Living Labs Global

Together with Euroland Projektierungen, Interlace-Invent is implementing the Competence Center Konstanz, a Third Generation Innovation Environment. As a waterfront development along the shores of the Seerhein in the centre of Konstanz the CCK will form the hub for innovative activities in the Bodenseeland, one of the most dynamic and innovative regions in Europe bordering Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein. For additional information please visit www.bodenseeland.info.

Overall, this new concept for an integrated innovation development, will include major investments into an urban regeneration to house innovative companies, as well as the Living Lab Bodensee and a Bodensee Venture Lab asa high profile programme to international talent.

The project, which began as an investors competition in 2005 which was won in 2006 by the EUROLAND / Interlace-Invent team, has followed a fully integrated process of investment and innovation planning. Today, the project stakeholders have a joint innovation strategy building on increasing the place attractiveness, service innovation, internaionalisation and entrepreneurship. Located in Konstanz, this project is anchored in strong regional support including the network of Bodensee Ambassadors, representing 150 leading businesses and institutions in the region.

Visit www.livinglabs-europe.com/bodensee for updates in the coming weeks outlining the project details and contact persons.

What currently attracts multi-nationals to invest in research in a particular location? What can regional actors do to make their regions more attractive? A two-day conference addressing these topics will take place in Hamburg 5-6 June 2007. This conference builds on extensive interviews with more than 40 global R&D directors carried out by the Regions of Knowledge Project “LOCOMOTIVE”

Speakers include Carlos Orzoco, Global R&D director of Dow Chemicals, Francisco Escarti Europe R&D Director of Boeing, Andrew Dearing General Secretary of the European Industrial Research Managers Association as well as directors of clusters, regional development directors and researchers.

The aim of this conference is to disseminate some of the findings of the project in order to support the development of better regional policies to make Europe more attractive as a research base. It should be of interest to regional policy makers, those involved in developing clusters, knowledge transfer professionals and university staff.

Further details can be found on www.locomotive-project.org or by mailing locomotive@tutech.de.

NOTE: Potential delegates are advised to book hotels early as Hamburg’s hotels are likely to be in heavy demand around this time. The venue is the Hotel Elysee in Hamburg and this can be booked via the conference web site. A contingency of rooms has been reserved until 12 May 2007.

Living Labs Catalunya, an initiative to promote innovation in mobile services and technologies by the 22@Barcelona Innovation District, the Barcelona Digital Foundation, the City of Sant Cugat and TecnoCampus Mataró held a matchmaking event on Monday to connect 14 Scandinavian companies with Catalan business and institutional partners. Coinciding with the launch of the 3GSM World Congress, 40 experts in innovative services and technologies exchanged opportunities and ideas, with the support public agencies and venture capital partners to assist new inward investments and export opportunities.

22@Barcelona marketing director Jordi Sacristán welcomed the visitors together with Christer Asplund of Living Labs Global, acting as the facilitator for the event. All participants considered Catalonia the ideal business and innovation environment for joint activities and a professional entry-point into the Mediterranean market.

Sascha Haselmayer, General Coordinator of Living Labs Catalunya, called the event a great success, with a number of promising leads that could bring new services to citizens, businesses and visitors in Catalunya and new international opportunities opened for Catalan companies. Studies such as the mWatch Europe surveys i(see previous post) into mobile readiness in 21 European cities have continually emphasised the need to place European users at the centre of service development.

Commenting on the 3GSM World Congress, he expressed the hope that in future editions of the event visitors would experience Catalonia as a ‘Cradle of Content’, through a unique range of mobile services at their disposal. Such initiatives would not only add to the attractiveness of the region, but also showcase the uniqueness of companies in the region developing world-class services and technologies.

Already on Tuesday, follow-up talks were held not only with key companies, but also representatives of Living Labs Kalmar (Sweden), to strengthen the regional collaboration to deliver new services for students, tourists and travellers.

From the very beginning Living Labs Europe was conceived as a strategic place branding instrument, addressing European competition among the 150.000 communities and regions. The intention was to create a clublike (yet open) network of those cities taking the lead in developing Mobile Solutions, as both innovative economic activities and services to their communities. Living Labs Cities are non-competing – it is an alliance to build mutual strengt? and share resources to become competitive leaders. This is further strengthened by the European mClusters Programme, in which Living Labs Catalunya is one of 9 European reference regions for excellence in mobile solutions clustering. It is as much a strategy as a branding action. Historically, Europe’s leading cities and regions have considered themselves as competitors – yet an increase in international benchmarking activities and networking has led to alliances being made such as Baltic Sea Region (New Hanseatic League):

• Joint Branding and inward investment strategy Cluster strategy, business groups related to clusters Baltic Ports Association
• Competitors team up to form a Branding Alliance for global visibility UK – Oresund Life Sciences Alliance Endorsed at highest-political and business levels
• Vision to create globally leading life science regions Oresund Region: Cross-Regional / Nationa collaboration on Innovation, Science, Inward Investment, Infrastructure, Marketing and Education

Living Labs Europe is driven by the recognition that place branding can no longer be seen as a closed system, but that network and co-branding synergies can add substantial value. Living Labs Europe provides this branded international framework which enables the Brand? Proposition of individual Living Labs to be more credible:

• Association & Collaboration with Europe’s best to partners and markets across Europe
• 100% Compatibility with EU R&D and Information Society policy International End-User
• Communities for User-Centric Innovation Urbanisation of innovation activities – Living Labs are city based resources with close end-user linkages