Overall goals, project goals and milestones The goal of the audience is fact collection as a basis for packaging the simulation offering and other initiatives for business development that lead to Karlstad Lean Factory’s long-term goals. The long-term goal is to create an organisational culture characterised by self-learning and propensity for innovation, primarily among the region’s small and medium-sized manufacturing companies, but also among other organisations. The short-term goal is to be an open meeting place and development environment that stimulates manufacturing companies to develop the competitiveness and innovation of companies. The project’s work to achieve the project’s goals The pilot study consists mainly of questionnaires, literature studies and minor case studies. A survey will be made of the companies’ ambition and perceptions with regard to innovation, and of the exact industrial need for Lean Production simulations with Karlstad Lean Factory. Furthermore, the lab, including the game methodology, will be tested in a sharp position to get feedback from industry employees and industrial companies. A selection of project activities: —Roadmap and proposals for implementation projects: process map for upcoming activities based on needs mapping -SPS2016: Presentation of Karlstad Lean Factory at Swedish Production Symposium 2016 in Lund – Surveys and needs mapping: needs mapping, competence mapping, maturity analysis, attitude survey among manufacturing SMF -SOTA studies and development of game based simulation: Mapping the front (State of the Art) with regard to the theory and practice of simulation methodology, development of methodology specific for Karlstad Lean Factory – Developing simulation methodology: Further development of the simulation methodology for Karlstad Lean Factory, identification of potential tools/methods that can be combined in synergetic ways -Further development the lab environment: Physical upgrades/adapts of the lab after testing in live mode -SOTA and effects: Mapping through literature studies and continuous external monitoring of the research front and advanced applications/methods around game-based simulation – Preparation/evaluation sharp test: preparation of the sharp test run in the lab, including selection of participants. Analysis of implementation and outcome. Test run Karlstad Lean Factory to get feedback about the lab’s equipment and simulation methodology. The regional business sector’s participation in implementation The project is in line with Region Värmland’s new industrialisation strategy VRIS3. The business community will be involved in the project, for example through various surveys with the aim of identifying companies’ ambitions in terms of innovation and research, and to map the need to recruit engineers who can become a driving force in the innovation work in SMEs. Project results and benefits The project’s expected results at project conclusions are concretisation of industry needs, conditions and ambition with regard to self-learning and innovation, models for and packaging of Karlstad Lean Factory’s various activities including models for financing, as well as roadmap for future development of the lab. Expected long-term effects At the end of the implementation phase, most of the participating SMEs are expected to have undergone a cultural change and business development to learning innovative companies. With Karlstad Lean Factory’s open meeting environment as a catalyst, innovation networks are also expected to have formed.