This small organisation was part of a larger European network called European Information Centres, which was at the time preparing a merger with another European network, called Innovation Relay Centres, mainly concerned with technology transfer. The Enterprise Europe Network was launched by the European Commission, DG Enterprise and Industry, in 2008 in order to establish a 'no wrong door' approach for businesses, bringing together organisations with different specialisations from the two previous networks to form regional consortia. The newly established Enterprise Europe Network consortium of South East England became the subject of my master's thesis.
A public policy measure such as this European network has been developed ultimately to support the development and innovation of small and medium-sized enterprises operating in a globalised, knowledge-based society. The different types of business support organisations which are part of the network are linked mainly through online tools which they utilise to gain knowledge from and exchange information with organisations in other countries. Some also cooperate on projects which involve partners from different countries for example with the purpose of promoting entrepreneurship, or supporting firms in finding cooperation partners in new markets. However, in terms of collaborating with other organisations, hindrances may arise with regard to sharing knowledge. Mutual trust between organisations and individuals is of importance in such network cooperation.
In practice it is evident that during the years the previous EU networks had been in place, good contacts had been established between the organisations in South East England and other business support organisations across Europe. Initially, in most cases, such cooperation had started with face-to-face meetings followed by successful cooperation. This EU policy initiative may be stated to have provided framework conditions in terms of the infrastructure and incentives needed to support European collaboration on business development and innovation. Meanwhile, it is the organisations operating in practice within the network that need to develop relations with each other and cooperate at a distance. In some cases, initially, the development of such relations may depend on face-to-face contact to build mutual trust, after which it can develop into successful collaboration which continues at a distance.