Citizen-Driven Innovation
Read this guidebook, which explores smart cities through a lens that promotes citizens as the driving force of urban innovation. It presents different models of smart cities that show how citizen-centric methods can mobilize resources to respond innovatively to challenges in governance. The living lab approach encourages agile development and the rapid prototyping of ideas in a decentralized and user-centric manner.
How can mayors and public administrators create partnerships that drive value in their communities through citizen-driven innovation?
How can sustainability be integrated into municipal strategies and solutions?
How can city leaders join forces to learn and network globally?
Starter Pack
Facilities - Innovation Hubs
Description
Innovation hubs are public spaces for innovation, generally with a strong interdisciplinary atmosphere and a mixture between offering a stimulating place for professional work activities, promoting the emergence of new and innovative businesses, and exploring innovative societal organizations for work itself (the so-called FabLab model). Common features include: the symbolic value of the physical space, openness to the participation of any interested party, and the promotion of new businesses and/or business partnerships.Use
Innovation hubs are a powerful tool for promoting citizen engagement and entrepreneurial creativity in a way that offers strong visibility as part of the urban fabric, allowing a city to position itself as 'open to innovation'. It is however essential to ensure long-term sustainability in order for the innovations generated therein to have a future or for the initiative itself to have lasting impact.Typologies
Innovation hubs can be conceived of as multidisciplinary environments for highly competitive professionals, SME support centers specifically focused on innovation, or as more open initiatives with a social function. City governments can play different roles: private or NGO-sustained hubs often ask the city to find an appropriate space, university incubators will generally include the city in their governing board, while public innovation hubs can be directly set up and managed by the city itself.Issues
The model adopted for a given innovation hub needs to be clearly identified and shared by all participants, since ambiguity can lead to misunderstandings, for example between participants looking for a creative office space and those interested in exploring new forms of collaboration. As a consequence, it is important to define an appropriate governance structure, capable of handling all issues ranging from who buys the coffee to assignment of intellectual property rights.Implementation
A successful innovation hub is generally formed around an individual or group 'champion' who will define the strategic and ethical direction of the initiative as well as guarantee leadership. It can be useful to look at international networks (ImpactHub, FabLab, etc). as potential organizational models. From there, the appropriate place needs to be identified and properly equipped, following the model adopted: this can mean anything from Wi-Fi and printers to sofas and sculptures to specific equipment such as laser cutters and 3D printers.Facilities - Innovation Hubs
Cases
Citilab Cornellá, ZOO co-working space in Poznan, and the Living Lab Cova da Beira in Fundao, mentioned elsewhere in the guidebook, are all good exampleS of citizen-oriented innovation hubs.In addition, the Waag Society, part of the Amsterdam Living Lab, carries out a range of research, education and service activities mixing art, science, and technology in a 15th Century city gate house.
Numa, a trend-setting space in central Paris, promotes collaboration of startups and project developers by providing the conditions for development and growth. The 'Numa Experiment' association brings together entrepreneurs, academics, administrations, small and large companies, associations, and communities. Nearly 1,000 events per year covering a broad range of topics – culture, art, health, ecology, economy, fashion, education – attract over 80,000 participants with different backgrounds and skills on an annual basis.