During late 2024, DevCon was involved in a research aimed at exploring possibilities for the establishment of community of practice for SMEs in Bosna and Herzegovina. DevCon was engaged by the Development Agency Eda Banjaluka to perform the analysis of interest, motivation and preferences for the creation of the community / network of practitioners who support SME development.
The research involved structured interviews with 25 selected individuals and representatives of companies and institutions who provide practical support to business development and operations of SMEs. These primary data were combined with examples and modalities of collaboration of SME practitioners in the region and some good worldwide practices.
The research has shown that there is a rather high extent of agreement with regard to the need for collaboration between the SME practitioners, as well as a solid concord regarding goals and responsibilities of the future community of practice. However, opinions with regard to a form of collaboration and level of formalization significantly differ, while previous relevant regional experiences do not provide many comparable examples.
In conclusion, the community of practice should not be publicly perceived as yet another channel for provision of additional job for the involved practitioners, but rather as a network which identifies ongoing and perspective needs of SMEs and creates preconditions for collaboration and exchange of experiences necessary for establishment of informed, quality and relevant offer for enterprise sector.
The results of the research are available here.