Context

Quadruple Helix (QH) innovation, the collaboration of actors from public sector, industry, academia and civil society, is a
concept to address complex problems and to innovate for the benefits of all involved. By emphasizing collaboration
across sectors and the active involvement of civil society, QH links to models such as Open Innovation 2.0 and Mode3. The EU project RiConfigure has engaged with a number of QH cases across Europe and Colombia and established first-hand knowledge how these work in practice. The current COVID-19 crisis creates new challenges for society while, at the same time, 'old' problems, such as the climate crisis, are not disappearing. Most of the ways addressing wicked problems are currently top-down and expert based. We thus aim to foster collaborative- and more democratic modes of innovation.

About the dialogue days

The RiConfigure 'dialogue days' are an open online process that brings together policy makers, practitioners and researchers working on and with QH innovation. Knowledge and experience of participants from innovation policy and praxis are linked with findings from an empirical analysis of European and Colombian cases of Quadruple Helix collaborations. The analyzed cases are innovation projects located in fields such as energy production, climate change adaption, connected mobility and smart labor. Together we will discuss what it needs for these type of innovation projects to thrive - particularly in these challenging times. Special emphasis will be given to learnings from COVID-19 challenges to innovation collaborations, both as impacts on and potential of innovation in corona times.

This virtual event is organized through the online platform 'Slack' that allows participants to join discussions whenever they are available. There will be a main channel where, along the dialogue days, videos and other input, stemming from the analysis of RiConfigure, will be uploaded. Sub-channels allow specific discussions as well as the co-creation of output e.g., policy briefs or best practice collection. In each channel, a moderator will stimulate discussions and summarize key learnings. Participants may thus contribute to the whole five-day process, or, join the discussions on selective days/times. The platform will be designed easy-accessible so no specific technical skills are needed to join and contribute. 

What to expect

• Explore and learn from good practice examples for collaborative innovation 
• Discuss tools & methods for involving civil society in innovation
• Connect and develop new ideas of practitioners and policy makers
• Jointly lay ground for a policy brief, an innovation training program and practice-oriented handbooks for collaborative innovation targeted for practitioners and policy makers

Information

• Date: 06th -10th July 2020
• Time: Flexible options to contribute 24h/day across the five days | 1,5h live discussions at each day
• Who: Persons involved in innovation practice and policy
• Organizer: EU project RiConfigure | Institute for Advanced Studies (Austria) & Fondazione Adriano Olivetti (Italy) 
• Contact: [email protected] | please register via E-Mail until June 26th 2020 

-----

*A detailed agenda for the dialogue days will be available soon.