The INNOVER-EAST project targets five countries of the Eastern Partnership (in short, EPCs: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia and Ukraine) to overcome the bottlenecks of innovation and intensify the level of cooperation between research and business in the target countries. The project aims, on the one hand, to develop new skills and competences in innovation services at relevant organisations in the above countries, and, on the other hand, to contribute to the learning process on how to bridge knowledge and business with a direct focus on energy efficiency.In order to reach its objectives, the project will carry out the following activities:Facilitate networking among actors in the knowledge/ innovation value chain in order to better focus research on socio-economic needs and to help exploit research results;Identify bottlenecks of and opportunities for technology and knowledge transfer in the targeted EPCs (with special focus on start-ups, spin-offs from public research organisations and existing small businesses);Improve competencies and mutual learning by the exchange of good practices through twinning, trainings and other means of learning by the active involvement of relevant service providers;Develop and provide innovation support services for EPC stakeholders and build partnerships among relevant organisations in the Member States and Associated Countries on one side and in the targeted EPCs on the other side;Carry out policy dialogue and produce recommendations for policy makers by organising national policy workshops and international policy conferences to debate and validate the needs identified and solutions offered for more efficient innovation services.The project consortium involves experienced actors from the whole spectrum of the innovation chain to facilitate effective cooperation and mutual learning, representing 5 EU member states, 1 associated country and all of the targeted EPCs.