A NORDIC HUB FOR THE FUTURE OF INNOVATION Danish Design Centre Malmรถ University November 2014
A Nordic Hub for the future of innovation Published by: Danish Design Centre, www.ddc.dk Malmö University, www.k3.se The partners conducting the work have consisted of a team from the Danish Design Centre in Copenhagen and Malmö University in Malmö. The Danish Design Centre team: • Anne Dorthe Josiassen, Head of Design and Innovation • Christina Melander, Senior Project Manager • Maria Hørmann, Project Manager • Susanne Schenstøm, Graphic Designer, Architect MAA • Lasse Damgaard, Project Assistant • Meik Brüsch, Project Assistant • Frederik Bækgaard, Student Assistant • Tanja Bisgaard, Consultant The Malmö University team: • Gunnel Pettersson, Senior Lecturer and Artist • Kristina Lindström, Senior Lecturer and Artist • Peter Lövschall, Business Developer • Åsa Ståhl, Senior Lecturer and Artist ISBN: 87-90904-74-5 December 2014 © Danish Design Centre and Malmö University All rights reserved. No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Danish Design Centre/Malmö University.
THE EUROPEAN UNION The European Regional Development Fund
Recommendations to improve conditions for innovation cooperation in the Nordic Region and enhance the ecosystem for arttech and innovation actors in the Ă˜resund Region
Background The global competition is a competition between companies and increasingly a competition on innovation. In the competition, companies are highly dependent on the framework conditions and the ecosystem in the region where they are located. The global competition is therefore a competition between regions to have good framework conditions and strong ecosystems that foster innovation. It is still important that the macroeconomic conditions are good, but in the global competition on innovation the regional conditions are becoming increasingly important, and here the metropolises play a crucial role. It is the metropolises, which have the best conditions for innovation, which will lead the global competition. One of the crucial drivers of innovation is solving major societal challenges such as climate change, scarcity of resources and an increasing need for new welfare solutions. In the global competition for new sustainable solutions, the Nordic cities and metropolises have a solid foundation, and even today, many Nordic companies are strong in the global competition to provide more sustainable solutions. Although the Nordic metropolises are strong, there are also challenges. The Nordic capitals are small in comparison with the biggest and strongest metropolises, which have advantages simply because of their size. In the competition on innovation, knowledge and creativity size matters. It requires a lot of resources to create strong knowledge institutions, develop the best talent and create strong financial institutions that can finance innovation. In order to create new sustainable solutions, it is often necessary to implement large-scale cooperation between the public and private sector, but it also requires substantial capacity that is present in the major metropolises. Cooperation between local regions and metropolises in the Ă˜resund region is therefore crucial to create a strong, attractive and competitive region.
4
But even though metropolises compete, they also cooperate, like companies that have global innovation partnerships. The collaboration has so far mainly consisted of the exchange of experience, but there are signs that in the future they will also be working together to solve global challenges, which are particularly visible in metropolises. The global competition on innovation and the emerging cooperation between metropolises is both a challenge and an opportunity for the large urban and metropolitan areas in the Nordic countries. Looking ahead, the Ă˜resund Region must consider where the future innovation capabilities can be found. If the companies in the region want to remain innovative and competitive, they must ensure they have the right talent and competencies available.
5
The Nordic countries as a hub for the future of innovation The Ă˜resund Region must consider how it can become a hub for the future of innovation with access to the right talents. Today it is no longer sufficient to have specialised industrial clusters with large companies. In the future, the competition on innovation will be harder than it is today as a result of the global and technological development. That requires a constant development of new ideas and innovative solutions at a speed that only few large companies are able to keep up with. Therefore, innovation in the future will have to change character. Less innovation will take place in the R&D departments of large companies, and more will take place in new types of innovation partnerships. Today, society as well as large companies is facing complex problems that require solutions that are developed in close cooperation with several companies with different types of skills and competencies. The challenges have become more complex, but so has the development of the new solutions. The increasing complexity and lack of predictability characterise the world that companies live in today, and for many companies it will be difficult to navigate and survive in these new surroundings. It is of key importance that the companies have access to the right talents and new start-up communities. And the regions that have access to the largest amount of new innovation talents and the most interesting start-up communities will be successful and attract international companies.
6
New Innovation Actors While the number of innovation partnerships increase, a new type of innovation actor can be seen, that manages innovation faster and with a higher quality than seen before. The new innovation actors stem from strong technology, art and design environments; they are multi-disciplinary and have design thinking in their DNA. A special breeding ground for development of new innovation actors is the communities, networks and companies in which the fusion of art and technology are the driving forces of creativity and innovation. And in recent years there is an emergence of a dynamic growth layer of arttech activities in many metropolises. DDC has conducted a study of the arttech environment in the Øresund Region for the Øresund Committee. The many companies, meeting places, communities and events in the Øresund Region is a sign of a dynamic arttech environment. Insightful observers with good knowledge of arttech environments in leading metropolises like London and New York points to the Øresund Region as a very exciting and dynamic arttech environment. DDC has also conducted a study of innovation actors in the Øresund Region, and there seems to be a significant number of actors involved in innovative collaborations with both small and large companies in the region and with public institutions. There are good opportunities for the Øresund Region to strengthen its position in the global competition on innovation by creating better conditions for the dynamic growth layer of arttech activities and the innovation actors that already exist in the Øresund Region. The Øresund region can take new initiatives in close cooperation between the two sides of the strait, and the region may seek collaboration with other large cities and metropolises in the Nordic countries and elsewhere.
7
Improved framework conditions for arttech and innovation actors The Municipality of Copenhagen and the Danish Business Authority have had an analysis made of the creative industries in Copenhagen and a specific analysis of arttech in Copenhagen. Both studies provided international comparisons and evaluation of the framework conditions for creative industries. The evaluation of the framework conditions are described in the two reports to the Øresund Committee regarding Arttech in the Øresund Region and Innovation Actors in the Øresund Region. Based on analysis and international studies of creative industries, there seem to be eight important areas where it is necessary to create good framework conditions: • Access to risk capital • Multidisciplinary training programmes • Creative spaces with low interest • Meeting places for talent and creative companies • The presence of dealmakers, nodes and local heroes • Branding of the creative communities (e.g. international creative events) • Incubators, fablabs and accelerator programmes • Intelligent and innovative public demand and social experiments There are many actors that influence the framework conditions, and which can take important initiatives. This could be public authority and institutions that have already taken many initiatives, but still have the opportunity to improve conditions. But it could also be universities, research institutes and educational institutions, capital institutions, property owners, large, established companies, and a number of individuals with roots in the creative environments. The many players can take initiatives separately, or they can work together and may thus have a greater effect.
8
It is important that the stakeholders that are going to implement the new initiatives, also participate in the design of specific initiatives, and that the actors who will benefit from better conditions, also are involved in designing the new initiatives. It is therefore recommended to establish an independent unit in the Ă˜resund Region for a three-year period, which will ensure the collaboration between key actors in the region to formulate specific initiatives within the areas that are critical to developing a world class environment for arttech and new innovation actors in the Ă˜resund Region and the creation of an even stronger ecosystem in the Ă˜resund Region. It is also recommended to ensure resources to conduct feasibility studies and establish pilot and demonstration projects. Finally, it is recommended to explore the possibilities of cooperating with other Nordic cities and metropolises to create better conditions for arttech companies and new innovation actors, and in doing so make contact with Berlin and Amsterdam, which have strong creative environments.
9
www.ddc.dk www.k3.se