The project is aimed at (further) setting up a regional Smart Industry Hub or the ‘Digital Innovation Hub North-Netherlands (DIH-NN’). It will be participating or quitting! A strong coalition has been formed to put Northern Industrial SMEs on the path of digitalisation once and for all (smart industry). The front runners of RoSF and ICD take the peloton in tow. Business organisations FME and Koninklijke Metaalunie bring in their big constituencies and the field labs 5Groningen and Technologies Added supply the building blocks. A Masterplan Digitalisation! And everyone will join.DIH-NN = Northern Smart Industry Hub and EU Digital Innovation HubA own legal entity in creation (starts with lead partner NOM) with a lean central organisation that mainly acts as a one-stop-shop/knowledge counter, a collaborative platform that is at the heart of the growing ecosystem Smart Industry/Digitalisation in the North of the Netherlands. To further shape and content this ecosystem, the hub implements a content program before and by the partners.The Digital Innovation Hub North-Netherlands will in particular be a network organisation in which all network partners work towards the common goal. Its activities and objectives are intended for the partners’ constituencies, in particular SMEs/MKI, and are organised and implemented by the partners. Since mid-2018, activities in preparation for the formation of the DIH-NN have been intensified by a development team consisting of the Royal Metal Union, FME, the 3 Northern Smart Industry Fieldlabs (RosF, 5G and Technologies Added), the Drachten Innovation Cluster, Philips, RuG/NK and NHL/Stenden. In addition, discussions are ongoing with all other intermediate and first-line organisations of the Provinces in the North Netherlands. Through the current core partners alone, the Hub therefore has a reach of more than 1,000 SMEs/MKI companies.The central part of the Hub will in particular fill the function of turnwriting and knowledge counter. Thus, a clear information and referral function for beginners, advanced and frontrunners in the field of industrial digitalisation. In addition, the SIH-NNL, together with its partners, develops a sustainable programme with 3 content lines of action to jointly address the necessary focus, mass and visibility. These are:1 — Masterplan ‘Go Digital’Digitising the medium and small industry (MKI) in the North of the Netherlands through a broad awareness campaign and through a targeted support programme and further development and reinforcement of Northern solution providers (knowledge suppliers). 2 — Smart Learning: Provincial Demonstration and Skills Labs To drive and accelerate the development and realisation of 3 Provincial Landing Spots of hubs that unlock the accumulated knowledge of existing projects and programmes (including the 3 Smart Industry fieldlabs and the Drachten Innovation Cluster) and which are also developed into demonstration and skills labs.3 — Connect and Participate: Playing the Champions League Strengthening the position of the already (further) digitised industry in national, interregional and European programmes by facilitating and stimulating participation in projects and programmes. These 3 lines of content have shown that Northern Netherlands lacks a connecting platform and organising capacity, which in particular involves loose small initiatives and programmes with little mass and no coherent and collaborative innovation ecosystem that is also internationally visible. The hub wants to offer a sustainable solution for this. We therefore ask you to submit this application as regional authorities: — Support for the setting up of the Digital Innovatin Hub Smart North Netherlands as a virtual counter and network organisation and pivot of the ecosystem digitisation/Smart industry- Support for the implementation and further development of the content programme on the 3 action lines- Support for acquiring the status of the SIH-NNL as a Digital Innovation Hub. In addition, we ask for the support and joint commitment of the Provinces and the SNN to better position and map Northern Netherlands as a Smart Industry/Digitalisation hotspot. We ask:- Support for a joint national and European lobby to give the Northern Netherlands SI parties better position and opportunities in the various public-private projects and programmes- Support to effectively put digitisation/Smart Industry on the future Nordic policy and innovation agendasThe Digital Innovation Hub North-Netherlands wants to ensure that the digital transformation of Northern companies is not only a change, but rather an improvement and a strengthening of the economy.