The INNJECT project aims at strengthening and improving competitiveness of manufacturing SMEs through combining the approaches of digital innovation and open innovation. These approaches can also stem from other sectors like public sector, health care or social sector. The fourth industrial revolution with increasing has already arrived in the manufacturing sectors and it is no longer the question whether SMEs must be fully digitized, but how quickly they can realise their digitization. But still and in particular SMEs show high reservation against digitization. INNJECT aims at overcoming the barriers, convincing SMEs to become quickly part of the Industry 4.0 community and paving the road to digital innovation through open approaches of the regional economic policy and the promotion of Industry 4.0. The open innovation approach has shown to be more efficient way for enterprises to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their innovation processes. INNJECT partners will develop and implement Open Innovation Platforms (OIP) for digitization in their regions in order to foster innovation in the manufacturing sectors. OIPs for digitization contribute also to better connections among SMEs as well as between SMEs and regional innovation drivers like academia, research institutes, innovation centres etc. HOW: The creation of OIPs for digitization in the INNJECT project will be based on interregional workshops, staff exchange and stakeholder group meetings in phase 1, which will result in exchange of experience and creation of regional Action Plans. The Action Plans will include a standardized approach for all partners on ways how to create OIP for digitization and individual actions for OIPs for digitization in every partner region. These actions will be implemented in phase 2 with involvement of the regional stakeholder group in order to contribute to an effective regional policy for more innovative and more competitive SMEs.