Periodic Reporting for period 2 - CITIES 4.0 (CITIES 4.0 - Climate Innovation Through Interactive Ecosystem Summits)
Reporting period: 2023-07-01 to 2024-04-30
Climate Innovation Through Interactive Ecosystem Summits (CITIES 4.0) project is the effort of 4 European innovation ecosystems to contribute to key elements of the European Climate policy and to the European Union’s Mission 100 Climate Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030 (henceforward EU Mission), introduced in September 2021. The innovation ecosystems are Brainport Development (BRP), Leuven Mindgate (MIND), Turku Science Park (TScP) and Fondazione Innovazione Urbana (FIU). All the four cities partnering in this project, Brainport Eindhoven, Leuven, Turku and Bologna, have been selected as members of the Mission and thus they aim at reaching climate neutrality by 2030. In this context, the CITIES 4.0 project is an opportunity to experiment and innovate thanks to knowledge sharing, networking and interconnection.
In order to achieve climate neutrality in 2030 according to the objectives of the EU Mission, cities will need to adopt and find innovative solutions in a wide range of policy areas, while at the same time trying to reduce the social divide at local and regional level. For all these reasons, the complex challenges posed by climate neutrality have to be solved as much as possible not as single actors on the scene, but as an interconnected network of ecosystems sharing ideas, matchmaking for innovative solutions and putting knowledge in circulation. The basic operating principle of open innovation: sharing problems, sharing risks and then also sharing the results.
During the course of the project, a selection of engaged stakeholders from all the involved ecosystems will be asked to join a participatory process that is expected to be effective in each single local environment and culture. The process will help all the aforementioned activities, from matchmaking to ideas sharing, from fostering interconnection to bringing hints and insights from different stakeholders into the conversation. It will also help the four cities to plan actions during the development and implementation of the Climate City Contract. Moreover, the gained knowledge and insights wille be shared among all the other cities of the Mission, maximising the impact of the work done.
The overall objective of the project is to enhance and favour interconnections, networking and the sharing of knowledge and practice among the four ecosystems involved. In particular, CITIES 4.0 aims at strengthening and growing their abilities in maximising their path towards carbon-neutrality and disseminating their knowledge to other cities that are following a similar path.
In order to achieve climate neutrality in 2030 according to the objectives of the EU Mission, cities will need to adopt and find innovative solutions in a wide range of policy areas, while at the same time trying to reduce the social divide at local and regional level. For all these reasons, the complex challenges posed by climate neutrality have to be solved as much as possible not as single actors on the scene, but as an interconnected network of ecosystems sharing ideas, matchmaking for innovative solutions and putting knowledge in circulation. The basic operating principle of open innovation: sharing problems, sharing risks and then also sharing the results.
During the course of the project, a selection of engaged stakeholders from all the involved ecosystems will be asked to join a participatory process that is expected to be effective in each single local environment and culture. The process will help all the aforementioned activities, from matchmaking to ideas sharing, from fostering interconnection to bringing hints and insights from different stakeholders into the conversation. It will also help the four cities to plan actions during the development and implementation of the Climate City Contract. Moreover, the gained knowledge and insights wille be shared among all the other cities of the Mission, maximising the impact of the work done.
The overall objective of the project is to enhance and favour interconnections, networking and the sharing of knowledge and practice among the four ecosystems involved. In particular, CITIES 4.0 aims at strengthening and growing their abilities in maximising their path towards carbon-neutrality and disseminating their knowledge to other cities that are following a similar path.
Below, the work performed and main achievements are listed per technical work package.
WP2
In the period September – November 2022, TSCP in collaboration with the University of Turku carried out a comparative analysis of CITIES 4.0 regions, their EU mission applications and strategic documents. Furthermore, a short questionnaire was set out to the main stakeholders about different sectors’ importance and business opportunities as well as likeliness of carbon/climate neutrality and potential for CO2 reduction. The work package results are summarized in the Joint Climate Innovation Action Plan.
WP3
In a 3 step approach the partnership distilled 2 challenges that formed the basis for work package 4.
Step 1 - Local ecosystem games:
In the period March – May 2023 the 4 partner cities explored during a local Ecosystem Game problems to be solved. Based on the analysis done in WP2 and consultation of the local ecosystem, each city selected a specific emission domain to focus this exploration phase, namely Mobility and the Built Environment. To facilitate the collaboration amongst the different actors in these regional ecosystems, a serious game called ‘The Ecosystem Game®©’ by the Redbluejay foundation, one of the partners in the Cities 4.0 program, is used. The serious game creates understanding of, and insight into the required mindsets and dynamics of collaboration within ecosystems.
Step 2 - International ecosystem games:
To cover both topics selected by the partner cities, the International Ecosystem Game was divided in a session on Mobility and another session on the Built Environment. During both sessions a select group of representatives of the 4 cities engaged in an evaluation of the problems identified during the local Ecosystem Games. The objective was double:
Find the common ground of shared challenges in a specific domain.
Finetune the formulation of the problems to be solved.
Step 3 - Definition of challenges:
1.How to decrease the private car dependence of citizens?
2.How to significantly speed up the renovation of homes in the participating cities?
For each of the selected problems detailed challenge briefs were developed. These challenges are well in line with each city’s ambition in their respective Climate City Contract to ensure maximum support from the different municipalities for the follow-up process.
WP4
The goal of WP4 was to translate the outcomes of WP2 and WP3 into a Multi-annual Joint Climate Innovation Action Plan and a Collection of Good Practices for wider dissemination. Additionally, the consortium jointly looked for breakthrough solutions on the challenge topics defined in WP3 and selected two winners that will pilot their solutions in the cities.
The collection of good practices was published in 2023 and includes inspiring sustainability related projects from the cities of Bologna, Eindhoven/Helmond, Leuven and Turku.
The Joint Climate Innovation Action Plan includes actions related to the two innovation challenges and provides an overview of the actions identified by the 4 thematic working groups that were formed on the following topics: 1. engaging companies in the EU mission, 2. talent attraction for sustainability, 3. financing the EU mission and 4. energy poverty.
WP2
In the period September – November 2022, TSCP in collaboration with the University of Turku carried out a comparative analysis of CITIES 4.0 regions, their EU mission applications and strategic documents. Furthermore, a short questionnaire was set out to the main stakeholders about different sectors’ importance and business opportunities as well as likeliness of carbon/climate neutrality and potential for CO2 reduction. The work package results are summarized in the Joint Climate Innovation Action Plan.
WP3
In a 3 step approach the partnership distilled 2 challenges that formed the basis for work package 4.
Step 1 - Local ecosystem games:
In the period March – May 2023 the 4 partner cities explored during a local Ecosystem Game problems to be solved. Based on the analysis done in WP2 and consultation of the local ecosystem, each city selected a specific emission domain to focus this exploration phase, namely Mobility and the Built Environment. To facilitate the collaboration amongst the different actors in these regional ecosystems, a serious game called ‘The Ecosystem Game®©’ by the Redbluejay foundation, one of the partners in the Cities 4.0 program, is used. The serious game creates understanding of, and insight into the required mindsets and dynamics of collaboration within ecosystems.
Step 2 - International ecosystem games:
To cover both topics selected by the partner cities, the International Ecosystem Game was divided in a session on Mobility and another session on the Built Environment. During both sessions a select group of representatives of the 4 cities engaged in an evaluation of the problems identified during the local Ecosystem Games. The objective was double:
Find the common ground of shared challenges in a specific domain.
Finetune the formulation of the problems to be solved.
Step 3 - Definition of challenges:
1.How to decrease the private car dependence of citizens?
2.How to significantly speed up the renovation of homes in the participating cities?
For each of the selected problems detailed challenge briefs were developed. These challenges are well in line with each city’s ambition in their respective Climate City Contract to ensure maximum support from the different municipalities for the follow-up process.
WP4
The goal of WP4 was to translate the outcomes of WP2 and WP3 into a Multi-annual Joint Climate Innovation Action Plan and a Collection of Good Practices for wider dissemination. Additionally, the consortium jointly looked for breakthrough solutions on the challenge topics defined in WP3 and selected two winners that will pilot their solutions in the cities.
The collection of good practices was published in 2023 and includes inspiring sustainability related projects from the cities of Bologna, Eindhoven/Helmond, Leuven and Turku.
The Joint Climate Innovation Action Plan includes actions related to the two innovation challenges and provides an overview of the actions identified by the 4 thematic working groups that were formed on the following topics: 1. engaging companies in the EU mission, 2. talent attraction for sustainability, 3. financing the EU mission and 4. energy poverty.
Summary of results:
Publication of a Multi-annual Joint Climate Innovation Action Plan.
Publication of Collection of Best Practices.
New business connections.
4 interconnected ecosystems.
At least 40 new innovation-ecosystem actors
Impact:
Successful achievement of carbon neutrality by 2030 by Eindhoven, Leuven, Turku, and Bologna.
Reaching 2050’s targets of the European Green Deal.
Interconnected, inclusive and more efficient innovation ecosystems across Europe that draws on the existing strengths of European, national, regional and local ecosystems and pulls in new, less well-represented stakeholders and less advanced in innovation territories, to set, undertake, and achieve collective ambitions towards challenges for the benefit of the society, including green, digital, and social transitions.
Publication of a Multi-annual Joint Climate Innovation Action Plan.
Publication of Collection of Best Practices.
New business connections.
4 interconnected ecosystems.
At least 40 new innovation-ecosystem actors
Impact:
Successful achievement of carbon neutrality by 2030 by Eindhoven, Leuven, Turku, and Bologna.
Reaching 2050’s targets of the European Green Deal.
Interconnected, inclusive and more efficient innovation ecosystems across Europe that draws on the existing strengths of European, national, regional and local ecosystems and pulls in new, less well-represented stakeholders and less advanced in innovation territories, to set, undertake, and achieve collective ambitions towards challenges for the benefit of the society, including green, digital, and social transitions.