Closing theInnovation Divide –

PotentialPioneeringActivities inEducation

Markku MarkkulaPresident of the European Committee of the

Regions CoR

markku.markkula@cor.europa.eu

I will start with a few slides about societal challengesand how to tackle those.

This is followed with some key guidelines integratinginnovation and learning.

Then I explain in more detail the first part of the title ofmy presentation “Closing the Innovation Divide”.

Finally I will link that to my yesterday’s presentationwith new messages to action.

Learning is about challenging– I want to challenge you!

GrandSocietalChallenges:

A. AgeingB. BrainpowerC. Climate ChangeD. DigitalizationE. EntrepreneurshipF. FinlandG. Globalization¨H. Human

Use the existing knowledge:

How are we trying to tacklethese challenges?

European Policy Frame: Smart Specialisationin the Regions Driving the Change

CoR: EU Needs Radical TransformationMindset & Pioneers & Scalability

There is a huge gap between the latest research knowledge andreal life practice. What do we need to do to fill it?1. Europe needs pioneering regions to be forerunners in

implmenting the EU2020 and through that to invent the desiredfuture.

2. Lifelong learning and the full use of ICT are cornerstones for thischange of mindset towards entrepreneurship andinnovation.

3. We need the dynamic understanding of regional innovationecosystems where public, private and third sector learn tooperate together. Modernize Triple Helix.

4. We need methodologies to mobilize public private partnershipsand encourage especially people participations: user-drivenopen innovation & living labs.

5. We need to speed up the change by scalability &implementation. Markku Markkula

CoR opinions 2011-2014

Need to Focus on Innovation Ecosystems

Learning is the most importantSuccess factor.

Blueprint as the Product of a Tripartite EU High Level Expert Group:

Inspiring and CompletingEuropean Innovation Ecosystems

• “The basis for open innovation is Quadruple Helix where Government,Academia, Industry and Citizens collaborate to drive structural changesfar beyond the scope any one organization could achieve on its own.”

• “At the moment, EU governance is excessively focused on regulationand not enough on mentoring, collaboration, stewardship and peerreview.”

• ”Between the traditional Community Method and the Open Methodof Coordination, it requires new instruments for innovativeCollaborative Governance.”

• ”Setting coherent and compelling criteria for making the EU InnovationEcosystems flourish.”

• ”Public procurement needs urgent and full application of the newrules in order to make use of its inherent innovative potential.”

www.highlevelgroup.eu

Renewed National Innovation Strategy

©M

arkk

uM

arkk

ula

2009

Pioneer ofSystemicReforms

RegionalCentres ofInnovation

ImplementingInnovation

Policy

“National Innovation Bedrock”

National Ensemble ofServices

GrowthEntrepreneurship

FinnishR & HE System

Finland’sAttractiveness

CompetitiveIncentives Management

Training

LearningEnvironment

&Commitment to

Learning-to-Learn

“InnovationDynamobased onLearning”

Grand SocietalChallenges

Process Model for the EUE Work Package RegionalInnovation Ecosystem

Researchbase

Dialogue:science and

society

Practice:co-creating

with industry

Meaningfulvision

Each Research Stream

Bashared context

Combining the latestscientific achievementsand innovation activitiesthe research processexamines specified andwide phenomena insociety.

In the core is the AaltoUniversity’s subjectrelated research and theinternal and externalvalue networks of theuniversity.

The project activities arebased on professionallyorganised andorchestrated processesand efficient facilitationin the university-industryinterface.

Markkula, M., Pirttivaara, M. & Miikki, L: (2009). Developed from: Nonaka, I., Toyoma, R. & Hirata, T.(2008): Managing Flow - A Process Theory of the Knowledge Based Firm.

Orchestration of the Regional InnovationEcosystem Work Package

OrchestrationAalto creates conceptsand methods fortailored operations andstrong culturalinteraction within the ESprogram.

The concept ischaracterised by adefinition a sharedknowledge reality tocreate new knowledgeand new innovations.

The time of partners isused on the content, noton administration andmanagement. Working environment is based

on Ba = Physical, virtual andmental space, shared contexts,knowledge flows and channels,

shared knowledge creation

Researchstreams

Ba

Human Capital &Leadership

Other

Global Monitoring,Benchmarking and

Collaboration Methods

Science & SocietyInteraction inDecision Making

User-driven Open Innovation

Concepts,Toolboxes andDemonstrationsfor a) VentureGarage Mindset &b) StrategicDesign & c)Innovation HubDevelopment

RadicalInnovations

BaBa

Ba

Ba

KnowledgeTriangle

Markkula, M., Pirttivaara, M., Miikki, L & Hyyppä, H.: (2009). Developed from: Nonaka, I., Toyoma, R.& Hirata, T. (2008): Managing Flow - A Process Theory of the Knowledge Based Firm.

CoR Opinion on “Closing the Innovation Divide”(30 May 2013)

The recent development has throughout the world led to new operational units withflexible entities characterized by a strong collaborative approach in all their activities. Asthe Committee of the Regions defined in its opinion “Closing the Innovation Divide”, theexamples include: Incubators and Accelerators, Living Labs, Entrepreneurial Hubs,Development Labs, Social Innovation Labs, Fab Labs, Societal Innovation LearningCamps and Future Centers. They usually operate as associated collaborative entities ofuniversities, municipalities and businesses. Other points in the opinion include:1. “As many phenomena of the digital society have already demonstrated, significant

transformation takes place from the bottom up, and a pervasive mindset of"entrepreneurial discovery" is critical. The CoR encourages the Commission to set up"entrepreneurial discovery" programmes to work at different levels and discover whatis most effective for local needs and European scaling.”

2. “Innovation communities operate as ecosystems through systemic value networkingin a world without borders. Regions need new arenas as hotspots for innovation co-creation. These could be described as "innovation gardens" and "challengeplatforms", which together form prototype workspaces for inventing the future.”

3. “The best pioneers for developing and running Europe-wide projects should befinanced through Horizon 2020 and cohesion funding – the aim being also to testeffective methodologies and tools in real life collaboration and cross-borderlearning.”

Markku Markkula

CoR key messages and proposals:1. Painting the Innovation Landscape & A Few Crucial Policy

Guidelines to Achieve the Targets of EU2020

In Europe, we need to:1. stress the importance of Innovation. It is about networking and collaboration in a deep

sense: Modernizing Triple Helixà Regional Innovation Ecosystems2. encourage bottom-up activities: co-creation, co-design and co-production, working in

true "know-how" collaboration instead of just urging governments to develop new"solutions" for citizens.

3. strive for societal innovation, with living labs, testbeds and open innovation methodsin regional innovation policy-making, while getting citizens on board;

4. implement the Knowledge Triangle as a key principle in European university reform(greater synergies between research, education and innovation);

5. focus more on the active use of innovative public procurement, combined withsimplification of procedures;

6. stress the importance of Europe-wide collaboration and transnational cooperationprojects between regions, building on innovation support and smart specialisationstrategies;

CoR key messages and proposals:2. Entrepreneurial Discoveryà a Key Driver of Transformation

1. As many phenomena of the digital society have already demonstrated, significanttransformation takes place from the bottom up, and a pervasive mindset of"entrepreneurial discovery" is critical. The term "entrepreneur" is inadequate herebecause it is often interpreted rather narrowly.

2. Discovery also means more than innovation. It is rather a new activity – exploring,experimenting and learning what should be done in the relevant industry or subsystemin terms of research, development and innovation to improve its situation.

3. Entrepreneurial discovery means experimentation, risk-taking, and also failing. Itmeans individuals often working together with others in networks, assessingalternatives, setting goals and creating innovations in an open-minded way.

4. The CoR encourages all parties concerned to actively engage in science-societydialogues that explore and underscore how to translate the results of research intoreal-life practice. Schools and all educational bodies play a crucial role here.

1. We need to speed-up the transformation by Europe wide partnerships based onpioneering and scaling.

2. A circular economy is an economy in which things are not thrown away or lost, butallowed to circulate and be reused so that their value is not lost, but enhanced.

3. The term derives from new thinking about next-generation concepts for sustainabledevelopment. In a circular economy for knowledge, the results of researchprogrammes and projects – ideas, insights, recommendations, methodologies,practical proposals, prototypes and inventions – can be rediscovered, accessed, andapplied in current programmes and projects in related and relevant areas.

4. In moving towards a circular economy for knowledge, national funding bodies couldrevisit and explore the results of projects completed during the last 5-10 years, andunlock their treasures for reuse in new regional and national contexts. Directorates-General in the Commission could do the same, making results accessible morebroadly across different domains, in order to address societal challenges.

5. RDI activities are required to pilot and create prototypes ofa. spatial configurations with physical, intellectual and virtual dimensions, andb. orchestration and knowledge management toolkits needed to address challenges.

CoR key messages and proposals:3. Knowledge Sharing and Reuse – A Circular

Economy

1. Digitisation drives change, and convergence towards digital services is speedingup. New business ecosystems and value creation arenas are often driven by newconsumer behaviours – as a result of user-centric designs and openness.

2. Regions need new arenas as hotspots for innovation co-creation. These could bedescribed as "innovation gardens" and "challenge platforms", which togetherform prototype workspaces for inventing the future.

3. The CoR stresses that these platforms should be based on both bench-learning(validating ideas that work in one organisation and one region by testing them inother organisations and regions) and bench-doing (giving added value to newideas by turning them into practical innovations in several regions at the sametime).

4. However, we need to stress the importance of research. Knowledge exploitationand capacity-building processes, and knowledge exploitation in organisationallearning, are concepts that are becoming important, as well as exploration andknowledge co-creation.

CoR key messages and proposals:4. Creating Challenge Platforms Based on Co-

creation and Bench-learning

Digitisation drives change, and convergence towards digital services is speedingup:1. The best laboratories for breakthrough innovations today are no longer

traditional university facilities, but regional innovation ecosystems operatingas testbeds for rapid prototyping of many types of user-driven innovations,based on transformative and scalable systems.

2. Innovation communities operate as ecosystems through systemic valuenetworking in a world without borders.

3. Innovation processes are strongly based on demand and user orientation andcustomers as crucial players in innovations.

4. Innovation strategies focus on catalysing open innovation and encouragingindividuals and communities towards an entrepreneurial mindset and effectiveuse and creation of new digitalised services.

5. Innovation is often based on experimenting and implementing demonstrationprojects by partnerships, using the best international knowledge and creatingnew innovative concepts.

CoR key messages and proposals:5. Developing Attractive Innovation Environments

CoR key messages and proposals:6. What next? Exploring & Experimenting & General Action

1. The CoR strongly believes that the process of defining how the many suggestionsand recommendations in this opinion can be realised in practice, and collaborativelyexploring promising approaches for implementing them within and across regionalboundaries, is the most effective way to turn excellent intentions into real resultswith a powerful impact on the streets of Europe.

2. The objective is to accelerate the desired change both in general and through anumber of measures designated as priority projects.

3. Responsibility for the changes needed lies with all levels and all players.4. Responsibility for implementing the proposals made in this opinion will of course lie

chiefly with the European Commission, as well as local and regional decision-makersand other players. Responsibility also lies with the Irish presidency and also theforthcoming presidencies, which can put some or all of the proposals made hereinto effect as soon and as far as possible.

5. The CoR recommends that the potential of the EU's INTERREG initiative be fullyexploited and that it be given sufficient resources by establishing platforms formutual learning and also by fostering the international exchange on innovationstrategies.

Instrument to Integrate Policy Objectives and Policy-Relevant Indicators:

Regional Well-Being Measurement Cycle

CitizenEngagement

IdentifyExpectedResults

Source: OECD (2014), How's Life in Your Region?

Next phases ofthe Smart CityDevelopment:The role of 6AIKACan beinstrumental forthe wholeEurope.

©Aa

lto/M

eMo

RYM SHOK: Energizing Urban Ecosystems / research program, 4 years, 20 m€

All European major cities are Smart Cities. What next?CoR stressed already in 2011 the importance of REGIONAL INFORMATION MODELLING.

25.1.2015prof. Hannu Hyyppä ja prof. Juha Hyyppähannu.hyyppa@aalto.fi, juha.hyyppa@nls.fi

Visualized Virtual Reality

Virtual reality tools,visualization methods andapplications in builtenvironment context

Virtual reality tools inworkshop situations.Integrating VR withdecision making.

Workshop toolsDecision making toolsCollaboration toolsContent creation tools

Model visualizationVirtual models

Model revisionsReview

CAVE applicationsImmersive virtual realityVirtual glassesGesture based UIs

Browser based virtual realityVR mediated communication

Multi user interaction

VR platformsModel architectureData transferPlatform development

© Juho-Pekka Virtanen, Hannu Hyyppä, Juha Hyyppä, Anttoni Jaakkola, Lingli Zhu

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