Dear friends,
The commitment and effort invested in securing the Impact Entrepreneurship Innobooster application have been truly remarkable and greatly appreciated.
In its response, Innosuisse has not only recognized the enthusiasm of our consortium but also our profound understanding of the commons system. However, they have assessed our application as not entirely aligning with the core objectives of the Innovation Booster program, which primarily focuses on facilitating the transfer of technology between university research and industry. You can review the full letter bellow.
Nevertheless, we wish to emphasize several positive aspects of our IE Innobooster application:
- The thematic network initiated by the IE Innobooster is eager to broaden its collaborative efforts. The Open Urbanism Foundation, together with several Innobooster partners, has already secured the European research project DUT (Driving Urban Change), a three-year initiative starting in 2024. It is worth noting that the Unlimited Cities project, a digital commons supported by the Foundation, is at the heart of the WP 1. Multiple cities and countries, including Germany, England, Belgium, Finland, Switzerland and Turkey, are actively participating in this research directed by HES-SO Valais.
- The concept of innovative commons continues to gain importance in the context of transition and emerging impact business models. Just last week, the Foundation accompanied a delegation from the Canton of Geneva to the city of Grenoble in France which is conducting remarkable experiments in this field through an assembly of commons and different public/common partnerships. This is why, while respecting Innosuisse's decision, we intend to submit a more comprehensive Innobooster application on this theme during a future session.
- Our forthcoming application will provide a more detailed exposition of our holistic approach to innovation. It will encompass a thorough presentation of the theoretical, empirical, and practical foundations of transformative innovation—a subject the Fondation hope to explore very soon with SAGUF (Swiss Academic Society for Environmental Research and Ecology).
- In terms of disseminating innovative commons, the Foundation remains committed to ongoing experimentation and knowledge development. The European H2020 research project "Interlace" also use the free digital commons Unlimited Cities. This project (International Cooperation to Restore and Connect Urban Environments in Latin America and Europe) involves six cities and countries: Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Germany, Poland, and Spain focused on the theme of NBS (Nature-Based Solutions).
So, what's next?
In the short term, we look forward to continuing research and experimentation in collaboration with your organizations.
We are particularly interested in innovation approaches that promote the involvement of civil society in conjunction with scientific knowledge. We firmly believe that such holistic and inclusive innovations are essential to the sustainable transformation of territories by disseminating knowledge and influencing lifestyle changes.
In the medium term, we plan to return to you no later than 2025 (!) with a new proposal focusing on the potential of innovative commons within the Innosuisse Innobooster program.
Please find below further information:
The Innosuisse response letter in attachment
Link to DUT Research
Link to SAGUF article on transformative Innovation
Link to Interlace Research
Alain Renk on behalf of the Open Urbanism Foundation
