.
The Diginno tool allows businesses to make an accurate assessment of their company's digital maturity, identifying the strong and weak areas. In addition, users receive further knowledge on digital transformation concepts, processes and impact. A strong focus of the tool is to reinforce the need for SME managers and owners to invest in workforce training and upskilling so they can reap the benefits brought about by the digital transformation. Final results are grouped according four digital maturity levels, from 'tomorrow’s heroes' to 'champions’ league' and upon completion, the tool generates a personalised report, on the basis of which organisational policy and approaches can be tailored.
The initiative achieved a large impact on its target audience - small and medium sized businesses in Latvia and was subsequently transferred as a good practice mechanisms to other countries with access to the Baltic sea. Today, the tool has been replicated in Estonia, Lithuania, Sweden, Denmark and Poland and is available in several EU languages: English, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, and Swedish. According to statistics, available on the official website of the tool, 60% of companies who took the test are located in the lower half of digitalisation maturity, with the assessment bringing positive results and corresponding to the needs.
