Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine has a “Factory of the Future” programme to support regional companies (for example in digitalising their processes). Around 1 200 companies have benefited from this programme since 2014 for a total budget of around EUR 266 million. The Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region is offering companies the chance to take part in the Factory of the Future programme and benefit from an on-site operational performance diagnostic lasting up to 5 days, paid for 100% by the Region and the French State. Initially created in 2014, the current programme covers the period 2020-2024 (www.usinefutur.fr). The proposed diagnostic aims at improving competitiveness. It will focus on:

• the performance of industrial organisation and quality (flow mapping, identifying sources of non-value added, improving quality and working conditions, staff and management commitment, skills management, etc.)
• production technologies in the digital age (identification of relevant key technologies and processes linked to performance management, innovative processes, etc.)
• digital strategy, to assess the company's understanding of digital leverage and its ability to use it to support corporate strategy (taking the customer into account in the organisation, diagnosing the IT master plan, with a focus on cybersecurity and digital sobriety, etc.)
• the sustainable factory (optimising resources, energy and environmental efficiency, sustainable and local sourcing, limiting waste, eco-responsible approaches, etc.).

This diagnostic, carried out by a service provider selected by the Region, enable the beneficiary to take an overall view of industrial performance, digital and technological transformation, and energy and environmental efficiency, by placing the human at the heart of the project. The diagnosis is the first stage in the process that the company decides to follow. Together with its institutional partners, the Region can also provide financial assistance for future development projects and offer the company technical support in implementing improvement actions.