Sba Assessment - Questionnaires (Final)

Paris 21/06/2017
BRIEF GUIDANCE FOR THE QUESTIONNAIRE
Please answer the questionnaire in this excel file. Answers in other formats cannot be
processed. Answers must be selected using the dropdown menus in the Answers column. All
cells in this column must be completed, unless greyed or blued out. If no answer is selected, no
points will be provided. For the Open Questions sections, there are no dropdown menus and
answers may be typed directly into the cell.
In the Evidence/Links column please provide links to laws, legislation, websites, strategy and
action plans where available. This information will support the answers given.
In addition to answering the questions, you may provide comments in the Country Comments
column where you feel this is necessary. However, please note that this column is for
additional comments, and cannot be used to provide answers.
Some brief explanations are provided in the Definitions column for guidance. The Glossary tab
also provides definitions for key terms. Words that are included in the Glossary are highlighted
in red in the questions, with a link to the Glossary provided in the corresponding Definitions
column.
Unless indicated otherwise, all questions relate to policies and measures under government
coordination, as opposed to donor or private sector initiatives.
Please provide a self-assessed score for each sub-dimension as well as for each dimension in
the light blue cells located after each sub-dimension and at the bottom of each worksheet.
This score is based on a scale from 1 to 5 as described in the table below.
Description of levels for self-assessed scores
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5
There is no law, There is a draft law, A solid legal and/or Level 3 + some Level 3 + some
institution, tool or institution, tool or institutional concrete indications significant record of
(information) (information) framework is in of effective policy concrete and
service in place to service and there place for this implementation of effective policy
cover the area are some signs of specific policy area, the law, institution implementation of
concerned government activity tool or (information) or tool the law, institution,
to address the area service tool or service. This
concerned level comes closest
to good practices
identified for OECD
countries
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Bankruptcy register
Register of current bankruptcy proceedings, including the name and status of companies, offering public access.
Budget mobilisation
Refers to the allocation of funds according to the approved budget.
Entrepreneur
Those persons (business owners) who seek to generate value, through the creation or expansion of economic activity, by identifying and exploiting new products, processes or markets.
Evaluation
The systematic and objective assessment of an on-going or completed project, programme or policy, its design, implementation and results. The aim is to determine the relevance and
fulfilment of objectives, development efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability. An evaluation should provide information that is credible and useful, enabling the incorporation of
lessons learned into the decision-making process of both recipients and donors. Evaluation also refers to the process of determining the worth or significance of an activity, policy or program.
An assessment, as systematic and objective as possible, of a planned, on-going, or completed development intervention. Note: Evaluation in some instances involves the definition of
appropriate standards, the examination of performance against those standards, an assessment of actual and expected results and the identification of relevant lessons.
Fear of Failure
An aspect of risk: the potential loss of self-image and self-respect (Ray 1994) however, under dimension 2 fear of failure is also perceived as entrepreneurs who experience financial difficulty
Formal consultation
Exchanges with selected interested parties where the proceedings are formally recorded.
Independent evaluation or review

Evaluation or review conducted by a separate agency/body/department than that responsible for implementation.
Levels of education
ISCED: the international Standard Classification of Education
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/International_Standard_Classification_of_Education_(ISCED)
ISCED level 0 : Early childhood education
ISCED Level 1: Primary education - Refers to EQF level 1
ISCED Level 2: Lower secondary education - refers to EQF level 2
ISCED Level 3: Upper secondary education - refers to EQF level 3
ISCED Level 4: Post-secondary non tertiary education - refers to EQF level 4
ISCED Level 5: Short-cycle tertiary education
ISCED Level 6: Bachelor's or equivalent level
ISCED Level 7: Master's or equivalent level
ISCED Level 8: Doctoral or equivalent level
Monitoring
A continuing function that uses systematic collection of data on specified indicators to provide management and the main stakeholders of an ongoing development intervention with
indications of the extent of progress and achievement of objectives and progress in the use of allocated funds.
National Official Document

A policy document that addresses entrepreneurial learning that includes curriculum development, teacher training and school governance. This policy document can be a separate
entrepreneurial learning strategy or any other policy document, for example: general education reform strategy, national employment strategy, national entrepreneurship strategy, national
development plan, industrial strategy, SME strategy, Youth strategy.
Operational
Activities and measures are taking place, and are receiving funding.
Operational autonomy
The implementation agency/body is independent from the policy making institution, and has control of the use of its budget and the hiring of its staff to carry out its mandate.
Primary legislation
Regulations which must be approved by the parliament or congress. Also referred to as “principal legislation” or “primary law”.
Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA)

Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) is a systemic approach to critically assessing the positive and negative effects of proposed and existing regulations and non-regulatory alternatives. It
encompasses a range of methods, such as cost-benefit analysis or cost-effectiveness analysis.
Review
An assessment of the performance of an intervention, periodically or on an ad hoc basis. Note: Frequently "evaluation" is used for a more comprehensive and/or more in-depth assessment
than "review". Reviews tend to emphasize operational aspects. Sometimes the terms "review" and "evaluation" are used as synonyms.
Subordinate legislation
Regulations that can be approved by the head of government, by an individual minister or by the cabinet - that is, by an authority other than the parliament/congress. Please note that many
subordinate regulations are subject to disallowance by the parliament/congress. Subordinate regulations are also referred to as “secondary legislation” or “subordinate legislation” or
“delegated legislation”.
Vocational education and training (VET)

refers to both school-based VET as well as post-secondary vocational education and training provision.
Dimension 1: Entrepreneurial Learning and Women's Entrepreneurship
IMPORTANT
Closed questions: for each positive response in column E (ANSWERS), evidence must be provided in column F (EVIDENCE/LINKS) to validate the response which leads to a score. Please, use column G (COMMENTS) to provide any additional information or details if requested.
The reply to the open questions can be given in column E.
Does a national policy partnership to promote lifelong entrepreneurial learning exist involving public, private and non-governmental institutions?
Thematic Blocks Answers Evidence/Links Country Comments Definitions/References/Examples

THEMATIC BLOCK 1: PLANNING & DESIGN
Sub-dimension 1: Entrepreneurial Learning
Does a national policy partnership to promote lifelong entrepreneurial learning exist involving public, private and non-governmental institutions?
ETF defines entrepreneurial learning as: “all forms of education and training (formal, informal and non-formal) which contribute
to an entrepreneurial spirit and behaviour with or without a commercial objective”. “Lifelong” refers to all cycles of education,
from primary to secondary to higher education, including continuing education and training. It covers both formal and non-formal
education and training.
If yes Is the partnership formal, structured?
A formal structured partnership defines a relationship between a number of organisations (public, private, civic) with agreed
objectives to support entrepreneurial learning policy and its implementation. The partnership has resources (human, financial or
other) to support the administration and development of the partnership and its activities. The partnership has a clearly identified
lead institution, mandate and calendar of activities. A structured national partnership (as opposed to an informal partnership) for
entrepreneurial learning comprises appointed members from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Labour,
national agencies (eg. SME agency), employers’ organisations, trade unions, NGOs (e.g. youth entrepreneurship associations). It
meets 4 times a year. Its objectives are to ensure a) cooperation between the range of players in the entrepreneurial learning eco-
system, b) ensure synergy and efficiency across the range of entrepreneurial learning activities in the country which are defined
within a national strategy for lifelong entrepreneurial learning, c) provide advice to Government on developments in life-long
entrepreneurial learning. The partnership's lead institution could be Ministry of Education and could involve rotating leaderhip
amongts its members. The roles and responsibilities of each member are clearly defined through an official document. The
national partnership has a budget to support its work (e.g. engage expertise, organise roundtables, publicity).
Is entrepreneurial learning part of a national official document?
Examples of a national official document are: strategy, national curriculum, framework document, programme, law
If yes as a separate lifelong entrepreneurial learning strategy?
integrated into the national education or life-long learning strategy?

integrated into other strategies, please specify Entrepreneurial learning can be integrated within wider strategies e.g. national youth strategy, SME strategy, employment
strategy, industrial strategy.
Entrepreneurship key competence differs from entrepreneurship skills. While an entrepreneurship skill is more
Is entrepreneurship key competence incorporated in the curricula used in the country? associated with business start-up and development, entrepreneurship key competence refers to an individual’s ability to
turn ideas into action. It includes creativity, innovation and risk-taking, as well as the ability to plan and manage projects in order
to achieve objectives (commercial or otherwise). The entrepreneurship key competence supports individuals, not only in their
everyday lives at home and in society, but also in the workplace. Entrepreneurship key competence in national curriculum means
that it should, as an ultimate goal be understood as a competence to be promoted across the education curriculum, as opposed to
be a single subject approach. It has to be part of the compulsory education.
If yes, at which level of education:
Levels of education
Primary/lower secondary Curriculum: any official document containing programmes of study or learning contents, learning objectives, attainment targets,
syllabuses or guidelines on student assessments.
EU example of how entrepreneurial learning is included in the national curriculum: Estonia (ISCED 1-3), the national
curricula recognises entrepreneurship as a key competence.
It is included as a cross-curricular topic “Civic initiative and Entrepreneurship”
For more information, please consult the national information sheets from the Eurydice Report, 2016 (pages 127 – 228): Entrepreneurship Education at School in Euro
Upper secondary general
VET
Higher education
Are there teaching or learning materials developed at the national level on how to implement entrepreneurship key competence? Examples of teaching and learning materials include: teaching manuals, textbooks, teacher guides, on-line checklists for
teachers
If yes Does the teaching or learning material include assessment of learning outcomes of students?
Is education-business cooperation for the purpose of entrepreneurial learning a priority for the government?
Are there pre-service teacher training institutions that use active learning methods for entrepreneurship key competence developments? Examples of active learning methods may include: role plays, case studies, group projects, brain-storming, peer review, etc
Are there in-service teacher training programmes that include active learning methods for entrepreneurship key competence developments?

For teachers in primary/lower education
For teachers at upper secondary general education
For teachers in VET Vocational education and training (VET)
Is training provided for school/university management on entrepreneurship key competence?
Is entrepreneurship as a career option part of the career guidance for students? Entrepreneurship as a career option includes self-employment, setting up your own business, working within a family business or
taking over a family business.

Upper secondary general education
VET
Higher education
Does the national official document on entrepreneurial learning include non-formal learning? Non-formal entrepreneurial learning is entrepreneurial learning that happens outside the formal education system. Non-formal
entrepreneurial learning is generally supported by private and non-governmental organisations. But it may also take place in
formal education settings but is not subject to the rigors of assessment and examination. Examples of non-formal entrepreneurial
learning projects could include after-school entrepreneurial youth clubs, mentoring of young hi-tech entrepreneurs, quality
assurance of start-up coaches. Also youth organisations are important players in contributing to the development of
entrepreneurial mindsets and entrepreneurship skills of young people.
See 2017 European Commission publication "Taking the future into their own hands: youth work and entrepreneurial learning".
OPEN QUESTIONS:
How does the national partnership on entrepreneurial learning function? Provide details on the lead institution, its objectives, members, frequency of meetings, activities,
financial resources.
Has the government responded to the European Entrepreneurship Competence Framework (EntreComp) issued in 2016? Please explain how and for what purpose (e.g
awareness raising, curriculum reform, good practice sharing)? See link to EntreComp in column H.
For more information on the EntreComp
Please provide at least one concrete example of how entrepreneurship key competence is captured in the learning outcomes of some qualifications. See EU examples in EU examples of qualifications: See EU portal on Learning Opportunities and Qualifications.
column H.
How does the government support non-formal entrepreneurial learning? Please provide at least one concrete example.
THEMATIC BLOCK 2: IMPLEMENTATION
Is there an national action plan that supports entrepreneurial learning? Action plan: can be a separate document or be included within a strategic document. An action plan should involve a) activities
to be implemented over a given period of time, b) monitoring and evaluation arrangements and c) a dedicated budget for the
activities.
If yes does it include activities that aim to develop entrepreneurship as a key competence in formal education?
does the government financially support the implementation of the action plan?
does it include actions to promote non-formal entrepreneurial learning?
Is entrepreneurial learning, within a life-long learning perspective promoted?
If yes, how?
• information campaigns, social media, traditional media
• an annual event at national/ international level
• good practices exchange at national or international level
• role models
• national recognition or awards’ ceremonies
• other, please specify in column D
Is entrepreneurial learning implemented in primary education? At systemic level: across the whole curricula and implemented at all schools for a certain level of education. This includes also
different stages of implemention and piloting at the sytem level.
Ad-hoc level: through pilot projects or activities in a selected number of schools
Is entrepreneurial learning implemented in lower-secondary education? Cross-curricular: entrepreneurial learning outcomes are expressed as being transversal, horizontal or cross-curricular
throughout several subjects and curriculum activities, rather than dealt with as a separate subject.
Is entrepreneurial learning implemented in upper-secondary general education?
Is entrepreneurial learning implemented in VET?
Is entrepreneurial learning implemented in higher education?
Are schools engaged in practical entrepreneurial experience, at the following levels of education:
A practical entrepreneurial experience is an activity that takes place within the school or outside the school environment or a
combination of both. It may feature as part of the formal curriculum or be implemented outside the formal curriculum. Practical
entrepreneurial experiences may include: mini-companies, national enterprises challenges at school, campaigns, entrepreneurial
student’s competitions and community based projects related to social or ecological issues. The defining issue is that the
experience is part of the school's efforts to develop the young people's entrepreneurial key competence or entrepreneurship skills.
• Upper secondary general
• VET
• Higher education
Do general secondary schools cooperate with SMEs to promote entrepreneurial learning?
Examples of school-enterprise cooperation: a) work placements (internships) for pupils which include opportunities for pupils
to learn the administration of a business; b) representatives from local businesses that come to the school and who provide pupils
with an insight to the how a business works; c) businesses that are involved in school-based projects on entrepreneurial learning
where children learn from the entrepreneur (e.g. how to deal with failure); d) pupils’ visits to local enterprises focus on aspects of
the business which ensure young people understand how the business is administered or managed or some aspect of the its
work, particular (e.g. marketing, sales); e) a young entrepreneur telling his/her story of what it means to be an entrepreneur
(opportunities, challenges, and how it contrasts with being an employe).
Do VET schools cooperate with SMEs to promote entrepreneurial learning? In the case of VET, the school-enterprise cooperation should not only address occupation skills but go wider to include
business administration (e.g. budget, taxation, marketing etc.).
Are there examples of higher-education-business cooperation to promote entrepreneurship?
If yes
Are there examples of higher education institutions that promote entrepreneurship in non-business faculties and/or non-technological faculties?
Is there exchange of good practices on formal and/or non-formal entrepreneurial learning?
If yes, at which level of education?

Primary/lower secondary education
Upper secondary general
VET
Higher education
OPEN QUESTIONS:
Explain how practical entrepreneurial experiences are implemented. For example, through school-based projects, community-based projects, enterprise-based projects, internships or other types of
projects.
Are good practices on entrepreneurial learning showcased? Explain how (eg. conferences, peer visits, teacher forums, communities of practice, roundtables, …) and give
information on what level: international, national, regional or local level.
Are there examples of good practice on entrepreneurial learning that have received international recognition? Please provide detail.
THEMATIC BLOCK 3: MONITORING AND EVALUATION

Is there any form of monitoring at national level on the implementation of entrepreneurial learning? Monitoring: focuses on assessing the progress of activities or actions. It is often part of a regular reporting mechanism. For
example, submission of the annual monitoring report related to the national lifelong entrepreneurial action plan. Monitoring is
distinct from evaluation (see below).
If yes Is a monitoring report prepared annually?

Is the report publicly available?
Is the implementation of entrepreneurial learning (teacher competences, active learning methods, school-based entrepreneurial learning activities, etc.) evaluated at system Evaluation: focuses on assessing the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness and impact of entrepreneurial learning at system level.
level? What works well? What are the lessons learnt?
Are recommendations from the monitoring and/or evaluation of lifelong entrepreneurial learning activities integrated into further improvement of national policies (education,
SME/entrepreneurship support, youth strategy, VET strategy, …)?
Are all students being tracked following their graduation at the system level, at the following levels of education?
• In upper secondary general
• In VET This is about having a tracking system in place for graduated students/pupils. Not to be confused with student assessment that is
related to examinations or regular testing of students' achievements after a lesson or course.
• In higher education
Are rewards or official recognitions provided to entrepreneurial teachers at the following levels of education?
Entrepreneurial Teacher is defined as a teacher who understands entrepreneurship, is entrepreneurially literate and able to
teach using active teaching/learning methods and a student-centred approach. Such teachers can be change agents in creating
an entrepreneurial environment within the school and are facilitators in the process of promoting entrepreneurship as a key
competence.
Examples of rewards or recognition can include: a financial award, a title e.g. Entrepreneurial Teacher of the Year, a prize e.g.
travel and conference participation at the EU SME Assembly conference.
Dimension 2 Bankruptcy and second chance
IMPORTANT
Sub-dimension 1: Preventive measures
THEMATIC BLOCK 1: DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION

Are there any official self-tests websites available for entrepreneurs before starting a business (Self-assessment questionnaires for entrepreneurs and start-ups)? Free questionnaire to measure your entrepreneurial potential and see if you have what it takes to run
your own business. Overall the questionnaire does not have any right or wrong answer, but rather
assess your general profile. (few examples of potential scaling questions that might be found in the
questionnaire: am I fairly at ease in difficult situations; am I a lot less effective in stressful situations;
When I take on a project I have confidence that I will carry it out successfully; For me, taking risks is
like buying a lottery ticket: it’s a question of chance; I often feel stuck by a difficult situation; After a
failure, I am able to pick myself up and start over; I have a hard time anticipating events, trends ...)
Does the government or any public or private institution provide any informational campaigns on available government supports for entrepreneurs experiencing difficulties? A national and/or local institutions or a private initiative which gives customised recommendations
and potential ideas for reorientations. (E.g. Austrian chamber of commerce; Brussels centre des
entreprises en difficultés; France General Confederation of SMEs; Netherlands Moneybook for
entrepreneurs Ministry of Economic Affairs)
Are there any websites/call centers providing answers to entrepreneurs that fear a failure ?
Are there any training courses for entrepreneurs that fear a failure ?
Are there any support services offered by public agencies to avoid financial distress or bankruptcy ?
Are early-warning systems in place to identify financially distressed companies before filing for bankruptcy?
If yes The early warning system is based on which variables?
The early warning system might takes into account different variables as: only financial variable - only
non-financial variable - both variables.
Please enumerate 5 most important early-warning signals detected
E.g: Investment/dependence on success of one big project; Investment in the wrong project;
Inabibility to make efficient pricing decision; Poor decision-making ability; Deteriorating revenue
financing; Concentration on risky customers; Increasing difficulties in financial markets; Difficulties in
access to finance; Incompetence of the management; The owner's role in business; Deficiencies in
accounting systems; Attitude towards customers ; Politic factors; General economic factors; Industrial
factors (...)
Is there any scheme which provides a protection from creditors and allows time for restructuring ?
Instead of having to directly enter into liquidation process, some scheme might allow to protect for
certain time creditors (e.g. US chapter 11, the law provides temporary protection from creditors and
allows time for restructuring, rather having to directly enter into liquidation OR EU's proposal for a
directive on Insolvency, Restructuring and Second Chance - The Directive will ensure that
entrepreneurs and businesses in financial difficulties can seek support at an early stage in order to
keep their businesses going. They will benefit from a flexible and efficient restructuring framework to
help them bring their company back on track. They will be able to keep control of their business and
benefit from temporary breathing space from enforcement action to successfully negotiate a
restructuring plan. url:http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-16-3803_en.htm )
THEMATIC BLOCK 2: PERFORMANCE
What is the business creation rate in the last 5 years? Please give the number of creation per year
What is the number of view of self-tests websites ?
What is the coverage rate of questions asked by entrepreneurs that fear a failure?
For call centers please provide the number of call and the number of ticket - For websites please
provide the number of form filled and the number of closed files
What is the recovery rate of distressed companies after the prevention phase Recovery rate refers to the companies who gets out of being distressed
OPEN QUESTIONS:
What are the immediate steps after an early warning ? Are there any financial protection measures for companies ? E.g. In Denmark companies can contact the "early warning centre"
Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: Preventive measures
Sub-dimension 2: Survival and Bankruptcy procedures

Are there any laws or other procedures on distressed companies, receivership and bankruptcy?
If yes Are the laws/procedures in line with international standards?
International standard as defined by the EBRD Insolvency Sector Assessment project
Are the courts neutral?
Courts are define as not neutral if they favour either debtors or creditors
Are the laws/procedures being systematically applied in a transparent way?
Do the laws/procedures apply to state-owned enterprises?
Do you have a formal bankruptcy and insolvency register?
Are there free or sponsored consulting advice ?
Are there free or sponsored legal and accounting services?
Based on the rule of Law, are out-of-court settlements available as a less expensive alternative to filing for bankruptcy?
If yes Are the courts involved in out-of-court settlements procedures (e.g. via appointing a mediator to guide the settlement procedure)
If a recovery plan has to be written, are there advisers or independent legal experts advising about the feasibility of the plan
Do you have formal procedures for discharge from bankruptcy?
A bankruptcy discharge releases the debtor from personal liability for certain specified types of debts.
In other words, the debtor is no longer legally required to pay any debts that are discharged. The
discharge is a permanent order prohibiting the creditors of the debtor from taking any form of
collection action on discharged debts, including legal action and communications with the debtor,
such as telephone calls, letters, and personal contacts.
If yes Does the legislation or equivalent specify a maximum time for full discharge?
If a maximum time for full discharge is specified, is it within a maximum of 3 years after final court decision?
Is removal from bankruptcy register automatic after full discharge?
Is removal from national credit black list automatic after full discharge?
Does a legal framework on secured transactions exist?
A secured transaction is a transaction that is founded on a security agreement. Asecurity agreement i
s a provision in a business transaction in which the obligor, ordebtor, in the agreement gives to the cr
editor the right to own property owned orheld by the debtor. This property, called collateral, is then he
ld by either the debtoror the secured party to ensure against loss in the event the debtor cannot fulfill
theobligations under the transaction.
Does the legal framework on secured transactions contain the following elements:
secured creditors are able to seize their collateral after reorganisation (no automatic stay)
restrictions such as creditor consent must be observed when a borrower files for reorganisation
secured creditors are paid first out of proceeds of liquidation of a bankrupt firm
management does not retain administration of property pending the resolution of organisation
What priority do tax debts take over any other debt in bankruptcy?
Can tax debts be paid in instalments?
THEMATIC BLOCK 2: PERFORMANCE, MONITORING AND EVALUATION
Are the number and outcome of bankruptcy procedures are reviewed annually ?
What is the average time of insolvency proceedings? (World Bank Doing Business Indicators)
What is the average cost (% of the estate) of insolvency proceedings? (World Bank Doing Business Indicators)
What is the recovery rate (cents on the dollar)? (World Bank Doing Business Indicators)
What is the average period of time to obtain full discharge Please provide the answer in number of months
What is the survival rate of new businesses in first, second, third, fourth and fifth year of operation? (Please give the rate for each year) Younger businesses tend to have a high failure rate than older firms. Please provide numbers for
each year (1 to 5)
What is the size of failed companies for each year of operation (Size of the balance sheet) ? Based on the Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003
http://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/business-friendly-environment/sme-definition_fr (≤ 43 m euros; ≤ 10
m euros; ≤ 2 m euros)
Are there any public or private credit registries ?

If yes Does an entrepreneur get deleted from these credit databases after full discharge?
How long does a negative score remain with a bankrupt entrepreneur after discharge (number of years)?
Is there a monitoring system in place ?
If yes Do you monitor in a structured way every year?
OPEN QUESTIONS:
Does the insolvency framework in you economy include a definition of Small and Medium size Enterprises? If yes please define
If there are several definitions in different laws and regulations, please include all of them (definition
of number of employees and or the turnover and or revenue)
Is there are special procedures for these type of SMEs that are more flexible and quicker? If yes please describe
Have there been any reforms in the area of corporate insolvency since January 2015? Please describe
To what extent has the backlog of cases on distressed companies, receivership and bankruptcy been reduced? This refers to the backlog of unresolved legal cases relating to bankruptcy, distressed companies and
receivership.
To what extent have distressed company, receivership and bankruptcy legislation been applied to state-owned enterprises? Are there recent examples?
Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: Laws and procedures
Sub-dimension 3: Promoting second chance
(no thematic block)

Does the government have an overall national strategy to promote second chance to entrepreneurs?
This could be achieved through training and information campaigns targeted towards re-starters.
Does the government have an information campaign on promoting second chance?
Are there any public measures at local or regional levels?
Are there any disabilities relates to restrictions imposed during the period of bankruptcy that might prevent entrepreneurs on a fresh start?
If yes Are there any civic disabilities? E.g. such as the loss of the right to vote, or hold elected office
Are there any economic disabilities? E.g. restrictions on obtaining credit, or on being involved in the management of a company
Are there any interference with privacy and/or liberty E.g. restrictions on travel, interception of mail
Is there any training provided to entrepreneurs on starting fresh?

If yes Do these measures take place in a co-ordinated manner? i.e. are they part of one strategy or programme and/or coordinated by a single agency or body
Is information on second chance procedures available online through the government website?
OPEN QUESTIONS:
Which type of information on the second chance is provided to entrepreneurs?
What type of training on starting fresh is available?
Who is the training available to?
Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: Promoting second chance
Please provide a self-assessed level for the overall dimension: Bankruptcy and second chance
Dimension 3 Institutional and regulatory framework for SME policy making
IMPORTANT
Sub-dimension 1: Institutional Framework
THEMATIC BLOCK 1: PLANNING AND DESIGN
Does a legal definition of SMEs exist in your country? EU definition: Micro < 10 employees, turnover or balance sheet total ≤ € 2 m, Small < 50 employees, turnover
or balance sheet total ≤ € 10 m, Medium < 250, turnover ≤ € 50 m or balance sheet total ≤ € 43 m
If yes Definition includes employment size criteria
Definition includes turnover criteria
Definition includes a balance sheet criterion
Is the SME definition used consistently throughout legislation?
Is there a multi-year SME strategy in place?
Is the SME strategy embedded into a national development strategy?
Does the strategy build upon previous SME strategies?
Does the strategy include the following elements?
Measurable targets
Action plan
Descriptive part about monitoring and evaluation of the strategy and action plan
Are there measurable and time-bound targets attached to the action plan?
Is one central institution in charge of leading and coordinating SME strategy? This institution would be responsible for the design of the SME strategy and SME-targeted policies.
Has an inter-ministerial consultation process taken place in developing of the strategy? Formal Consultation
Has the private sector been consulted in the developing of the strategy?
Have the other relevant stakeholders (e.g. civil society, regular citizens etc.) been consulted in the developing of the strategy?
Did the strategy include specific strategies for certain industries / sectors? If yes, please specify for which ones in the Country comments column.
The informal sector is broadly characterised as consisting of units engaged in the production of goods or
What is the share of businesses operating in the informal sector? services with the primary objective of generating employment and incomes to the persons concerned. These
units typically operate at a low level of organisation, with little or no division between labour and capital as
Is there a background analysis done regarding the effect of the informal sector to the economy? factors of production and on a small scale. Labour relations - where they exist - are based on casual
employment, kinship or personal and social relations rather than contractual arrangements with formal
guarantees.
Does the SME strategy address the informal economy (i.e. are there specific targets to encourage SMEs transition to the formal sector)?
If yes, what is the present status of the plan? (please choose only one)
Does a leading SME policy implementation body or equivalent exist? This institution would be responsible for the implementation of the SME strategy i.e. implementing the SME-
specific programmes and policies. This could be a dedicated SME agency or a department/unit in a government
institution which operates independently from the SME policy design unit.
If yes Does the SME policy implementation body have operational autonomy? Operational autonomy
Are other ministries represented on the governance board or equivalent of the implementation body?
Is the private sector represented on the governance board or equivalent of the implementation body?

Has a budget been mobilised for the action plan? Budget mobilisation
If an SME implementation body exists, is it operational? Operational
Is there a website for the SME implementation agency?
Have any measures been put into place to encourage informal SMEs to transition to the formal sector?
Has a budget been mobilised for the measures that facilitate SMEs' transition from informal to formal sector?
Are there any monitoring mechanisms in place for the implementation of the SME strategy?
Are there any monitoring mechanisms in place for the implementation agency/body?
Are there any monitoring mechanisms in place for the programmes for transition from informal to formal sector?
Is there an independent evaluation of the programmes (for transition from informal to formal sector) that were put in place?
Does the implementation body regularly produce a publicly available report?
Is information about the beneficiaries of SME support services offered by the implementation body open to the public?
Have any adjustments been made based on the results of the monitoring and evaluation?
Is the government collecting the following data on SMEs:
Number of SMEs
Employment by SMEs
Value added by SMEs to the GDP
Other (please specify in the Country Comments column)
OPEN QUESTIONS:
Does your current SME strategy follow on from a previous one? When did the previous strategy come to an end?
Have there been any changes in the definition of SMEs since the last assessment? If yes, please specify.
Has the strategy been supported by external advice (e.g. donor agency)?
Are the measures under SME strategy being financed by donor funds?
What is the timeframe of your SME strategy?
What are the actions specified in the strategy?
What agencies are responsible for implementation? Which is the leading agency (if one exists)? How many in total?
Which actions of the action plan have been implemented?
Which targets of the action plan have been achieved?
How long has the SME implementation agency been operational?
How much budget is allocated to the SME agency?
How many staff is dedicated to the SME agency?
Is the SME implementation agency able to mobilise funds?
What are the specific measures (incentives and penalties) that were put in place to encourage informal SMEs to transition to the formal sector?
How many SMEs formalised after the measures encouraging SME transition to the formal sector (if any) have been put in place?
What is the budget for the measures that facilitate SMEs transition to the formal sector?
Are the data on the size of informal economy collected? How is the information on the informal sector collected?
If so, are these surveys on the informal sector conducted either by the government, NGOs, associations?
What are the KPIs or statistics being collected in the surveys?
Do informal businesses have access to finance? If yes, what particular types of access to finance? (microfinance, etc.)
What is the level of representation of the private sector on the governance board of the implementation body?
How would you evaluate the SME policy strategy in place according the following criteria:
Suitability - clear objectives, backed up by evidence, causes and possible future scenarios; flexible and adaptable to changing circumstances
Feasibility - built on a strong evidence base, as well as a realistic understanding of the effectiveness and costs of different policy instruments and measures
envisaged
Acceptability - the strategy needs to have sufficient political and public support; it should be developed and communicated effectively to public
Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: Institutional Framework
Sub-dimension 2: Legislative simplification and regulatory impact analysis (RIA)
THEMATIC BLOCK 1: PLANNING AND DESIGN

Is there a plan in place to review and simplify business related legislation with an impact on SMEs? Legislative review and simplification concerns the streamlining of legislation to make it more user-friendly for
Is there a plan in place to reduce legislation related to SMEs? businesses.
This refers toThis
the can take a number
systematic removalof
offorms, including
redundant codification (integration of amendments made over time
legislation.
Is there a requirement to conduct Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) for business-related legislation? into a single act to reduce complexity) and revision.
Is there a formal requirement to examine SME aspects in RIA?
If yes, how is it ensured that SME aspects are considered:
Checklist of impacts which must be completed
Written statement that each of the required impacts have been considered, including when they have been identified as zero or very low
The analysis of these impacts is reviewed by a body outside the ministry sponsoring the regulation

Have primary and subordinate business related legislation been identified as part of a legislative review process? Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA)
Is the review and simplification of business related legislation with an impact on SMEs ongoing?
If yes What proportion of primary business related legislation has been reviewed? Primary Legislation
What proportion of subordinate business related legislation has been reviewed? Subordinate Legislation
Are licensing and permit procedures included in the screening process?
Is systematic elimination of redundant business related legislation with an impact on SMEs ongoing?
If yes What proportion of primary business related legislation has been reviewed?
What proportion of subordinate business related legislation has been reviewed?
In practice, is Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) conducted to inform the development of regulations?
If yes Is written guidance on the preparation of RIA provided?
Are regulators required to identify the costs of a new regulation?
Are regulators required to identify the benefits of a new regulation?
Is the consultation on RIA held with the SME representatives?
If yes what channels are used?
If a RIA does not take place, is a post-implementation review required?
In practice, are SME aspects examined in RIA?
How are SMEs informed about outcomes of RIA and business legislation?

Is there a body responsible for reviewing the decision made by officials about whether a RIA is required?
Are RIAs made publicly available online?
Have assessments been undertaken of the effectiveness of RIA in leading to modifications of regulatory proposals?
Is there a body responsible for overseeing the RIA implementation?
Is a quality control of RIA being conducted?
If yes Are the conclusions of the quality control fed back into RIA guidance?
OPEN QUESTIONS:
What proportion of redundant business related legislation has been eliminated?
Please specify what is the dedicated body (or bodies) responsible for promoting the regulatory policy as well as monitoring and reporting on regulatory reform and
regulatory quality in the national administration from a whole-of-government perspective?
Does the government publish online a list of business-related primary laws to be prepared, modified, reformed or repealed in the next six months or more? If yes,
where can that list be found?
Does the government publish online a list of business-related subordinate regulations to be prepared, modified, reformed or repealed in the next six months or more?
If yes, where can that list be found?
What proportion of SME-related legislation has been changed or cancelled because of RIA results?
When did RIA start being applied?
When did the process of business legislation simplification start?
How often does monitoring and evaluation take place?
Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: Legislative simplification and RIA
Sub-dimension 3: Public-private consultations (PPCs)
THEMATIC BLOCK 1: FREQUENCY AND TRANSPARENCY OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE CONSULTATIONS

Is there a requirement to conduct public-private consultations to inform the development of business-related regulation?
Is written guidance available on how to conduct public-private consultations?
Is there a formal requirement for a minimum period for consultations with the public, including citizens, business and civil society organisations?
Are ongoing consultations listed on a single central government website?
What forms of public-private consultations are used prior to and during the drafting of regulations:
A physical public meeting is a meeting where members of the public/business must attend in person.
Physical public meetings
This refers to public meetings where members of the public can attend and comment via telephone or internet.
Virtual public meetings
Informal consultations refer to ad hoc meetings with selected interested parties, held at the discretion of
Informal consultations regulators.
Formal consultations refer to exchanges with selected interested parties where the proceedings are formally
Formal consultations
recorded.
This refers to selected experts and/or interested parties (e.g. social partners, environmental groups) forming a
Advisory group or preparatory committee
consultative group or committee, either on an ad hoc or on a standing basis. This is a formalised group, i.e.
there is a formal
This refers written statute,
to a situation when theor consultation
members arematerials
appointed
andthrough
requesta formal method.are
for comments A committee refers to a
sent to a selected
Broad circulation for comment group of
group of stakeholders,
interested parties/experts who are
rather than being formally
openly responsible for helping to find solutions to the problem and
advertised.
draft the regulations
Public consultation over the internet refers to consultation open to any member of the public, inviting them to
comment with a clear indication on how comments can be provided. The public should be able to either submit
Public consultation over the Internet with invitation to comment
comments online and/or send them to an e-mail address that is clearly indicated on the website. This excludes
simply posting regulatory proposals on the internet without provisions for comment.
How regularly do private-public consultations take place?

How frequently does the government share the relevant documents on business-related legislative proposals with the private sector?
Are the views of participants in the consultation process made public?
THEMATIC BLOCK 2: PRIVATE SECTOR INVOLVEMENT IN PPCs

Are SMEs involved in public-private consultations?
Are invitations for PPCs sent to companies/organisations covering a wide range of business sectors?
Is registration to PPCs open to all interested participants?
Is the public systematically informed in advance that a PPC is planned to take place?
If yes How is the public informed?
Can the private sector contribute to the agenda of PPC meetings?
Can the private sector call for exceptional meetings when deemed necessary?
Is the private sector able to formally comment on draft SME-related legislation? A formal comment is a written comment that is integrated into the law drafting procedure in a predetermined
manner.
Are regulators formally required to consider consultation comments when developing the final regulation?
Are own initiative draft laws on SME-related legislation suggested by the private sector taken into official consideration?
Is there an assigned body in charge of dealing with formal recommendations from the private sector?

Is there an independent review of PPCs? Independent evaluation or review
Have adjustments been made to the formal structure of PPCs based on feedback?
Are SMEs able to give formal feedback on their level of inclusion in decision-making process of PPCs?
OPEN QUESTIONS:
How many regular consultative meetings have taken place during the last 12 months?
Exceptional meetings may be called by the private sector several times a year when deemed necessary.
How many exceptional consultative meetings have taken place during the last 12 months?
How many companies have participated on average during the regular consultative meetings in the last 12 months?
How many associations have participated on average during the consultations in the last 12 month?
What % of all draft primary laws have been opened to public-private consultation in the last 12 months?
What % of all draft subordinate laws have been opened to public-private consultation in the last 12 months?
Do you have information on the number of draft regulations that have been revised as a result of information received during consultations?
For how many sectors have PPCs been conducted? Please name the sectors.
Is there a team in charge of disseminating information on PPCs to the private sector?
Do you have information on the average number of respondents to consultations? Are they publicly available?
Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: Public-private consultations (PPCs)
Please provide a self-assessed level for the overall dimension: Institutional and regulatory framework for SME policy making
Dimension 4 Operational environment for SMEs
IMPORTANT
Sub-dimension 1: Digital government for SMEs
THEMATIC BLOCK 1: STRATEGY, PLANNING & DESIGN

Does your government have a strategy/policy/plan for e-government or digital government?
E-Government refers to the use by the governments of information and communication
technologies (ICTs), and particularly the Internet, as a tool to achieve better government
- Digital Government refers to the use of digital technologies, as an integrated part of
governments’ modernisation strategies, to create public value. It relies on a digital
government ecosystem comprised of government actors, non-governmental
organisations, businesses, citizens’ associations and individuals which supports the
production of and access to data, services and content through interactions with the
government. Source: OECD Recommendation of the Council on Digital Government
Strategies (2014)
If yes Does this strategy/policy plan mention SMEs as a specific target group?
Which of the following element(s) is/are identified in the strategy/policy plan:
Digital services for the filing of tax returns Digital services can be understood as services provided through a government website,
e-mail, social media or mobile application.
Digital services for the filing of social security returns
Digital services for pensions
Digital services related to the Cadastre
The reporting of enterprise statistics through digital channels
Awareness raising on digital services for SMEs
Capacitation of SMEs in the use of digital services
Once-only principle The government can ask service users for certain information only once, implying that if
another institution within the government has already requested the information that a
certain institution needs, the institution has to obtain the information from the other
institution and not from the service user.
A system of digital authentication and/or signature
A system for data exchange within the public sector
Other digital services, please specify
Does your government have a strategy/policy/plan for Open Government Data (OGD)?
If yes Does this plan mention SMEs as a target group?
Does this plan mention increasing the number of available datasets?
Does this plan mention criteria of accessibility of datasets (e.g. machine-readable format, metadata, quality criteria)
Does this plan mention the development of actions aimed at promoting the reuse of OGD for economic value creation?

To what extent can SMEs realise the following services through digital means (i.e. through a government website, e-mail, social media or mobile application)?
Services for the filing of tax returns
Not digital: no single step of the service process can be realised in a digital way;
Partially digital: one or more, but not all steps in the service process can be realised in a
digital way; fully digital: all steps of the service process can be realised in a digital way
Services for the filing of social security returns
Services for pensions
Services related to the Cadastre
The reporting of enterprise statistics
Other services, please specify
Is a system of digital authentication and/or digital signature available for the use of digital services by SMEs?
Is a system for data exchange within the public sector in place? e.g. G2G agreements
Has the once-only principle been implemented?
Does the government have initiatives in place to raise awareness among SMEs about digital service delivery?
Does the government have initiatives in place to capacitate SMEs in the use of digital services?
Has the government published datasets relevant to SMEs?
Are the majority of open data sets provided in machine-readable formats (e.g. csv)
Over the last year, has the government organised activities to stimulate the reuse of OGD by SMEs? Activities can range from hackathons to media campaigns to consultations about data
needs

Does the government collect data of information about:
Through surveys, web statistics, social media etc.
The usage of digital services by SMEs (e.g. which digital services are used the most, by which categories of SMEs)
The reuse of OGD by SMEs
The satisfaction of SMEs with digital services

The satisfaction of SMEs with the available open data
If yes Have any adjustments been made to digital services based on the acquired information?
Have any adjustments been made to OGD initiatives based on the acquired information?
OPEN QUESTIONS:
What initiatives does the government have in place to raise awareness and build capacities among SMEs regarding digital service delivery?
How does government inform SMEs about the existing digital government system?
Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: Digital government for SMEs
Sub-dimension 2: Business licensing
THEMATIC BLOCK 1: LICENSE PROCEDURES

Is written guidance material on the procedure of how to obtain a license provided to SMEs?
If yes, do the written guidelines specify
the license and permit fees to be paid
the procedure of how to obtain a license
the compliance standards, which need to be in place in order to obtain a license
Are licensing and permit fees based on clear written requirements?
Is there a systematic written methodology being applied to the assessment of supplied proposals?
Are all decisions to grant or not grant a license documented in writing?
Is information collected for a license shared with other authorities?
Are licensing fees complying with the cost-recovery principle?
Is training on new licensing procedures and core principles in granting a license provided to staff?
Has the central government conducted any public awareness campaigns on licensing transparency and accountability in licensing procedures?
THEMATIC BLOCK 2: MONITORING AND STREAMLINING OF LICENCE SYSTEMS

Is there a plan to review and simplify current licensing procedures?
If yes, has the review already started?
Does the central government have a systematic overview of all the different licensing authorities in the country?
The local level should use regulatory licensing only if the market failure/licensing
Is there a central coordination body at the national level that oversees which licences are granted at which level within the administration? requirement relates to an activity that is essentially local in nature
Are SMEs able to give feedback on the licensing process?
Are decisions to grant a license internally reviewed in order to avoid conflict of interest and corruption?
Is there a mechanism to monitor and evaluate officials’ compliance with their mandates when doing business inspections?
Does a regular independent audit of the licenses issued take place?
OPEN QUESTIONS Answer

How are licensing fees calculated?
How often do staff trainings take place?
How does the license review mechanism look like, if there is one place?
Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: Business licensing
Sub-dimension 3: Company registration

How many company identification numbers are used in dealing with the public administration?
Is there a one-stop-shop in place for company registration?
Is it possible to conduct online company registration?
Is the silent-is-consent principle in application?
Is there a user guide book or manual on company registration that is publicly available either online or at least on a hard copy?
Is there a decentralised national information agency or help centers that provide advisory services on starting a business?
THEMATIC BLOCK 2: PERFORMANCE (World Bank Doing Business Indicators)

What is the number of days for obtaining company registration certificate?
What is the number of administrative steps for obtaining a company registration certificate?
What is the official cost of obtaining the company registration certificate?
What is the number of days for completing the overall company registration process, including compulsory licences for standard business activities?
What are the costs connected with registration (% of GNI per capita)?
What is the minimum capital requirement (% of GNI per capita)?
THEMATIC BLOCK 3: MONITORING & EVALUATION

Are there monitoring and evaluation mechanisms in place for the company registration?
If yes have adjustments been made based on the results?
Is there a specific agency that monitors the implementation and the process of registration?
Is performance at local level monitored and made public?
OPEN QUESTIONS: Answer

What is the geographic scope of the one-stop-shop?
Is online company registration available throughout the country? If no, where is it available?
What are the agencies responsible for the registration process?
How is the registration done for other types of company (sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, incorporation, etc.)?
Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: Company registration
Sub-dimension 4: Tax compliance procedures for SMEs
THEMATIC BLOCK 1: SME TAX COMPLIANCE AND SIMPLIFICATION PROCEDURES

THEMATIC BLOCK 1a: INCOME TAX
Does your country have a presumptive tax regime for micro businesses?
Presumptive income tax - a presumptive tax uses a tax base other than income in the
calculation of the firm’s tax liability – the typical form of a presumptive tax is a turnover
tax but you can also have an indicator-based tax, e.g. determining tax liability based on
floor space, electricity consumption etc.
If yes, please specify how the system works If yes, please describe how the it works including the base that is used for the
presumptive tax regime (e.g turnover, indicator based, lump-sum), the eligibility criteria,
the rates, etc.
Does your country allow small businesses to use cash accounting for income tax purposes?
Cash accounting for income tax (allows businesses to pay taxes only when the cash is
received as opposed to paying tax on income for which the transaction has occurred
but which has not been received yet. A turnover threshold is usually used to determine
whether firms are eligible for cash accounting)
If yes, please specify how the system works
Is there any threshold used to determine eligibility for cash accounting ? Please specify
Does your country have additional simplified accounting rules for small businesses (presisely: simplified rules for the calculation of inventory, bad debts and long-term contracts, relaxation of the requirement to
keep financial accounting books for tax purposes and simplified accounting) ? e.g. single-entry bookkeeping or single-entry accounting system is a method of
bookkeeping relying on a one sided accounting entry to maintain financial information.
If yes, please specify rules
Does your country have simpler tax filing procedures for small businesses?
If yes, please specify procedures
THEMATIC BLOCK 1b: VAT
Does your country have a VAT registration/collection threshold under which small businesses are not obliged to register for and remit VAT? VAT registration/collection threshold - threshold under which businesses are not obliged
to – but still have the option to if they want to – register for and remit VAT
If yes, what is the threshold?
Does your country foresee simplified schemes for calculating VAT liability, including VAT presumptive tax schemes or simplified VAT input tax credit calculation schemes?
If yes, please specify
Does your country allow small businesses to use cash accounting for VAT purposes? Cash accounting for VAT - Same idea with income tax - businesses under a certain
threshold have the option to report and remit VAT only once they receive payments
from their customers.
If yes, please specify rules
Does your country foresee simplified return filing and payment simplification schemes ?
If yes, please describe
THEMATIC BLOCK 1c: Other taxes
Does your country have any tax incentives scheme for SMEs ?
If yes, please explain the scheme
Does you country have any simplification measures for other taxes ?
If yes, please describe which "other tax"and describe the measure
THEMATIC BLOCK 2: MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF SME-SPECIFIC TAX MEASURES

Does your country monitor the effective tax burden on SMEs?
If yes, please specify types of studies and results
Does your country have good information on the different types of SMEs which operate in your economy ?
i.e. differentiated on value added, turnover, number of employees, survival rates, etc.
If yes, please describe how you collect it
Does your country undertake regular evaluations of tax incentives available to SMEs?
If yes, please specify type of evaluations and results
Does your country undertake regular evaluations of measures aimed at easing tax compliance for SMEs?
If yes, please specify type of evaluations and results
Does your country have information on the tax revenues that are paid by SMEs? For different taxes
Does your tax administration use information from VAT returns to verify income tax returns (and vice versa) ?
Which (e.g. technological) systems the tax administration has put in place to make tax compliance simple/easy for SMEs?
Does the tax administration consult stakeholders to obtain information from private sector representing SMEs to further improve the functioning of the tax administration?
If yes, please describe the process
Does your country asses the effective tax burden imposed by presumptive tax regimes and whether the tax induces businesses to remain small?
OPEN QUESTIONS: Answer

Has there been any reform (in practice or in laws and regulations) related to the Tax treatment procedures since 1 January 2015?
What is the level of labour taxes, in particular employer social security contributions?
Does your country apply tax simplifications measures for any other taxes ? (please describe)
Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: Tax compliance procedures for SMEs
Please provide a self-assessed level for the overall dimension: Operational environment for SMEs
Dimension 5a Support services for SMEs and start-ups
IMPORTANT
Sub-dimension 1: Support services provided by the government

Is the provision of business support services included in the government SME strategy or equivalent document?
Business support services (BSS) are provided by public or private suppliers to SMEs
and cover a wide range of non-financial services with the aim to increase their clients’
operating efficiency and to help them grow their business.
Are the strategy elements regarding business support services associated with:
an action plan
measurable targets
timeframe
expected impact
Has the government carried out market research and analysis to assess:
demand of business support services for SMEs?
supply of business support services to SMEs?
Is there an agency that supports the provision of business support services?
Are there background studies done on the entrepreneurial skills among SMEs?
If yes Do the business support services offered by the government reflect results of the study?

Does the government provide business support programmes for SMEs?
Has a budget been mobilised for business support programmes for SMEs? Budget mobilisation
Are any of the following types of business support services being offered by the government?
General information
Trainings Services provided encompass a variety of subjects such as legal advice, consulting
services, coaching and more depending on the needs and of the specificity of the needs
Mentoring and consulting of the clients. For an overview see table below.
Physical infrastructure
Are there any tailored business support programmes for start-ups?
Are there any tailored business support programmes for female entrepreneurs?
Are there any tailored business support programmes for young entrepreneurs?
Is the government also providing business support services for SMEs via private sector service providers?
If yes are these services co-financed?
If yes does this take place through a voucher scheme or direct contribution
Is there an online portal to inform SMEs on business support services provided by the government
If yes How often it is updated
Are there any programmes to raise awareness and promote business support services

Are the business support programmes supported by the government being regularly monitored? Monitoring
If yes have any adjustments been made based on the results?
Is there a publicly available annual report(s) on performance?
Is there an independent evaluation of the business support services? Independent evaluation
Is there any information regarding the impact of the programmes on SME performance in particular?
Are there formal mechanisms for SMEs to provide feedback on the available business support services programmes?
Is data being collected on how many SMEs participate in the different programmes?
Are surveys used to collect information on SME usage and satisfaction with the business support programmes?
OPEN AND ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS:
How many entrepreneurs/SMEs received support services provided by the government in a year (latest available)
Type of BSS Provided (yes/no) Number of entrepreneurs/ SMEs

Total
Standards (certification, quality,
export regulation),
Legislation
Business feasibility
General information
Grants and export financial

support
Financing opportunities
Labour regulation
Training opportunities
Market overview
Foreign markets
Trade fairs
Other
Bookkeeping and accounting
Business plans
Financial planning and credit
orientation
Trainings
Leadership
ICT training
Resource efficiency
Presentation, sales and
marketing
Other
Sales and marketing
Mentoring and
consulting
Mentoring and
Productions and ICT
consulting
HR management
Financial management
Strategic management
Other
infrastructure
Incubators
Physical
Accelerators
Science parks
Please provide any additional information which you think is important and might help us evaluate your country better.
Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: SME support services provided by the government
Sub-dimension 2: Government initiatives aiming at stimulation of private business support services development

Is stimulation of private business support services included in the government SME strategy or in an equivalent document? This refers to government policies to increase SME access to privately provided
Are the strategy elements regarding the stimulation of private business support services associated with: business support services, through such measures as awareness-raising, co-financing
an action plan and quality assurance mechanisms.
measurable targets
timeframe
expected impact

Has a budget been mobilised for the implementation of the action plan? Budget mobilisation
How many of the actions have been implemented in line with the timeline?
How many of the targets from the strategy have been achieved?
Does the government provide co-financing for business support services?
If there is a co-financing mechanism, is it operational? Operational
If yes Is there a formal structure to the co-financing mechanism?
Are quality control mechanisms in place for co-financing initiatives (e.g. certificates, registration systems, reputational mechanisms)?
This refers to the existence of a quality assurance mechanism for companies receiving
public funds through co-financing. Quality assurance can take many forms including
company registration, certification, and quality assessment through client (SME)
feedback.
Does the government provide information to SMEs regarding the availability of private business support services (e.g. through website or B2B portal)?

Are there any monitoring mechanisms in place for the implementation of the co-financing mechanism?
Is there independent evaluation of the co-financing mechanism? Independent evaluation
Are beneficiaries of co-financing made public?
Are surveys used to collect information on demand for and satisfaction with private business support services?
OPEN QUESTIONS:
Which actions of the strategy have been implemented?
What tools to stimulate private sector BSS are used by the government?
Which targets of the strategy have been achieved?
How many private providers of business support services operate in your country?
What type and percentage of co-financing is offered?
Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: Government initiatives aiming at stimulation of private business support services development
Please provide a self-assessed level for the overall dimension: Support services for SMEs and start-ups
Dimension 5b Public procurement
IMPORTANT

THEMATIC BLOCK 1: POLICY AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Is there an adopted multi-year strategy that defines objectives of support to SMEs in the public procurement system? Please briefly describe
If yes, has the private sector been consulted in the developing the strategy?
If yes, does the strategy include the following issues?

encouraging the division of public contracts into lots
encouraging joint bidding
simplifying/reducing the documentation requirements to participate in a tender
special or focused support to SMEs
Are the foreign companies allowed to participate in public procurement procedures on equal terms with domestic bidders?
Contracting authorities may decide to award a contract in the form of separate lots and
may determine the size and subject-matter of such lots. They may also decide whether
tenders may be submitted for one, for several or for all of the lots. Even where tenders
may be submitted for several or all lots, the contracting authorities may still limit the
Does the public procurement legislation allow contracting authorities to divide public procurement contracts into lots?
number of lots that may be awarded to one tenderer. Sub-division of public purchases
into lots facilitates access by SME's, both quantitatively (the size of the lots may better
correspond to the productive capacity of the SME) and qualitatively (the content of the
lots may correspond more closely to the specialised sector of the SME).
If yes
Does the public procurement legislation require that all contracts above certain financial value are divided into lots?
Are contracting authorities allowed to limit the number of lots that may be awarded to one tenderer?
Is there a law requiring the contracting authority to pay the remuneration to their contractors within certain time limits?
If yes, does the law impose:
Strict deadlines for payments?
Financial penalties or other comparable sanctions in case of non-compliance with these deadlines (late payments)?
Must the requirements for bidders be related and proportionate to the object and the value of procurement?
If specific provisions to this effect exist, do these specific provisions concern:
Turnover requirements?
Technical capacity?
Previous experience? Contracting authorities may impose certain criteria on economic operators as
Level of tender securities (deposits) and guarantees of good performance? requirements for participation, to ensure that the economic operator has necessary
economic and financial capacity, as well as human and technical resources, or
Qualifications of staff? experience to perform the contract to an appropriate quality standard. All such
requirements shall be related and proportionate to the subject-matter of the contract,
Does the public procurement law contains provisions on tender securities required from economic operators? otherwise they may be considered excessive.
If such provisions exist, does the law:
provide for the maximum amount of the tender security?
allow contracting authorities not to demand tender security (tender securities are optional for contracting authorities)?
allow economic operators to freely choose the form of a tender security from among the forms mentioned in the law?
define conditions (and time limits) under which tender securities must be returned or may be retained by the contracting authority?
Does the law allow groups of economic operators (consortia) to participate in public procurement procedures?
if yes, does the law allow the contracting authorities to require that economic operators assume a specific legal form but ONLY in order to sign a contract with the contracting authority?
Subcontracting in this context means entrusting, by the winning bidder, the execution of
a part or parts of the contract to a third party (or parties) - subcontractors
Does the public procurement law include provisions on subcontracting?
If yes, does the law:
allow the winning bidder to decide whether to subcontract a part or parts of the contract to third parties?
allow the winning bidder to freely choose his subcontractors?
provide for no limitations concerning the maximum share of the value of a contract which may be subcontracted?
provide for the possibility of direct payments by the contracting authority to subcontractors?
If public contracts are divided into lots in practice, how bid is the share of the procurement divided into lots?
Centralised in this context means that there is one single place (national gazette,
Is information on public procurement (contract notices, procurement documents) available free of charge? national portal) where this information is available.
if yes, is publication of information on public procurement opportunities centralised?
Do the central procurement institutions offer trainings on public procurement dedicated to SMEs?
Do the central procurement institutions offer support to SMEs in getting information about public procurement?
If yes, does this support have a form of:
telephone "helpdesks"?
providing written opinions (advice) in response to questions submitted by SMEs?
publishing guidance for contracting authorities how to facilitate SMEs participation?
publishing guidance for economic operators, in particular SMEs on how to prepare and submit bids?
In public procurement procedures, use of electronic tools, is, generally, required, for:
E-procurement means to conduct public procurement electronically. This involves,
publishing contract notices online (e-notification), publishing all documents for a call for
tenders online (e-access to tender documents), suppliers submitting offers to public
publication of basic information on tenders, such as contract notices, lists of contractors, information on procurement activities, rules and processes? buyers/contracting authorities electronically (e-submission) etc.
specific information on a given tender (such as tender documentation, downloadable forms or templates)?
communication between contracting authorities and economic operators, other than submission of tenders or requests to participate?
submission of tenders or requests to participate?
Is information collected from companies stored by contracting authorities in a database to be used in future tender procedures?
How big is the share of procurement procedures where economic operators participate in a form of groups of economic operators (consortia)?
Is information about obstacles faced by SMEs in access to public procurement procedures collected and analysed?
Is data periodically collected on the participation in public procurement procedures by SMEs, for example number and value of awarded contracts?
Is data periodically collected on average payment delays?
Is data collected on the share of foreign companies participating in procurement procedures?
Does the law allow economic operators to appeal against decisions of the contracting authorities to the independent, both from contracting authorities and economic
operators, review body?
If yes, does the law
Envisage the time limits for submission of appeals, not shorter, though than 10 days
Enable economic operators to submit appeals without a need to incur excessively high entry fees to have their appeal reviewed
Provide maximum time limits during which a decision of the review body should be adopted
Provide rules enabling the decisions of the review body to be effectively enforced, including also settlement of costs of the review procedure
Is data collected on the share of foreign companies participating in procurement procedures?

OPEN QUESTIONS:
If there is an adopted multi-year strategy that defines objectives of support to SMEs in the public procurement system, does the objective of supporting SMEs in public procurement is included in a broader strategy/policy for public procurement, is defined as a standalone strategy/policy or in a broader strategy/policy for SMEs support?
What specific measures is the government undertaking to encourage participation of SME's in public procurement?
If legislation requires that all tenders above a certain value be divided into lots, please state the value.
Which information on public procurement is available in electronic format?
Which tendering procedures can be performed online?
What measures are being taken to enforce the law on late payments?
What proportion of contract payments is made on time? What is the average delay?
What are the fees for submission of appeals?
Please provide a self assessed level for dimension 5b: Public procurement:
Dimension 6 Access to Finance
IMPORTANT
Thematic Blocks Answers Evidence/Links Country Comments Definitions
Sub-dimension 1: Legal and regulatory framework
THEMATIC BLOCK 1: CREDITOR RIGHTS

Does a legal framework on secured transactions exist?
If yes, does the legal framework on secured transactions contain the following elements:
secured creditors are able to seize their collateral after reorganisation (no automatic stay)
restrictions such as creditor consent must be observed when a borrower files for reorganisation
secured creditors are paid first out of proceeds of liquidation of a bankrupt firm
management does not retain administration of property pending the resolution of an organisation
THEMATIC BLOCK 2: REGISTER

Does a cadastre exist in your country? A cadastre is a comprehensive register of the real estate or real property's metes-
If yes Is the cadastre accessible to the public? and-bounds of a country.
Is the cadastre available online?
Is a registration system for security rights over movable assets in place?
If yes Is the registration system for security rights over movable assets accessible to the public?
Is the registration system for security rights over movable assets available online?
Is ownership of the registered pledges documented?
Is the record of security rights over moveable assets accessible by the public?
Is the record of security rights over moveable assets available online?
Do banks accept moveable collateral?
OPEN QUESTIONS:
What is the geographic coverage of the cadastre?
How often is the cadastre updated?
What is the geographic coverage of the record on security rights over moveable assets?
How often is the record of security rights over moveable assets updated?
THEMATIC BLOCK 3: CREDIT INFORMATION BUREAU

Does a public credit information bureau exist? A credit bureau is an entity that collects information from various sources and
provides consumer credit information on individual consumers for a variety of uses.
Does a private credit information bureau exist?

If yes Do borrowers have the right to access their credit information by law?
OPEN QUESTIONS:
If a private credit information bureau exists:
Which body/institution is responsible for the supervision of the private credit information bureau?
Information on what kind of credits is provided (active/passive)?
THEMATIC BLOCK 4: BANKING REGULATIONS

Have Basel II recommendations been implemented?
Have Basel III recommendations been implemented?
If yes Does the regulation differentiate between different types of credit institutions?
Can lending to SMEs be exempt from certain requirements?
Do special capital requirements exist for foreign exchange lending to unhedged borrowers?
Is there mandatory disclosure of the risks of foreign exchange borrowing?
OPEN QUESTIONS:
Does regulation exist to encourage or facilitate local currency lending? If yes, what type?
THEMATIC BLOCK 5: STOCK MARKET

Does a capital market exist in your country?
If yes Does a legal framework on capital market regulation exist?
Is there a separate section or a separate market for low capitalisation firms?
Sub-dimension 2: Sources of external finance – Bank financing
THEMATIC BLOCK 1: BANKING LENDING PRACTICES AND CONDITONS

see statistics
OPEN QUESTIONS:
Which of the following incentive mechanisms exist in SME lending:
Subsidised funding to banks for on-lending
Interest rate caps
Interest rate subsidies
Other (please specify)
THEMATIC BLOCK 2: CREDIT GUARANTEE SCHEMES

Does a public and/or public-private credit guarantee scheme exist in your country?
If yes Does the private sector participate in the management of the public or private/public credit guarantee schemes?
Do the credit guarantee schemes offer further complementary services?
Do the credit guarantee schemes offer assistance and training programmes for SMEs?
Does an independent monitoring of the credit guarantee schemes take place? Independent monitoring is monitoring performed by a body/institution different from
the one managing public credit guarantee scheme.
OPEN QUESTIONS:
Does the government inform entrepreneurs about the possible sources of external finance for SMEs?
If you have credit guarantee schemes:
What kind of credit guarantee schemes are they? Please provide details of targeted recipients and sources of funding
What does the shareholder and governance structure look like?
How are they supervised?
How are they evaluated?
How often are they monitored?
Who is responsible for the decision to offer a loan under a credit guarantee scheme?
Sub-dimension 3: Sources of external finance – Non-banking financing
THEMATIC BLOCK 1: MICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONS

Is there a legal framework for microfinance in place?
Do microfinance facilities exist in your country? Providers of microfinance for microenterprises ("microfinance facilities") often
operate within the structure of not-for-profit organisations such as non-governmental
organisations (NGOs), credit unions and other financial co-operatives. They provide
different kinds of services including credit, savings, insurance, money transfers and
other financial products.
If yes How are microfinance facilities funded?

Microfinance statistics
THEMATIC BLOCK 2: LEASING

Does legislation on regulating leasing activities exist in the country?
If yes Are clear definitions of lessor and lessee set out, including rights and duties of both parties to a leasing agreement?
Are rules on repossession clearly defined, specifically setting out:
a. how the process is instigated
b. the steps of the process
c. guidance on any required involvement of third parties
Does the legislation ensure clarity on the lessor's right to transfer their rights and duties of a leasing contract, and the associated legal ownership of the leased asset to another party?
Does a central institution (e.g. regulator) oversee all leasing activities within the country?
Leasing statistics
OPEN QUESTIONS:
Is leasing of equipment (rather than vehicles) offered in the country?
THEMATIC BLOCK 3: FACTORING

Is there a legal framework regulating factoring activities? Factoring is a financial transaction and a type of debtor finance in which a business
If yes Is the factoring agreement defined as a contract of its own kind? sells its accounts receivable (i.e., invoices) to a third party (called a factor) at a
discount.
Is a clear definition of the different types of factoring provided?
Does the legal framework allow for simple and clear assignments of present and future accounts receivable?
Is factoring by electronic means legal?
Factoring statistics
Sub-dimension 4: Venture capital ecosystem
THEMATIC BLOCK 1: LEGAL FRAMEWORK

Is there a regulatory framework specifically targeting start-ups or VC activities in place? Venture capital legislation can include regulations and policies that are implemented
by any governmental, quasi-governmental, or regulatory body to create an attractive
playing field and entrepreneurial infrastructure for venture capitalists.
Has the government carried out a review of the regulatory framework to address the needs of the private venture capital funds operating in the country? A review should be a documented process of examining legislation with regard to
the objectives specified. Its outcome should be a written document specifying the
process, outcome and recommendations of the review.
Has there been a review for obsolete regulations that may hinder VC establishment or functioning?
If yes Have obsolete regulations been eliminated?
Are there restrictions for institutional investors (pension funds, insurance companies) to invest in VC funds?
To exit from venture capital/private equity funds, is the stock exchange with clear opportunities for initial public offerings (IPOs) an available option?
THEMATIC BLOCK 2: DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES

Is there a government programme to stimulate venture capital through financial or other incentives? Venture capital programmes are the programmes that aim to fill “funding gaps” that
prevent small businesses, particularly technology-based firms, from obtaining
sufficient capital and from producing public benefits in terms of innovation and job
creation.
Has a review been carried out of the existing venture capital activities in the country?
Does the government provide tax relief on investments in new venture capital corporations?
Does a business angel network exist in your economy? Business angels are individuals who invest in start-ups and growing companies in
return for an equity stake in the company. Investments by business angels work as a
tool used to fill the gap between venture capital and debt finance, especially for
start-ups ((SME Policy Index 2012, OECD).
If yes Is the government promoting business angel networks and activities to potential investors?
Are there financial incentives for business angel activities?
Are public funds used to enlarge the seed capital pool of business angel networks?
Are venture capital funds required to disclose aspects of their operations?
Is protection for minority shareholders provided in legislation?

Are the stimulation measures for venture capital activities provided by the government being regularly monitored?
Are stimulation measures for venture capital activities provided by the government evaluated?
Do such evaluations lead to an adaptation of stimulation measures?
OPEN QUESTIONS:
If there is a government programme to stimulate venture capital through financial or other incentives, what is the budget of such a programme (in Euro)?
Sub-dimension 5: Financial literacy
THEMATIC BLOCK 1: PLANNING, DESIGN and IMPLEMENTATION

Has the government assessed the SME population's level of financial literacy?
Does the government have a communication plan on financial literacy?
Are there any financial literacy trainings organised by the government in place?
If yes Do they provide SMEs with access to information on types of financing available for them?
Do they provide SMEs with access to information on equity financing?
How is information on financial literacy programmes available?
Is financial education included into the secondary school curriculum?
If yes Is it mandatory for all students (general and vocational track)?
Are professional training courses available for teachers delivering financial education in secondary schools?
Are there standards for private providers of financial literacy education?

Are the financial literacy government schemes being regularly monitored?
Are the programmes under the financial literacy government schemes regularly evaluated?
Is data being collected on whether financial literacy programmes are increasing the number of SMEs using equity financing?
OPEN QUESTIONS:
How many entrepreneurs participate in the financial literacy programmes (annually)?
Which programmes under the financial literacy government schemes are the most used?
Are there minimal levels of turnover for requiring specific financial reporting standards?
Please provide a self assessed level for dimension 6: Access to Finance

Dimension 7: Standards and Technical Regulations
IMPORTANT
Sub-dimension 1: Overall co-ordination and general measures
Is there a strategy and/or action plan on adoption and implementation of (EU) legislation on industrial products? EU sectoral legislation - Directives/Regulations regulating a specific product sector, or
Is there an SME designated portal where they can find all relevant information concerning the placement of products on the market and the export of them to the EU Single Market? certain product aspects, such as Low Voltage Directive, or Electromagnetic
Is there a single contact point for exporters to the EU Single Market? Compatibility Directive, or Construction Products Regulation.
Is there a designated government body responsible for the overall policy co-ordination on technical regulations, standardisation, accreditation, conformity assessment, metrology and market surveillance?
OPEN QUESTIONS:
Please describe the system in place in your country that serves as an aid to SMEs interested in exporting their products to the EU Single Market.
Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: Overall co-ordination and general measures
Sub-dimension 2: Harmonisation with the EU Acquis
THEMATIC BLOCK 1: TECHNICAL REGULATIONS

Does the Government have a document (action plan or similar) on transposition of EU sectoral legislation in priority sectors? Technical regulations - set out specific characteristics of a product — such as its size,
Has national legislation been amended to reflect EU sectoral legislation in priority sectors? shape, design, functions and performance, or the way it is labelled or packaged before
Is there a webpage/portal/gateway for SMEs with relevant information about the new technical regulations and how to comply with them? it is put on sale. The compliance with requirements set out in technical regulations is
Have the training needs of the institutions implementing technical regulations been assessed and addressed? mandatory. In certain cases, the way a product is produced can affect these
characteristics, and it may then prove more appropriate to draft technical regulations in
Is there regular evaluation of technical regulations?
terms of a product's process and production methods rather than its characteristics per
If yes, how frequent is this evaluation? se.
THEMATIC BLOCK 2: STANDARDISATION
Is there a standardisation law in line with EU principles for standardisation? Standards - set out characteristics of a product — such as its size, shape, design,
functions and performance, the compliance with which is voluntary.
Is there an organisation for developing standards founded on the principles recognised by the WTO?
The WTO principles are the following: coherence, transparency, openness,
consensus, voluntary application, independence from special interests and efficiency.
If yes Is your standards developing organisation a member of any EU standardisation organisation? European standardisation is organised by and for the stakeholders concerned based on
Is your standards developing organisation a member of any international standardisation organisation? national representation (the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) and the
European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardardisation (CENELEC) and direct
Is the standardisation body adequately staffed and operational?
participation (the European Telecommunication Standards Institute (ETSI)), and is
Has the standardisation body made a needs-assessment for investment and technical expertise required to participate in the European standards system? founded on the principles recognised by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in the
Have European standards (EN) adopted in priority sectors? field of standardisation, namely coherence, transparency, opennes, consensus.
Is there a strategy and/or action plan on education about standardisation?
If yes, does this strategy and/or action plan include aspects related to SME specific issues as well?
Is the standardisation law regularly evaluated?
If yes, how frequent is this evaluation?
THEMATIC BLOCK 3: ACCREDITATION
Is there legislation on accreditation in line with the EU acquis in place? Accreditation - is designed to ensure and attest that conformity assessment bodies
Does an accreditation body exist? (e.g. laboratories, inspection or certification bodies) have the technical capacity to
If yes Has the accreditation body applied for membership in European Co-operation for Accreditation (EA)? perform their duties adequately. It is used in both the regulated sector to meet the
requirements of certain legislation and in the voluntary area where there is no specific
Has the accreditation body applied for EA Multilateral Agreement (EA-MLA) signature status?
legislation. Accreditation aims to increase trust in conformity attestation and thus
Has the accreditation body been positively assessed by EA or by peer organisations? reinforces the mutual recognition of products, processes, services, systems, persons
Does the accreditation body have a yearly or biannual activity plan? and bodies across the EU. It is based on a peer evaluation system that ensures the
Does a register of accredited bodies exist? proper functioning of accreditation across the EU. In the EU it is the last level of public
Is the accreditation body adequately staffed and operational? control in the European conformity assessment system.
Is the accreditation legislation being evaluated at regular intervals?
Is there a body designated for monitoring and evaluation of accreditation and responsible for proposing measures for improvement?
THEMATIC BLOCK 4: CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT
Is there legislation on conformity assessment in line with the EU acquis in place? Conformity assessment procedures demonstrate that a product, before it is placed on
If yes Are there conformity assessment bodies in priority sectors in accordance with EU requirements? the market, conforms to the essential legislative requirements that apply to it. The
Are the conformity assessment bodies positively assessed by the national accreditation body? purpose of conformity assessment procedures is to ensure confidence on all sides as
regards the conformity of products to the relevant essential requirements. As a general
Does a register of conformity assessment bodies exist?
rule a product should be covered by conformity assessment during both the design and
Is there an SME designated webpage/portal/gateway providing information on conformity assessment bodies? production phase. Conformity assessment must not be confused with market
Are there any measures in place which facilitate SMEs access to conformity assessment (e.g. certification of products)? surveillance, which consists of controls after the product has been placed on the
Is there legislation on conformity assessment evaluated at regular intervals? market. However both techniques are complementary and equally necessary to ensure
If yes, how frequent is this evaluation? the smooth functioning of the market. Designated CABs (Conformity Assessment
Bodies) - are bodies providing services for conformity assessment under the conditions
set out in the legislation.
Is there a body designated for monitoring and evaluation of conformity assessment and responsible for proposing measures for improvement?
THEMATIC BLOCK 5: METROLOGY

Is there legislation on metrology in line with the EU acquis in place? Metrology - the scientific study of measurement. Legal Metrology is the entirety of the
Is there a strategy on metrology? technical and administrative procedures established in law by the public authorities in
Is there a body responsible for metrology? order to guarantee the quality of measurements made in the course of commercial
If yes Is the metrology body adequately staffed and operational? transactions and official controls, and in relation to health care, safety, etc.
Is the metrology body recognised by relevant international/European organisations?
Are there joint activities with other metrology bodies from the region?
Is the legislation on metrology being evaluated at regular intervals?
Is there a body designated for monitoring and evaluation of metrology and responsible for proposing measures for improvement?
THEMATIC BLOCK 6: MARKET SURVEILLANCE

Is there legislation on market surveillance in line with the EU acquis in place? Market surveillance - The objective of market surveillance is to ensure that products
Is there a strategy and/or action plan on market surveillance? placed on the market do not endanger health, safety or any other aspects of the
Is there a co-ordination of market surveillance activities? protection of public interests. In practice, market surveillance includes any necessary
action (e.g. bans, withdrawals, recalls) to stop the circulation of products that do not
Are all the procedures for effective and efficient market surveillance in place? comply with all the requirements set out in the relevant EU harmonisation legislation, to
bring the products into compliance and to apply sanctions.
Is the legislation on market surveillance being evaluated in regular intervals?

OPEN QUESTIONS:
Technical Regulations: What are your country's priority sectors?

Accreditation: For which fields has accreditation been provided?
Conformity Assessment: How many conformity assessment bodies exist in the country and where?
Standardisation: What are the staff numbers of the standardisation body. What is the annual budget of this body and what is the percentage of public financial contribution to the budget?
Market Surveillance: Please describe procedures of the market surveillance authorities that are in place.
Please describe the measures to facilitate SMEs access to certify their products - if any.
Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: Harmonisation with the EU Acquis
Sub-dimension 3: SMEs Access to Standardisation
THEMATIC BLOCK 1: AWARENESS RAISING AND INFORMATION

Is there a webpage (or other online tools) in local language where SMEs could find information on standards applicable to products and processes in various sectors?
If yes Does this webpage provide the opportunity to search for European and international standards in the local language as well? National standardisation bodies are recommended to use trade associations as their
main communication channel to increase SME awareness of standards.
Do forums exist for regular dialogue between national standards organisations (NSO) and business associations representing SMEs allowing for provision of up-to-date information?
Do standardisation bodies and business assocations have any measures in place to increase SMEs awareness of standards?
If yes Do business associations provide regular information (e.g. newsletters) about standards and standardisation activities to their members?
Are any promotional campaigns on standards (e.g. sectoral roadshows) organised by standards organisations and/or business organisations?
Do any practical guides exist on the benefits of using standards and standardisation activities to their members?
Are any successful case studies on standardisation and its benefits collected and made available to public?
Are there any training events (seminars or workshops) on the implementation of standards organised by standards organisations and/or business associations?
OPEN QUESTIONS:
If any, how many awareness raising and training events have been organised by standards organisations and/or business associations between 2010-17?
How many SMEs have annually benefitted from different awareness raising and training events between 2010-17?
THEMATIC BLOCK 2: SMEs PARTICIPATION IN DEVELOPING STANDARDS

Do national standards organisations have specific committee or working groups that are dedicated to considering the needs and concerns of SMEs?
Are there measures in place to enhance the participation of SMEs in development of standards?
Is there a mechanism in place which allows SMEs to offer feedback on standards?
Is the involvement of SMEs in standardisation regularly monitored and evaluated?
OPEN QUESTIONS:
If specific committee and working groups exist, please provide more information on them - e.g. How often do they meet.
Are there any evidence that the feedback and views of SMEs are taken into account while developing and revising standards? (e.g. Records of public consultations)
Please provide more information on the mechanisms in place that increase SMEs participation in developing standards
THEMATIC BLOCK 3: FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO SMEs
Are there any financial measures (e.g. subsidies) in place which reduce the cost of acquiring standards for SMEs? Business models of standardisation bodies differ, but many countries provide SMEs
with standards at low cost. As an example, some standardisation bodies have varying
membership fees based on company size - favouring SMEs.
Are there any financial measures in place which reduce the cost of SMEs participation in standardisation?
For instance, travel costs of SME participants are funded by standardisation bodies so
If yes Do standards organisations and/or business associations provide financial support to SMEs for attendance in technical meetings and seminars? that they can participate in meetings.
Do the government offer any tax credits related to standardisation?
Are there any financial measures in place which reduce the cost of implementation of standards? Some countries provide support for the implementation of management system
standards in the form of government subsidies for consultancy services etc.
Are the financial measures related to standards provided for SMEs regularly monitored and evaluated?
OPEN QUESTIONS:
How many SMEs have annually benefitted from various financial support schemes between 2010-17?
How much annual support has been provided to SMEs between 2010-17?
Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: SMEs Access to Standardisation
Please provide a self-assessed level for the overall dimension: Standards and Technical Regulations
Dimension 8a: SMEs Skills
IMPORTANT
Sub-dimension 1: SME skills

Skills intelligence: is there a national framework for the collection and analysis of SME skills intelligence? Skills intelligence comprises data and information (e.g. statistics, qualitative information) on skills demand and supply. Skills intelligence, in the context of SME
development focuses on skill gaps, skills shortages and future skills requirements of SMEs. It may also include impact of skills investment on graduates, employees
and/or on the business performance. This intelligence may be SME-specific, sector focused or addressing specific regions. Skills intelligence is important for SMEs
support institutions and training providers to define training needs and to support training design. It is also important for policy makers to define priorities and financial
commitment. Skills intelligence covers managerial, vocational or regulatory training (e.g. training to address compliance requirements of a specific sector) as well as
wider competences e.g. digital, teamwork. Intelligence may be drawn from a range of research instruments, including SME surveys (e.g. employers surveys that include
or focus on SMEs), forecasts or foresights, tracer studies, training needs' assessments etc). Training programme evaluations, data on training provider organisations,
good practices and SME self-assessment tools may also provide valuable information on access, relevance and outcomes of skills development programmes. Given the
range of stakeholders involved in SME development and in the creation of skills intelligence (eg. SME agencies, investment agencies, employment offices, training
providers, sector organisations, universities, regional development agencies) relevant sources will be wide and varied. Capturing the most critical information form across
the range of stakeholders is important and requires a coordinating framework to ensure a comprehensive picture of skills demand and supply and the way they match the
SME community.
If yes Is evidence on SME skills intelligence gender sensitive? Gender sensitivity refers to the aim of understanding and taking account of the societal and cultural factors involved in gender-based exclusion and discrimination in the
most diverse spheres of public and private life. It focuses mainly on instances of structural disadvantage in the positions and roles of women.
Skills analysis: has an analysis of SME skills intelligence been undertaken in the last two years?
Policy: is the national skills intelligence used to support priorities of the Economic Reform Programme? Each year all pre-accession countries submit an annual economic reform programme (ERP) to the European Commission. The ERP includes plans to boost economic
growth, competitiveness and sectoral reforms. The report represents the country’s policy position and plans to improve in a range of areas including business
environment, skills and employment. Skills intelligence is an important feature of each ERP within the wider drive to improve SME performance, competitiveness and
employment.
Does the national skills intelligence include:

Training needs analysis? Training Needs Analysis: training is more effective when it specifically reflects the needs of SMEs. This is particularly important given that budgets and time allocation
for training within SMEs is often limited. Training needs analysis ensures training is targeted to meet the specific interests of the SMEs and its staff. It is increasingly
important given evolving technologies and changing markets. Training needs may be managerial, vocational or regulatory as well as competences (e.g. digital).
Skills anticipation? Skills anticipation: actions taken to identify future skills requirements of any SMEs, sectors, as well as skills requirements at local, regional or national levels. Click here for more information.
Programme design: Is SME skills intelligence used for the development of new training programmes? Training: refers to any form of human capital development with the objective to improve the capacity of management and staff of SMEs. This can include school-based
vocational training, on-the-job training provided by SMEs, self-learning, MOOCs, businesses-learning-from-businesses, know-how transfer, coaching and mentoring.
If yes Are good practices in training for SME's used to help designing new training programmes? Good practice provides an importance reference to policymakers as at what type of training works well and at what cost. It also acts as a useful reference for other
training providers encouraging improvement and innovation to existing training practice. Criteria for good practices can vary.
By way of example, ETF has 5 criteria to define good practice: more info on ETF good practice platform
Policy-making: is SME skills intelligence used to inform policymaking at national level? Policy-making refers to any activity involving public administration, private sector and other interest groups (e.g. women entrepreneurs) that results in a decision or
action to move forward in a particular area of public interest and led by a public institution. For example, skills intelligence can help a) shape curriculum in vocational
training, b) focus resources for self-employment training to specific groups or localities, c) define a training plan for SME clusters, d) support retraining programmes for
support enterprise restructuring, e) with policy discussions on start-up training for refugees or migrants.
If yes Are good practices in training for SME's used to improve policy?
"Smart specilisation": Is the country working towards adopting the "smart specialisation" approach? Smart specialisation is an innovative approach that aims to boost growth and jobs by enabling each regions to identify and develop their own competitive advantages.
Through partnership between different actors (businesses, universities, vocational schools, regional authorities, civic interets groups) an engaged multi-stakeholder
collective works towards for the implementation of long-term growth strategies.
Link to more information
Good practices:Slovenia
Lithuania
If yes Is the process owned by the regional authorities?
Is the process recognised by the national authorities?
OPEN QUESTIONS:
Which organisations contribute to national skills intelligence? Examples of organisations that contribute to the skills intelligence are: government/public institutions, training community, business support organisations, private
sector, civic interest groups, donors.
Who coordinates the national skills intelligence? Examples of organisations that coordinate national skills intelligence are: employment authorities, training community, government body responsible for SME
development, inter-ministerial body, business support organisation, public-private partnership. These organisation may engage other organisations (e.g. universities,
research organisations, consultants) with expertise to support intelligence gathering and analysis.
Who is developing training programmes for SME's? Examples of training providers are: VET schools and training centres, universities, sector training initiatives, regional/local economic development agencies
Provide examples of policies that are address SME skills intelligence. Examples of policy areas that are addressing SME skills intelligence: education and training policies, employment policies, private sector development policies,
regional development policy, active labour market programmes, migration policies
Are good practices on training for SME's identified on the basis of pre-defined criteria?
Are good practices on training for SME's available on-line? Please, provide the hyperlink(s).
Information platform: is there a web-platform(s) available to support SMEs in identifying training programmes? A web-based platform is a website providing information on training programmes (SME agency website) and possibly with hyperlinks to other websites with information
on more specific training (regional development agencies). Ideally, these information areas should allow for SMEs provide feedback on training provided.
If yes, Can SMEs provide feedback on the web-platform(s) on training acquired?

Economic Reform Programme: does training for specific sectors feature in the Economic Reform Programme? Economic Reform Programmes may refer to broad sector (e.g. industry, services) or specific sectors (e.g. tourism, agriculture, transport). This question focuses on if
and to what extent training is highlighted as an issue at broad-sector or specific sector level. LINK TO ERP's?
Green skills: does national policy recognise the importance of training for a green economy? Green skills refers to any type of training which helps an SME make better use of energy resources, encourages recycling or prompts business ideas and development
which have a positive effect on the environment.
Does the government provide financial support for the following:
Training for SMEs to improve resource efficiency?
Training on how SMEs can contribute to the circular economy? Circular economy: in contrast to the linear economy, where SME make products and the consumer uses them and then deposes them, in a circular economy goods are
designed and produced so that they can be repaired rather than replaced. The objective is to reduce waste, emission and energy.
For more information
Start-ups: does the government provides financial support for start-up training? Start-up training covers all types of training programmes which support individuals from determining if a business is a career option (pre-start), to new venture creation
(start-up) through to restarting a business following failure. (LINK POLICY BRIEF)
If yes, are the following areas covered?
Pre start-up/self-employment training Pre-start up: those who do not yet have a well developed business idea but are thinking about setting up a business
Youth start-ups (<30 years)
Silver entrepreneurs (50 years+)
Women start-ups
Technology start-ups
Re-starts Re-starts: those who had a business but it failed and they are starting again
SME growth: does the government provide financial support or other incentives for training for SMEs with growth potential?
SMEs with growth potential are more likely to generate jobs and revenue for the national exchequer. They also tend to be more innovative and more international.
There is no definition of an SME with growth potential. However, in the SBA respondents should highlight if financial support or incentives are available for training for
businesses that have the intention to grow their business for example in terms of turnover or by hiring more staff (exclusive of start-ups). Incentives may include :
subsidies or tax concessions for the purpose of training in SMEs, measures to encourage collaboration between SMEs on training through e.g. pooling resources and
networking
SME internationalisation: does the government provide financial support or other incentives for training for SMEs trading, or with potential to trade with the EU For the pre-accession region trading with the EU Single Market is an objective specifically tied to future EU integration. Support to SMEs, in particular in terms of
Single Market? financing or incentives provides an opportunity for SMEs to trade with the EU. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/access-to-markets/internationalisation_en Details on
training programmes for SMEs that are addressing topics related to trading with the EU single market (e.g. export plans for European Market, European entrepreneurial
culture, EU market standards, ...).
See ETF good practice example from Lithuania

Family businesses: does the government provide financial support for training for family businesses?
Put simply, a family business is one where a number of members of the same family are involved as major owners or managers of the business. Family businesses
account for over 60% of all companies in Europe and therefore play an important role in the EU economy.
For more information
Does the government collect statistics on participation of SMEs in training?
If yes Are the statistics on training participation disaggregated by gender?
Investment readiness: does the government provide financial support for training of SME support institutions to improve investment readiness? Investment readiness refers to a SME’s attractiveness and potential to engage financial support to meet business development needs. SME support institutions have
an important role in supporting SMEs to meet investment readiness criteria e.g. management capacity, business plan, market opportunity. This question addresses the
capacity of SME support institutions (not SMEs) to help firms in meeting the criteria for investment.
Supply chains: does the government provide financial support for training for SMEs to participate in global supply chains? Put simply, supply chain refers to a process of how a product is designed, manufactured and delivered to a customer through the cumulative effort of multiple
businesses and support organisations (e.g. information, advisory, R&D). Global supply chains involve a complex web of logistics and management operations within an
SME as well as between SMEs across difference countries requiring coordination across all aspects of business (e.g. marketing, sales, product design, finance,
technology) and where training is important for SMEs to effectively contribute to the supply chain.
Digital economy: does national policy recognise the role of SMEs in an evolving digital economy? Digital economy: today’s economy comprises countless on-line connections redefining how SMEs work, how they interact and particularly how they reach customers.
Digital skills are therefore critical to SMEs in enhancing performance but will be more critical
If yes, are the following available:
Training to support digital skills within SMEs? Examples of digital skills include: digital marketing, use of social media, big data analytics, app development
Training to support SMEs to operate within the EU Digital Single Market? For more information on the EU Digital Single Market
Online training for SMEs. On-line or e-training provision happens through for example MOOCs, webinars, on-line checklists, forums, …
OPEN QUESTIONS:
Based on the feedback intelligence gathered from SMEs on their training experience, what are the three most common issues?
If you gather gender-disaggregated statistics on training followed by SMEs, please provide examples.
Which sectors are prioritised for skills support in the Economic Reform Programme?
Monitoring: Does government-financed training for SMEs include a requirement that the training programmes should be monitored? Monitoring refers to how progress is tracked during a training programme and involves periodic reviews of the training against planning, budget and other resources. A
trainer can monitor his/her programme during its implementation by seeking feedback from trainees at various points in the training cycle.
Evaluation: Does the government evaluate effectiveness of SME training programmes? Evaluation involves analysis of a training programme to determine its effectiveness. More developed and lengthy training programmes may include interim evaluations
(e.g. half way through the training programme). However, end-of-cycle evaluations are important for all training, no matter how short or long, to ensure that the objectives
have been met and to allow for improvements in subsequent training. Evaluations of training are undertaken independent of the trainers who designed and delivered the
training and the organisation which financed the training (e.g. SME, donor organisation, national agency).
If yes, does the evaluation demonstrate the impact of training on the SME performance? Impact of training can be on: company turnover, new markets, improved products or services or new jobs created. Many factors impact on a company’s performance
and it can be difficult to isolate training as a factor amongst other variables affecting performance of a SME. Please note that both monitoring and evaluation are
different from assessment. Assessment involves a trainer determining progress of a trainee or group of trainees following a specific training programme.
Meeting demand: do SME training developments reflect analysis and recommendations of SME skills intelligence?
OPEN QUESTIONS:
What type of monitoring of government-financed training for SMEs is undertaken and how often?
Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: SME skills

Dimension 8b Innovation
IMPORTANT
Sub-dimension 1: Policy framework for innovation
THEMATIC BLOCK 1: STRATEGIC APPROACH

Is there an innovation strategy in place that is valid during the SBA assessment phase?
A firm can make many types of changes in its methods of work, its use of factors of
production and the types of output that improve its productivity and/or commercial
performance. The OSLO Manual defines four types of innovations that encompass a
wide range of changes in firms’ activities: product innovations, process innovations,
organisational innovations and marketing innovations.
If innovation policy is only included in another government strategy, in which of the following:
SME Strategy
Research & Development Strategy
Other (please specify)
Within the strategy (or innovation policy) is there a particular section or focus on SME innovation?
Does the scope of the strategy include the following areas:
Technological Innovation
Non-technological innovation
Has a wide range of private sector stakeholders been consulted prior to setting up the strategy? Formal consultation
Has effective input been provided by the private sector (incl. SMEs) and if so, have their inputs been taken into consideration while preparing the strategy?
Does the strategy include the following elements:

Measurable targets
Action plan
Clearly defined responsibilities for the measures under action plan
Monitoring and evaluation of the strategy and action plan
Have national key performance indicators to monitor the performance of the SME innovation policies been set up? National performance indicators are indicators selected and approved by national
Does a regular monitoring of innovation indicators take place? authorities in charge of SME strategy implementation and/or monitoring.
Have any adjustments been made based on the results of the monitoring?
Is there independent evaluation or review of the SME innovation strategy? Independent evaluation
THEMATIC BLOCK 2: CO-ORDINATION OF INNOVATION POLICY

Does the government have a formal or informal mechanism for innovation policy co-ordination?
Does an inter-governmental body for innovation policy co-ordination exist that is responsible for coordination among the institutions?
Are the private stakeholders, including SMEs, represented in the innovation policy co-ordination body?
THEMATIC BLOCK 3: IMPLEMENTATION OF INNOVATION POLICY
Has budget been mobilised for the implementation of the action plan (or planned activities if there is no separate innovation action plan)?
Budget mobilisation
Is there a specific allocation of funding for the promotion of SME innovation?
Is there an operational innovation agency or equivalent? Operational

Is the private sector represented in the governance board of the agency or equivalent ?
Has market research and analysis been carried out to determine which instruments/mechanisms should be introduced?
Are the agency's operations (or an implementation body -if there is no agency) regularly monitored and evaluated?
Are impact assessments for innovation policies and/or agency operations conducted?
OPEN QUESTIONS:
What is the timeframe of your innovation strategy (or innovation-related elements of in other strategies)?
How many actions have been implemented in line with the timeline since the inception of strategy?
How many of the strategy targets have been reached since the inception of strategy? (If the strategy is very recently adopted, please report on the previous strategy)
If a significant number of actions have not been implemented and targets not reached, is this due to budgetary restrictions or other reasons? Please explain.
Operational separation implies that the innovation policy is designed and implemented
Is there an operational separation between SME innovation policy design and implementation? by separate public authorities.
Please provide more information on the co-ordination body e.g. Which institutions are represented (SME Agency, Ministry of Economy)? How does it function? How often do they organise meetings?
How influential is the co-ordination body on actual policy decisions in line ministries?
If an innovation agency or an implementation body exists, please provide more information on its governance and financing arrangements.
Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: Policy framework for innovation
Sub-dimension 2: Government institutional support-services for innovative SMEs
THEMATIC BLOCK 1: INCUBATORS AND ACCELERATORS

Do incubators and accelerators exist in the country?
Is there a public financial support/grant scheme in place to support incubators and accelarators?
Do the incubators and accelerators have a wide regional coverage?
Beyond office space, do the incubators and accelerators offer access to specialised equipment?
Are services (such as training, consulting) offered by these incubators and accelerators?
Are the activities of public incubators and accelerators and/or public financial support measures for them regularly monitored and evaluated?
Are any impact assessments for public incubators and accelerators and/or public financial support for them conducted?
THEMATIC BLOCK 2: TECHNOLOGY EXTENSION SERVICES FOR ESTABLISHED SMEs
Beyond incubators, which cater to the needs of start-ups, support is needed for more
Do any technology extension services (technology centers or any specialised support programs) exist for established SMEs? mature SME's in need of technology absorption and upgrading. Technology extension
services are defined as assistance provided directly to enterprises to foster
technological modernisation and improvement, with a focus on established SMEs.
Is there a public financial support/grant scheme to support technology extension services?
Do the technology extension services have a wide regional coverage?
Are there any subsidies/financial support provided to SMEs that want to benefit from technology extension services?
Are the public technology extension services and/or public support to them regularly monitored and evaluated?
Are any impact assessment for public technology extension services and/or public financial support for them conducted?
OPEN QUESTIONS:
How many incubators and accelerators exist in the country, and where? How many of them are outside the capital?
How many of the incubators and accelerators are owned by the public, private sector or civil society?
What is the amount of financial support provided to incubators and accelerators?
What kind of technology extension services exist in the country, and where?
Are these technology extension services offered by the public, private or civil society actors?
What is the amount of financial support provided to technology extension services?
How is information available on incubators, accelerators and technology extension services?
Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: Government institutional support-services for innovative SMEs
Sub-dimension 3: Government financial support-services for innovative SMEs
THEMATIC BLOCK 1: DIRECT FINANCIAL SUPPORT
Are financial support services for innovative SMEs emphasized in the national innovation strategy or defined by relevant laws?
Does the government have financial support schemes or grants for innovative projects of SMEs and is their budget been mobilised?
Do the selection criteria for financial support/public grants contain the following elements:
quality of the project (innovative content)
potential impact (commercialisation of the innovation)
quality of the project team (capacity to implement)
size of the company
Is there a competitive selection process for this financial support/public grants?
Does this financial support/public grants require a co-financing (matching) component?
Is special funding provided for women and/or young entrepreneurs?
Is information on financial support made publicly available for SMEs - are there any special promotional campaigns?
Does the government provide tailored services to link SMEs with various sources of financing?
Are the financial support measures regularly monitored?
Does an independent evaluation of the innovation financial support policy tools take place?
THEMATIC BLOCK 2: INDIRECT FINANCIAL SUPPORT (FISCAL SUPPORT and DEMAND SIDE POLICIES)
Does the government have fiscal measures such as R&D tax incentives and/or VAT exemptions to foster innovation activities?
If yes, do these measures favour SMEs?
Governments have long fostered innovation in firms by focusing on
supply-side factors such as the formation of human capital and public
investment in R&D, while the role of demand and markets in inducing
innovation was taken as a given.Some forms of demand-side policy instruments
include innovation-friendly public procurement, regulations and standards as well as
consumer-oriented schemes.
Are there any demand-side innovation policies in place (such as public procurement of innovation)?
Are the fiscal measures regularly monitored and evaluated?
Does an independent impact assessment of the fiscal support measures take place?
OPEN QUESTIONS:
How are the projects selected under the direct financial support?
What is the amount of direct financial support provided to SMEs to promote innovation?
If R&D tax incentives exist, has there been any significant uptake of them by SMEs?
Are the fiscal support measures restricted to any particular group of firms (by region, sector etc.)?
How are the eligibility criteria defined for tax exemptions?
If VAT exemptions exist, can you provide more information on their coverage?
Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: Government financial support-services for innovative SMEs
Sub-dimension 4: SME and research institution collaboration and technology transfer
THEMATIC BLOCK 1: INNOVATION VOUCHER SCHEMES AND CO-OPERATIVE GRANTS
Innovation voucher schemes generally have a focus on product (good or service) and
process development and have been introduced to foster collaboration between SMEs
and knowledge institutions. SMEs that have innovative ideas often lack the in-house
expertise to successfully convert these ideas into new products. Innovation vouchers
allow SME’s to engage consultants who can directly transfer technology and
knowledge, innovation support, and training management. Low administrative and
Are there any innovation voucher schemes offered by public institutions for SMEs? financial costs are associated with such a measure.
Competitive grants are significantly different from innovation vouchers in a way best
summarized as the difference between “spreading pollen” and “making honey”. While
vouchers aim at providing small subsidies to many small companies in a non-
competitive selection process (spread pollen), grants are more focused on selecting the
best proposals and allocating significant resources to these projects (making honey)
(PRO INNO EUROPE, 2009).
Are there any competitive co-operative grants offered by public institutions for SMEs?
Are innovation voucher schemes and co-operative grants regularly monitored and evaluated?
Are any impact assessment for innovation voucher schemes and co-operative grants conducted?
THEMATIC BLOCK 2: INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE FOR INDUSTRY-ACADEMIA CO-OPERATION
Does the government provide any of the following types of institutional support to link universities or research centers with innovative SMEs in place?
Science and Technology Parks

Technology Institutes
Technology Transfer Offices
Competence Centers
Do the institutions for industry-academia co-operation have a wide regional coverage?
Does the government offer any kind of cluster-specific support aiming to foster the industry-academia co-operation?
Are the existing institutional support for industry-academia co-operation between SMEs, research institutes and universities regularly monitored and evaluated?
Are any impact assessment for institutional support for industry-academia co-operation conducted?
Dimension 9 SMEs in a green economy
IMPORTANT
Sub-dimension 1: Framework for environmental policies targeting SMEs

Are environmental policies for SMEs included in any of the government strategies (e.g. SME strategy or environmental strategy)? Environmental policies for SMEs could for instance be the promotion of eco-efficient
processes and products/services, and also activities geared towards promoting eco-
innovation.
Are the strategy elements regarding environmental policies for SMEs associated with:
an action plan
measurable targets
timeframe
expected impact
Are there sector specific environmental strategies/action plans/measures targeting SMEs?
Eco-efficiency is based on the withstanding principles of the use of high efficiency
Does the strategy promote:
production technology and methods, the use of less natural resources and energy for the
same amount of production and the production of less waste. With this property, eco-
eco-efficient products, services and processes? efficiency does not just address environmental concerns, instead it also addresses
“preservation of natural resources”, “industrial efficiency” and “economic development”.
Eco-innovation can be generally defined as innovation that results in a reduction of

eco-innovation?
environmental impact, no matter whether or not that effect is intended.
Is there a government body responsible for providing environmental advice and guidance for SMEs?
If yes Does the government body in charge of providing env. guidance provide additional measures (e.g. outreach or training programmes)?
Was the private sector consulted in developing environmental policies for SMEs? Formal consultation
Are there any bodies/authorities advocating the interests of SMEs in the preparation of environmental legislation targeting SMEs?
Do the private sector representatives (business associations, chambers of commerce, etc.) have their own SME greening policies?

Has a budget been mobilised for the action plan? Budget mobilisation
SMEs going green comprise different activities the SMEs can undertake or go for: eco-
Is there a specific allocation of funding for the promotion of SMEs going green? efficient products, eco-innovation, more energy efficient or less material intensive
production, etc.
Are there any operational sector-specific environmental policies targeting SMEs?
Is the government body responsible for providing environmental guidance for SMEs fully operational? Operational
Is the government co-ordinating with business associations and local councils for the delivery of environmental guidance to SMEs?

Are environmental policies targeted towards SMEs being regularly monitored?
Has the impact assessment of the environmental policies targeted towards SMEs been undertaken?
Is there an annual report on performance?
Effectiveness of the environmental guidance refers to how effectively government
Does the government body in charge of providing env. guidance monitor its effectiveness? bodies are reaching SMEs as well as if SMEs are receiving the appropriate guidance on
how to adopt environmental practices.
OPEN QUESTIONS:
In which government strategies is environmental greening for SMEs mentioned?
What are the environmental targets of the SME strategy (if any)?
Which actions of the strategy have been implemented?
What targets of the strategy have been achieved?
How much is the budget dedicated to environmental strategies/measures targeting SMEs?
If there are any sector specific environmental policies targeting SMEs, please specify them.
Which government body/agency is responsible for greening policy for SMEs?
Which private sector or local organisations is the government co-ordinating with and in what way?
Which business associations (or other channels, such as research institutes, consultants) have been active in providing support to SMEs for greening?
Have there been any analysis of costs and benefits of greening SMEs?
Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: Framework for environmental policies targeting SMEs
Sub-dimension 2: Incentives and instruments

Regulatory instruments include simplified permitting procedures and rules, inspections
frequency for low-risk facilities, as well as technology standards (e.g. best-available
Does the government provide regulatory instruments for the greening of SMEs? technology, BAT or BATNEEC) and performance standards (limits on air emissions,
water effluents or noise levels, requirements for material recycling and solid waste
management regulations, energy efficiency or fuel economy standards, etc).
Is the environmental permitting differentiated based on the level of environmental risk?
Financial incentives include tax incentives, reduced interest rates for loans used for
Does the government provide financial incentives for the greening of SMEs? environmental investments or grants.
Incentive-based (market-based) government instruments cover taxes for
Are SMEs subject to other types of incentive-based government instruments? (e.g. environmental taxes and charges, etc…) environmental externalities or resource extraction, charges or fees for provision of
environmental services, tradable emission permits or transferable resource use quotas,
tradable renewable energy certificates, etc.
Green public procurement policies refer to a direct supply chain pressure imposed by
Are there green public procurement policies? the government, i.e. using its purchasing power to choose environmentally friendly goods,
services and works.
Has the private sector been consulted in the development of regulatory instruments? Formal consultation
Has the private sector been consulted in the development of the financial incentives?
Has the private sector been consulted in the development of the green public procurement policies?

Do national or local government authorities implement any programmes to raise SMEs' awareness and secure their initial engagement in green practices?
Is there evidence of SMEs benefiting from financial incentives for green practices?
This involves the replacing of customised permits with rules ("technical regulations")
Are sectoral approaches used in environmental permitting and compliance assurance activities? specific to a particular sector (e.g. manufacturing, agriculture, mining etc.) in the case of
SMEs, for the purposes of regulatory simplification.
Environmental management systems include EMAS, ISO 14001 and local systems.
Do national or local government authorities promote the use of environmental management systems among SMEs? Government may promote these through certain privileges in the permitting process or
reduced inspection frequency.
This could include web-based guidance tools as well as through industry magazines,
Do government authorities offer SMEs guidance on how to comply with environmental regulations and implement green practices? newsletters, business or community events, workshops and training seminars .
Do environmental authorities collaborate with business associations in developing sectoral green certification programmes?
Do environmental authorities collaborate with business associations to adapt environmental management systems to SME needs?
Are there "awards" or other forms of recognition of performance for green SMEs?

Is there regular monitoring of regulatory instruments?
Is there regular monitoring of financial incentives?
Is there independent review of regulatory instruments and financial incentives? Independent review
Does the government use any mechanism to receive feedback from SMEs on incentives?
OPEN QUESTIONS:
What regulatory instruments are used?
What financial incentives are offered?
What other types of incentive-based government instruments are SMEs subject to (if any)?
If the feedback from SMEs on financial incentives is collected, what type of incentives appear most effective?
If there is evidence of SMEs benefiting from financial incentives for green practices, please specify. How many SMEs benefited from the incentives?
Are there any funds involved into providing financial means that would facilitate SME transition to green economy? Which ones? Are they managed by the government?
If the government promotes the use of environmental management system (EMS) among SMEs, how many SMEs used EMS?
If there are any forms of recognition of green SMEs'performance (e.g. awards), please specify them.
If there are any programmes/measures that aim at raising awareness of more resource efficient and cleaner technologies, please specify them.
Which business associations/local authorities is the government collaborating with when developing sectoral green certification programmes/adapting EMS to SME needs?
Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: Incentives and instruments
Please provide a self-assessed level for the overall dimension: SMEs in a green economy
Dimension 10 Internationalisation of SMEs
IMPORTANT
Sub-dimension 1: Export promotion

Are there government export promotion programmes targeting SMEs?
These can be a part of a general government export promotion strategy/programme.
If yes Are the export promotion programmes linked to the SME strategy or to an equivalent document?
Has the private sector been consulted in developing the export promotion programmes? Formal consultation
Is there an export promotion agency or equivalent body (e.g. government department) in place?

If there is a government-coordinated export promotion programme targeting SMEs, is it operational? Operational
Has a budget been mobilised for the export promotion programmes? Budget mobilisation
Do the export promotion programmes provide a range of activities to SMEs including
trade policy information and commercial intelligence
country representation at major trade fairs
export promotion and marketing
product development and training
other services
Can SMEs benefit from financial support for export promotion activities? This can include financial support for obtaining product certificates, publishing
promotional materials and participation in trade fairs, as well as export credit and export
insurance.
If yes Is there a formal structure to the financial support mechanism for export promotion? This entails clear guidelines on how to qualify for financial support, as well as a clear
selection process if only some firms are selected to receive it.
If there is an export promotion agency (or equivalent), is it operational? Operational
If yes Is the export promotion agency (or equivalent) implementing its targets according to the relevant action plan or mandate?
Does the export promotion agency (or equivalent) have operational autonomy? Operational autonomy
Does the export promotion agency organise SME promotion events? These include trade fairs and national SME conferences (policy dialogue between SME
associations, regional agencies, NGOs).
Are there specific programs targeting SMEs?

Is there a monitoring mechanism in place for the export promotion programmes?
Is there a monitoring mechanism in place for the provision of financial support for export promotion?
Is there a monitoring mechanism in place for the export promotion agency or equivalent?
Is there independent review of the export promotion programmes? Independent review
Does the government (or statistics authority) collect data on the internationalisation of SMEs (i.e. exports, imports)?
Does the export promotion agency (or equivalent) publish a publicly available annual report?
Are the beneficiaries of financial support made public?
Are SME promotion events monitored? (To ensure that they are well attended, stakeholders are well represented, SMEs are able to establish cooperations and increase competitiveness)
OPEN QUESTIONS:
What activities does the export promotion agency carry out?
What is the budget of the export promotion agency?
How many export promotion programmes do you have in your country? Please shortly describe them.
How many SMEs benefitted from financial support in last year (latest available)
Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: Export promotion
Sub-dimension 2: Integration of SMEs in the Global Value Chains

Programmes to encourage SME integration into GVCs could include:
THEMATIC BLOCK 1: PLANNING & DESIGN 1. Programmes to promote business linkages, through such measures as matchmaking,
Are there government programmes to support SME integration in the global value chains (GVCs)? financial support and linkage related conditions and incentives for FDI (e.g. tax credits
to foreign-invested firms that provide tangible benefits to domestic suppliers).
2. Programmes to promote industrial competitiveness clusters which can then become
integrated into GVCs.
If yes Has the private sector been consulted? Formal consultation
Is the programme linked to the broader SME strategy document?
Is there a dedicated entity responsible for the implementation of the programme? This could be a government body or a separate agency.
Does it promote domestic business linkages with large exporting domestic firms?
Does it help SMEs to import?
Does it promote technology transfers from MNCs?
Does the government systematically inform SMEs about the programmes and policy initiatives facilitating integration of SMEs in GVCs?

If there is a programme, has a budget been mobilised? Budget mobilisation
If there are government programme(s) to support SME integration into GVCs, are they operational? Operational
If yes Are the programme(s) implementing their targets according to the relevant action plan(s)?
Have government programmes achieved any business linkages between SMEs and multinationals?
Business linkages between multinationals and SMEs could involve procurement,

manufacturing subcontracting, outsourcing, distribution and retail, franchising etc.
Does the government systematically inform SMEs about the programmes and policy initiatives facilitating integration of SMEs in GVCs?
Are there any programmes to raise awareness of SMEs of the potential of participation in GVCs?

Are there any monitoring mechanisms in place for the programme?
Are the results of the monitoring presented in a publicly available report?
Is there independent review of the programme? Independent review
OPEN QUESTIONS:
What activities does the programme carry out to facilitate integration of SMEs in GVCs?
These activities can include raising awareness of the potential of participation in global
value chains, increasing participation in global value chains through initiatives such as
the facilitation of SME consortia for joint marketing or for entering joint bids (particularly
in government procurement), improving SMEs’ accounts receivables and facilitating
SME financing to help small subcontractors to overcome liquidity problems (e.g. by
contributing to the
development of financial schemes such as factoring), etc.
How many partnerships have been established with the government support?
Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: Integration of SMEs in the Global Value Chains
Sub-dimension 3: Use of E-commerce

An e-commerce transaction is the sale or purchase of goods or services, conducted
Are there any government programmes for SMEs to promote E-commerce? over computer networks by methods specifically designed for the purpose of receiving
or placing of orders.
If yes Is the programme linked to the broader SME strategy document?
Is there a legal framework for E-payments? E-payments can be widely defined as payments that are initiated, processed and
received electronically.
Is there a legal framework for consumer protection?

Is a government co-ordinated E-commerce programme operational?
If yes Is there a dedicated entity responsible for the implementation of the programme?
Has a budged been mobilised for the E-commerce promotion programmes targeting SMEs? Budget mobilisation
Is there a website with easily accessible information regarding E-commerce

Is there a monitoring mechanism in place for the E-commerce promotion programmes? Monitoring
Does the government collect KPI data on e-commerce?
OPEN QUESTIONS:
What activities does the programme carry out to facilitate e-commerce of SMEs?
Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: Use of e-commerce
Please provide a self-assessed level for the overall dimension: Internationalisation of SMEs

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Paris 21/06/2017

BRIEF GUIDANCE FOR THE QUESTIONNAIRE

Description of levels for self-assessed scores

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

Independent evaluation or review

National Official Document

Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA)

Vocational education and training (VET)

The reply to the open questions can be given in column E.

Thematic Blocks Answers Evidence/Links Country Comments Definitions/References/Examples

Sub-dimension 1: Entrepreneurial Learning

integrated into the national education or life-long learning strategy?

If yes, at which level of education:

If yes, at which level of education:

Is there exchange of good practices on formal and/or non-formal entrepreneurial learning?

If yes, at which level of education?

THEMATIC BLOCK 3: MONITORING AND EVALUATION

If yes Is a monitoring report prepared annually?

• In upper secondary general

Thematic Blocks Answers Evidence/Links Country Comments Definitions/References/Examples

Sub-dimension 1: Preventive measures

THEMATIC BLOCK 1: DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION

Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: Preventive measures

Sub-dimension 2: Survival and Bankruptcy procedures

THEMATIC BLOCK 1: DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION

Are there any public or private credit registries ?

Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: Laws and procedures

Sub-dimension 3: Promoting second chance

(no thematic block)

Is there any training provided to entrepreneurs on starting fresh?

Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: Promoting second chance

Thematic Blocks Answers Evidence/Links Country Comments Definitions/References/Examples

Sub-dimension 1: Institutional Framework

THEMATIC BLOCK 1: PLANNING AND DESIGN

THEMATIC BLOCK 2: IMPLEMENTATION

Sub-dimension 2: Legislative simplification and regulatory impact analysis (RIA)

THEMATIC BLOCK 1: PLANNING AND DESIGN

THEMATIC BLOCK 2: IMPLEMENTATION

THEMATIC BLOCK 3: MONITORING AND EVALUATION

Sub-dimension 3: Public-private consultations (PPCs)

THEMATIC BLOCK 1: FREQUENCY AND TRANSPARENCY OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE CONSULTATIONS

How regularly do private-public consultations take place?

THEMATIC BLOCK 2: PRIVATE SECTOR INVOLVEMENT IN PPCs

THEMATIC BLOCK 3: MONITORING AND EVALUATION

Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: Public-private consultations (PPCs)

The reply to the open questions can be given in column E.

Thematic Blocks Answers Evidence/Links Country Comments Definitions/References/Examples

Sub-dimension 1: Digital government for SMEs

THEMATIC BLOCK 1: STRATEGY, PLANNING & DESIGN

THEMATIC BLOCK 2: IMPLEMENTATION

THEMATIC BLOCK 3: MONITORING AND EVALUATION

The reuse of OGD by SMEs

The satisfaction of SMEs with digital services

Sub-dimension 2: Business licensing

THEMATIC BLOCK 1: LICENSE PROCEDURES

THEMATIC BLOCK 2: MONITORING AND STREAMLINING OF LICENCE SYSTEMS

OPEN QUESTIONS Answer

Please provide a self-assessed level for sub-dimension: Business licensing

Sub-dimension 3: Company registration

THEMATIC BLOCK 1: DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION

THEMATIC BLOCK 2: PERFORMANCE (World Bank Doing Business Indicators)

THEMATIC BLOCK 3: MONITORING & EVALUATION

OPEN QUESTIONS: Answer