Innovation platforms enabling cross-regional collaboration in low-carbon economy

The interdependent challenges of climate change need innovation in systems of practice and provision, not single innovation in products and processes. In this context, cities face the challenge of dealing with climate risks and impacts, while moving to more sustainable, zero-carbon and resilient pathways. This is a major opportunity for a new, sustainable market to combine existing knowledge and economies of scale that exist within urban environments to produce new systemic solutions. However, there are considerable differences in progress between the leading cities (mostly in Northern/Western Europe) and the one’s lagging behind. Intra-EU disparity claims for the existence of platforms that follow a systemic approach instead of “picking the winner”. The structures which allow for the coordination of a variety of actors by combining individual goals and capacities with shared purposes, norms and expectations, refers to innovation platforms.

This study addresses the role of innovation platforms as catalysers of existing (or new) innovation systems in the field of sustainable urban transitions to explore market opportunities. Empirically, emphasis is put in the analysis of the underlying factors of geographical structural differences and what are the patterns of relations between knowledge spaces and governance configurations. For doing so, we analyse the portfolio of projects and activities of the EIT Climate-KIC. This study aims to contribute to a better understanding on innovation platforms as a mechanism to accelerate innovation in the urban environment that can contribute to enhance collaboration to achieve more equally distributed progress across all Europe.

First results of this study are based in the activities implemented in the EIT RIS programme covering peripheral EU regions. Results has been already presented in the following conferences:

• 4^th Geography of Innovation Conference, Barcelona , January 31^st– February 2^nd, 2018

Conference program

• UN/WASD International Conference on Public private partnership for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10-13 April 2018, Geneva

Conference presentation

Research project team: Cristian Matti, Irene Vivas Lalinde, Julia Panny and Balnca Juan Agulló