The state of digital transformation at regional level and COVID-19 induced changes to economy and business models, and their consequences for regions

Contracting Party: The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) (under the Framework Contract No. CDR/TL2/59/2017/1)§

Period: 2021

URL: The state of digital transformation at regional level and COVID-19 induced changes to economy and business models, and their consequences for regions

This study, co-authored by Progress Consulting S.r.l., focuses on understanding the state of digitalisation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in European regions, and of the level of territories’ readiness in supporting their digital transformation. The overall scope of the study is to highlight which policy actions regional authorities should prioritise in order to successfully support and accelerate the digital transformation of business. It defines digital transformation and analyses its state of play at regional level against the four main components of digital infrastructure, digital skills, digitalisation of public services and digitalisation of businesses. It further proposes a framework to measure digital preparedness in regions with respect to SME's digital transformation, provides eight examples of successful initiatives undertaken by regional authorities for digital transformation of business in their regions and analyses the results of a recent survey by the CoR and EUROCHAMBRES on digital preparedness in regions. Conclusions and recommendations to the various stakeholders involved in the digital transformation process of business close the study.