The project is a real success:
• By the end of the 1st year, the 6 FabSpaces (Toulouse, France; Rome, Italy; Liège, Belgium; Darmstadt, Germany; Warsaw, Poland; Athens, Greece) were ready to open, offering a FabSpace manager to welcome and support them regarding technical questions on EO data in an open place, and a platform to play with the datasets and experiment applications. Openings had been advertised through “Open Days”, in order to present the concept, show the premises, and demonstrate the data platform.
• Starting from the 2nsdecond year, FabSpace 2.0 organizes animations and innovation events such as hackathons which attracted many users in the 6 FabSpaces. FabSpace partners collectioned various challenges from public authorities, companies and NGOs. FabSpace 2.0 pre-incubated the first application ideas through the first bootcamp in the second year of the project. The consortium also selected 14 new FabSpaces worldwide in 2018, starting to elaborate the FabSpace 2.0 network.
• Finally, as the 3rd year was ending, activities in the FabSpaces kept going, always offering new animations, trainings (technical or business), hackathons, and bootcamps. The consortium selected 15 extra FabSpaces to join the network.
The consortium carried out extensive communication efforts (especially to external and targeted audiences) during the entire duration of the FabSpace 2.0 project. Communication activities improved as the project matured, with good results highlighted in the second period; all targets and KPIs were met if not exceeded at the end of the project.
Whether regarding internal activities or external events, the attention and interest aroused by FabSpace 2.0 are incontestable, proving this project is a particularly opportune one in the current legal and business context surrounding the open-innovation network for geodata-driven innovation in Universities 2.0.
Animation and networking activities have a great impact on users of the FabSpaces providing support, networking and one-to-one guidance and mentoring to foster them create their own start-ups. A wide network of local stakeholders, including universities, companies, public administrations, etc., was engaged to those activities and worked in close cooperation in order to transfer knowledge, experience and support to students, researchers and aspiring entrepreneurs.
The 6 founder FabSpaces received more than 4,300 visitors and 1,600 users (target 1,500). They were trained and educated on the capacities of EO and the space industry in Europe and worldwide. The 6 FabSpaces have incubated 4 startups which was not an initially expected result of the project, and are helping 7 other startups to develop their activities. The potential for incubation of other applications ideas, from the about 200 ideas that FabSpace users had, is under evaluation.
The FabSpace 2.0 network is 35 locations in 2019 in Europe and worldwide. Its positive impact is recognised also by European players such as Copernicus, ESA and other H2020 projects that have been working with networks for innovation. FabSpace 2.0 work and experience in contributing to the sustainability of a University and business partner network interests many players that have similar interest and plans and with which FabSpace 2.0 has developed cooperation links. This is a sound basis for the further expansion and continuation of the FabSpace 2.0 network on a global scale.
