Visual toolbox for system innovation

The Visual toolbox for system innovation” is a booklet-format collection of ready-to-implement tools to structure and manage the challenges and exploit opportunities of sustainability innovations and transitions.

The tools are presented in a simple and visual approach to support practitioners’ everyday work on climate change, transition and system innovation.

De Vicente Lopez, Javier and Matti, Cristian (2016). Visual toolbox for system innovation. A resource book for practitioners to map, analyse and facilitate sustainability transitions. Transition Hub Series. EIT Climate KIC, Brussels 2016. ISBN 978-2-9601874-1-0

Download the Visual toolbox

Visual Toolbox for System Innovation Descarga

July 30, 2016 0

The launch event “Opening the development agenda,” the STEPS center – Sustainable Alternatives for Latin America, was held on 5 and 6 November in Buenos Aires. STEPS Latin America is part of a network of universities based China, USA, Kenya, India, the UK and Sweden. STEPS Latin America seeks to renew and open innovation agenda and sustainability of the region, based on the idea that there are different paths to development. During the two-day panel on Open Science, Innovation inclusive, horizontal innovations for sustainability and natural resources and development which will have important guests were made internationally. My participation in this event was to design and facilitation of participatory workshops with the aim of thinking policies to promote open knowledge production and think a new research agenda on innovation and sustainable development for the region.

The workshop Policies to open the generation of knowledge was based in participatory techniques aimed to allow jointly identification of a number of items such as tools, methodologies and priorities related to S & T policy. Brainstorming techniques and World Cafe are used to enhance the diversity of perspectives and facilitate the exchange of ideas between different actors. The outcome of this workshop will be digitized and shared with participants to encourage collaboration in different areas.

The workshop Research agenda for sustainable development was based in participatory techniques for making maps on areas of knowledge and research priorities through a prospective approach. By visualizing a future scenario, the exercise seeks to help participants to relate different elements at different levels and over time in order to facilitate change processes at the system level. The outcome of this workshop will be digitized and shared with participants to encourage collaboration in different areas.

The event was part of the new line of collaboration between Transition Hub – Climate KIC and the STEPs center. Further actions are related with the co-development of learning materials and exploring research opportunities in the area of resilient and smart agricultural systems

See full agenda of the event here & summary of event in STEP website

November 20, 2015 0

Sustainability transitions, green skills & water management. New practices for professional education

Climate-KIC offered an eight day coached sustainability transitions course for experienced environment and water management professionals, held in Valencia (Spain) from 22^nd until 29^th November 2014. It was designed to provide the key competencies and capabilities to be an innovator in the broad sense of this term. More than 35 people, from 15 different countries, were working on ‘Green skills’ in a programme designed to upgrade professional competences to face climate and sustainability challenges. The principal novelty of the course was to introduce horizontal and cooperative methods of working, involving low-profile hierarchies and greater autonomy. Hence, participants were collaborating hand-by-hand with international, regional specialists and problem owners related with climate change within a “project meeting” atmosphere.
Cristian Matti, social science researcher, together with Professor Anne J. Wieczorek and Coach Javier de Vicente, coordinated a team of well-known international experts including Jan Jonker, Corporate Sustainability; Todd Gartner, Water Management and Innovation; Caroline Van Leenders, Process Manager in Sustainable Transitions; and, Fernando J. Díaz López, Eco-innovation for Green economies. Furthermore, several regional experts participated in debates activities trying to reproduce real working negotiations with stakeholders. Additionally, participants have enjoyed study visits to actual projects in the regeneration area of Turia River and Naturals Park l´Albufera. A diverse set of activities such as breakfast and lunch seminars, workshops, world cafe or pitching, were performed horizontally in order to help participants to realize which skills are needed the most to deal with sustainability transitions enforced by climate change: thus, first, to be able to identify barriers, identify opportunities or stakeholders analysis; second, to be able to develop solutions –new business models– with system innovation projects, focus priorities for further exploration or low carbon innovation; and, finally, make transitions happen –plans into actions–. This pilot initiative performed as a living lab experience for both participants and experts who explored new learning techniques by shifting the role of experts, participants and speakers towards a more horizontal context of professional interaction. This particular program forms part of the Innovator Catalyst series and was aimed at experienced professionals with the enthusiasm and potential for influencing organizational change and system innovation. It was also organized by INGENIO (CSIC-UPV), Polytechnic University of Valencia and Vaersa.

Take a look at our experience

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tZvRwIJzjM&t=4s

Innovator catalyst roadmap

August 22, 2014 0

The Pioneers into Practice experience. Blending capacity building, policy experimentation and innovation for professionals in Climate Change

The Pioneers into Practice (PIP) programme offered a platform for policymakers and practitioners to study, design and promote day-to-day professional practices in business, government and research. Climate-KIC is one of three Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) created in 2010 by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). This community of European partners from the private, public and academic sectors engages in various activities to offer new solutions for innovation, entrepreneurship and training.

I joined PIP in 2010 when it was just a pilot initiative, and I discovered as a Pioneer new forms of interaction between professionals involved in environmental innovation. I became a Regional mentor in 2012, and since that moment, I have applied different methodologies to foster group dynamics in exploring business and research ideas within a participatory environment. In 2014, as the Coordinator of regional coaches in Valencia, I had the challenge of designing activities, developing materials and guiding a team of professional coaches to encourage pioneers to think “out of the box” and apply the Transition approach through an intensive and interactive process of professional upgrade.

PIP group 2012

PIP group 2013

PIP group 2014

The critical element of the programme was upgrading multidisciplinary professional skills through opportunities and broadening the professional and institutional networks among different knowledge fields and geographies. Participants explore visions of new low-carbon scenarios and opportunities to innovate in different knowledge areas such as transport, buildings, energy networks, and water management. Still, they also integrate professional capacities in organizational, technological, natural science, economics and many other fields.

The video below collects different perspectives on the experience of the Pioneers into Practice programme.

May 18, 2014 0

Diverse perspectives on knowledge creation in the Spanish Innovation System

Diverse perspectives on drivers and hampering factors for the creation of knowledge in organizations: an approach to the Spanish Innovation System.

Cristian Matti & Rodrigo Martinez Novo

OLKC 2012 International conference on organizational learning, knowledge and capabilities

Valencia 25/27 April 2012

This Paper was developed as part of the PICK ME project. It was the first exercise on discourse analysis by using Atlas.ti software. We have explored the discussion bettwen scientist, entrepreneurs and government official coming from a debate on system of innovation.

Methodologically, we applied interpretative repertoire to track the connection between different ideas and value systems. The paper reveals some interesting insight on the culture of innovation and the rationale behind the use of policy instruments to foster innovation but especially at regional level

Link to conference program: http://www.olkc2012.com/detail-program/89.html

Program.

November 20, 2013 0

Best practices in cooperation University-Business for development

Postgraduate blended course. OEI – AECID – INGENIO(CSIC-UPV)

This blended course was one of my first experience as academic tutor by delivering training trough online educational platforms. I enjoyed the process of designing and implementing training materials as well as exploring different forms of interaction with the participants. The course is aimed to provide knowledge and methodologies needed to develop professionally planning and management of cooperation within the socioeconomic environment by focusing in Private and Public Research interaction.

Course website

January 24, 2013 0

UNFCC and Climate Change mitigation measures in Argentina

Second National Communication of the Argentina to the United Nation Convention for the Climate Change

The project was a mayor advance for Argentina in term of the design and evaluation of technological and non-technological measures to mitigate the effect of climate change. It was funded by the World Bank and supervised by experts of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and delegates of United Nation Convention for the Climate Change (UNFCC).

This project was my first multidisciplinary experience. I joined multidisciplinary teams of architect, engineers, and geographers, GIS experts and sociologist to explore different projects and policy measures in two exiting areas: transport and energy efficiency in building. I have learnt a lot on methodologies for project evaluation and estimation of CO2 emissions but I also got a critical view of the economist in this kind of analysis.
The experience boosted my enthusiasm to learn more on multi-inter-trans and cross disciplinary studies on climate change. It was the seed and then, I started to think in Europe.

UNFCC website – Full document (Spanish)

January 21, 2012 0