Place-based Innovation Ecosystems: Ljubljana start-up ecosystem and the Technology Park Ljubljana (Slovenia)

This case study focuses on Ljubljana/ Slovenia's start-up ecosystem and its main actors and orchestrators (or "innovation process entrepreneurs") like the Technology Park Ljubljana. While Slovenia has kept its place as a strong innovator (EIS, 2017), the only CEEC in this group, it lacks an effective governance structure for research and innovation and true collaboration between actors. Taking advice from more experienced countries and applying policy and funding instruments prescribed by the EU could have speeded up the process of developing a more advanced innovation system, but frequent changes of the instruments and the support provided to different stakeholders did not help. Against this background, one of the interesting phenomena that can be observed in Ljubljana’s start-up environment is a growth of various kinds of new initiatives, some bottom-up from entrepreneurial activity, others stimulated by public policy, but all aimed at providing stimulating support to start-ups, from co-working spaces, geek house, Hackathon, etc. All together they create a dynamic network, which spreads beyond Ljubljana’s Region across Slovenia, but also much wider across Western Balkans and to EU and USA. This network is developing in parallel, with or without the support of formal institutions and/or governmental support.JRC.B.3-Territorial Developmen

Innovation Camps Methodology Handbook: Realising the potential of the Entrepreneurial Discovery Process for Territorial Innovation and Development.

The present Methodology Handbook is conceived to encourage regions and cities from all over Europe to adopt the Innovation Camps methodology as a tool to address collectively and effectively societal and economic challenges concerning local societies in a European context - notably in the field of Research and Innovation Smart Specialisation Strategies (RIS3) through an open, collaborative and inclusive Entrepreneurial Discover Process (EDP) between Quadruple Helix actors (i.e. government, industry, academia, and civil society).JRC.B.3-Territorial Developmen

Digital Innovation Hubs in Smart Specialisation Strategies

This report examines the synergetic place-based relationships of Digital Innovation Hubs (DIH) and Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3) in selected European regions, with DIHs being the policy outcome of a S3 process or an active actor participating in S3 entrepreneurial discovery processes (EDP) and implementing parts of a S3. By supporting the digitisation of the local industry DIHs also enhance the regional innovation ecosystem, either with the provision of horizontal digitalisation support or by leading a S3 priority area. One clear role of DIHs is to make available support easier to find for local SMEs and industry. DIHs work according to different business models and a targeted funding mix plus a matrix of different funding instruments for the digital transformation of SMEs are required for their sustainability. The report compiles 7 relevant examples (1 national and 6 regional).JRC.B.3-Territorial Developmen

Place-Based Innovation Ecosystems: Espoo Innovation Garden and Aalto University (Finland)

The present case study pursues to identify key success factors in Espoo innovation ecosystem, with a particular attention to the role of Aalto University, with a view to inform policies aimed at supporting the strengthening and emergence of existing and new place-based innovation ecosystems in other EU regions and cities, as well as of entrepreneurial universities. It starts by defining what a place-based innovation ecosystem is intended to be, and identifies a conceptual framework that can operationalise the study of concrete cases. The study continues with a presentation of the main local actors and pre-existing enabling factors, progressively moves to the catalysers that have made this innovation garden flourish (notably the reforms that enabled the emergence of Aalto University with its particular governance model) and finally analyses its Quadruple Helix collaboration model and the way the whole ecosystem is orchestrated.JRC.B.3-Territorial Developmen

The Future of Cities

This report is an initiative of the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the science and knowledge service of the European Commission (EC), and supported by the Commission's Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO). It highlights drivers shaping the urban future, identifying both the key challenges cities will have to address and the strengths they can capitalise on to proactively build their desired futures. The main aim of this report is to raise open questions and steer discussions on what the future of cities can, and should be, both within the science and policymaker communities. While addressing mainly European cities, examples from other world regions are also given since many challenges and solutions have a global relevance. The report is particularly novel in two ways. First, it was developed in an inclusive manner – close collaboration with the EC’s Community of Practice on Cities (CoP-CITIES) provided insights from the broader research community and city networks, including individual municipalities, as well as Commission services and international organisations. It was also extensively reviewed by an Editorial Board. Secondly, the report is supported by an online ‘living’ platform which will host future updates, including additional analyses, discussions, case studies, comments and interactive maps that go beyond the scope of the current version of the report. Steered by the JRC, the platform will offer a permanent virtual space to the research, practice and policymaking community for sharing and accumulating knowledge on the future of cities. This report is produced in the framework of the EC Knowledge Centre for Territorial Policies and is part of a wider series of flagship Science for Policy reports by the JRC, investigating future perspectives concerning Artificial Intelligence, the Future of Road Transport, Resilience, Cybersecurity and Fairness Interactive online platform : https://urban.jrc.ec.europa.eu/thefutureofcitiesJRC.B.3-Territorial Developmen

Población Inmigrante

This article analyses the actual and potential uses of ICT for the development of migrant's economic participation (employment and self-employment) in Spain; the barriers they face and the opportunities brought by ICT to activate -with help of public policies- their potential.JRC.J.3-Information Societ

ICT to support Everyday Life Integration of Immigrants in the European Union: An Online Survey of Connected Migrants - First Methodological Report

This methodological report documents the development of an online-based methodology aimed to collect quantitative evidence on the adoption and uses of information and communication technologies (ICT) by third-country nationals in Europe. The evidence produced by using this methodology is expected to allow an examination of the extent to which technology can accelerate or trigger the process of integration of immigrants in their hosting societies. This report was prepared as a part of the research study "ICT to support everyday life integration of immigrants or ethnic minority people (IEM)" (ConnectIEM) co-funded by JRC-IPTS and DG INFSO, European Commission. It counted with the collaboration of external research teams of the Migration and Network Society Programme (MNS) hosted by the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3) of the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), the Technological and Social Change Group (TASCHA) hosted by the University of Washington, and a network of local researchers based in the target countries.JRC.J.3-Information Societ

Chapter 2 - Methodology and cross-cutting analysis of practices

This chapter introduces the methodology developed to map ICT-driven initiatives, with an explanation of the criteria upon which the practices/initiatives referred to in this booklet have been selected and a cross-cutting analysis of these 60 initiatives.JRC.J.3-Information Societ

Putting Digital Innovation Hubs into Regional Context

While digitalisation is oftentimes thought of as a global megatrend and something that transcends national borders and geographical distances, it is at the same time a very tangible process exhibiting considerable regional and sectoral variation. Against this backdrop, Digital Innovation Hubs (DIHs) (a policy initiative in the context of the Digitising European Industry (DEI) strategy of the EU) constitute an important complementary and regionally anchored policy, whose impact can be boosted if combined with other EU-wide innovation supporting initiatives (i.e. regional/national innovation strategies). After three years of the launch and successful deployment of the DIHs initiative, a survey has been conducted among DIH managers and regional policy managers working with Smart Specialisation Strategies all over the EU28. The survey provided a useful insight of the digital maturity level of the regional contexts in which DIHs operate and what role they have undertaken in their respective regions, as well as the DIHs' characteristics and activities in their regional context and other important aspects such as collaboration, strategies and funding. This report consists of a thorough analysis of the collected answers. Delivered together with a case study analysis of six (6) regional DIHs in different socio-economic contexts (separate report), they aim at providing useful evidence on current strengths, weaknesses and variations of DIHs also in view of the planning for the upcoming Digital Europe Programme (DEP) and its funding priorities.JRC.B.3-Territorial Developmen

e-Scouts: Intergenerational Learning in Blended Environments and Spaces (ILBES) for Social Inclusion

In the EU LLP project 2011/2012 “eScouts - Intergenerational Learning Circle for Community Service” (www.eScouts.eu), the ILBES methodology (Intergenerational Learning in Blended Environments and Spaces) was developed and is currently implemented to facilitate the socio-digital inclusion of elderly and the youth joining the labour market and adult life, while improving local community life by means of the intergenerational dialogue and mutual support. Thus, the learning circle enables youth to support elderly people in ICT usage and, in return, seniors mentor the youth in their efforts to access the labour market and to face the challenges of adult life, completing in this way a circle of learning, exchange and conviviality, mediated by ICT, social media, and BLES. ILBES methodology is backed on two consolidated learning methodologiess, Community-Service Learning (CSL) and Participatory and Appreciative Action and Reflection (PAAR), and was tested by a group of EU third sector organisations and telecentres in Spain, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Bulgaria and Poland.JRC.J.3-Information Societ