To get a real perspective on the challenges related to the current counselling practice the SNOwMan project are gathering responses directly from both owner-managers and business intermediaries. Both surveys will ask for critical observations and recommendations from the respondants. 

Approximately 100 business intermediaries from each country (a 50% responserate is expected) will participate in the online survey about their experiences with counselling owner-managed SMEs. The survey seek to gather experiences, best practices and potentials for intermediaries to coach their owner-managed SME members. The online survey aims to establish the relationship between member companies, their understading of innovations along with their qualification to provide support for non-technological innovations. Furthermore, it will also focus on the ability to act as a mediator between member companies and R&D institutions and which methods they already apply. 

20 owner-managers from each partner country are being interviewed about the challenges they are facing and which kind of counselling process they find optimal. The aim of the individual interviews is to collect information and personal experiences by letting the owner-managers tell their own stories. It is the hope to get insight into the SMEs knowlegde about non-technological innovation, their willingness to use non-technological innovation and when coming to it, the needs for it. Moreover, to learn about their existing cooperation and what kind of support they expect from busniess intermediaries.

The survey and interviews should all be finished and collected by the end of June. They will help identify the highest prioritized challenges for both intermediaries and owner-managers and as a result they will be used in the development of the prototype counselling toolbox.

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