Big, small and different - connecting the dots in Innovation Ecosystems

The playing field of modern innovation spaces goes well beyond their physical space, and connecting the many different layers and actors involved is by no means an easy job.

Seen from the observatory of IASP, which is first and foremost an international network, collaboration across different sectors, sizes, private and public results in a hybridisation that has become increasingly important to unlock meaningful innovation.

Innovation projects across the globe, who work to support entrepreneurs and knowledge-intensive businesses, often act as key connectors between big and small – you could call them ‘collaboration facilitators’, helping startups and corporates to successfully connect, communicate and collaborate across different business cultures, languages and tempos of conducting business.

The many areas of innovation, science parks, innovation hubs and campuses that form part of our global community also involve the wider community and governments in a quadruple helix approach: the full spectrum of actors being how we can truly benefit from the network effect and grow beyond what would be possible with unidirectional partnerships or collaboration.

Innovation ecosystems must therefore help their startups to access the best and most suitable networks for their needs. This is not always as easy as it seems, especially from a global perspective, and smart and proactive networking becomes essential. Good networks are a formidable multiplier of resources - especially for startups where precisely resources are scarce.

The coexistence of big and small players has always made science and technology parks fertile soil for companies to grow, and as new models and labels are added to our network we are thrilled to follow the many ways in which innovation ecosystem managers bring multinationals and startups together. They do this in an intensified collaboration with the cities where they are based, to keep generating new economic drivers within the knowledge economy.

Increasing engagement with the urban environment is crucial, as cities are no longer accepting a passive role, but want to be proactive in generating knowledge economy activities. Innovation ecosystem managers are key stakeholders in this context, as they can step forward and offer full collaboration to our cities as the experts who can make these things happen. By creating and properly managing innovation spaces, we will also be transforming our cities, help providing solutions and keep enhancing sustainable economic development with and for our communities.

One such example is Here East in the UK whom I will soon be joining at SXSW in Austin where we’ll debate this type of challenges for Innovation Ecosystems. Panellists will be Andrew Roughan (Plexal, the Here East innovation centre), Ricardo van Loenen (B. Building Business) and Sarah-Jayne Williams (Ford Smart Mobility).

As an urban regeneration project launched in 2014 the Here East innovation campus has grown to host a highly collaborative community of 4,500 entrepreneurs, creatives, academics and corporates and synchronises beautifully with IASP’s emphasis on encouraging modern innovation spaces to aim at becoming the heart of their cities.

I look forward to discussing this and more on the panel session: Big, Small and Different – Innovation Ecosystems, at SXSW festival in Austin, 16th March, 9:30am-10:30am.

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EDIT: Unfortunately SXSW 2020 was cancelled due to concerns over COVID-19, but the conversation about innovation ecosystems in the life of cities will continue online – follow IASP for the latest developments from our global community.