Helsinki Smart Region: Pioneering for Europe 2020
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Helsinki Smart Region: Pioneering for Europe 2020 Second Edition, 2014 Authored by the EKA B project The purpose of this paper is to assist the Helsinki-Uusimaa Region in international cooperation across Europe. The paper will also serve as input to the upcoming conference “Smart Specialisation Strategies: Implementing European Partnerships” organised by the Committee of the Regions, the S3 Platform, the Helsinki-Uusimaa and Valencia regions and the Province of Utrecht, 18th June 2014 in Brussels. The paper describes the development of the Helsinki Regional Innovation Ecosystem, as well as several interesting regional initiatives. It then formulates the ambitions and objectives of the Region and provides an outlook for the next few years. The paper concludes with an overview of EU Strategy 2020 opportunities for Helsinki as a pioneering region. Publishing date: 4th June 2014 Helsinki Smart Region: Pioneering for Europe 2020 The 1st edition of this paper was published in April 2013. This revised 2nd edition provides further details on regional innovation initiatives as well as on opportunities in the context of the EU 2020 Strategy. The paper is the result of a collective effort of many regional stakeholders in the Helsinki- Uusimaa Region working together in the EKA project on the Helsinki Region as a Forerunner Area. We welcome feedback. EKA - Helsinki Region as a Forerunner Area EKA is an instrument assisting the regional actors in defining the necessary activities. EKA is a two- year project 2012-2014 funded by the metropolitan cities Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa, other regional actors, and the European Regional Development Fund. EKA means Forerunner Area. The target is to speed up the regional collaboration and pioneering activities as the leading engine of growth. List of contributors • Atso Andersen, Aalto University • Tuula Antola, City of Espoo • Rogaciano Cavadas Kaipainen, Helsinki EU Office • Christine Chang, Uusimaa Regional Council • Kristiina Erkkilä, City of Espoo • Juha Eskelinen, Uusimaa Regional Council • Jarmo Eskelinen, Forum Virium • Glenn Gassen, City of Espoo • Heli Halla-aho, Uusimaa Regional Council • Ilmari Halme, Vantaa Innovation Institute • Olli-Pekka Hatanpää, Uusimaa Regional Council • Kristiina Heiniemi-Pulkkinen, Uusimaa Regional Council • Tuija Hirvikoski, Laurea University of Applied Sciences • Ari Huczkowski, Otaniemi Marketing Ltd • Hank Kune, Educore B.V. • Markku Lappalainen, Aalto University • Markku Markkula, CoR, Uusimaa Regional Council, City of Espoo, Aalto University • Kari Mikkelä, Urban Mill, Järvelin Design Ltd • Lars Miikki, EKA B Forerunner Helsinki Region, Culminatum Innovation Ltd • Marja-Liisa Niinikoski, Culminatum Innovation Ltd • Riikka Paasikivi, Culminatum Innovation Ltd • Hans Schaffers, Aalto University, CKIR • Riina Subra, Aalto University • Taina Tukiainen, Digital Business Cluster, Culminatum Innovation Ltd • Ville Valovirta, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland • Eero Venäläinen, Uusimaa Regional Council • Jukka Viitanen, Hubconcepts Inc • Pertti Vuorela, Culminatum Innovation Ltd Coordination • Lars Mikki, E-mail: [email protected] • Markku Markkula, E-mail: [email protected] • Hans Schaffers, E-mail: [email protected] 2 List of Acronyms 6AIKA : Project (2014-2020) of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Tampere, Oulu and Turku, Open and smart services strategy for sustainable development, co-funded by ERDF CoR: Committee of the Regions EKA: Project Helsinki as a Forerunner Area ELY: Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment in Finland ERDF: European Regional Development Fund ESF: European Social Fund ESIF: European Structural and Investment Funds EUE: Energizing Urban Ecosystems, RYM Ltd, SHOK research programme (2012-2015) HSY: Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority INKA: Innovative Cities, Finnish national programme PreCo: Pre-Commercial Procurement RDI: Research, development and innovation RIS3: Research and Innovation Strategies based on Smart Specialisation S3: Strategies for Smart Specialisation SHOK: Strategic Centers for Science, Technology and Innovation TEKES : Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation VTT: Technical Research Centre of Finland 3 Contents Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 5 1. Introduction and Overview ............................................................................................................. 6 2. Helsinki Smart Region Innovation Ecosystem ................................................................................. 7 2.1 Helsinki-Uusimaa Region ......................................................................................................... 7 2.2 Helsinki Cluster Policy ........................................................................................................... 11 2.3 Espoo Innovation Garden ...................................................................................................... 12 2.4 Helsinki Smart City and Smart Region as Living Lab .............................................................. 14 2.5 Vantaa Innovation Environment ........................................................................................... 16 2.6 Regional Entrepreneurship Model ........................................................................................ 18 2.7 Helsinki-Uusimaa Region Policies, Assessment and Prospects ............................................. 19 3. Helsinki Smart Region Innovation Initiatives ................................................................................. 21 3.1 Helsinki Region as a Forerunner Area (EKA project) ............................................................. 21 3.2 Innovative Cities (INKA programme 2014 – 2020) ................................................................ 21 3.3 Energizing Urban Ecosystems (EUE) ...................................................................................... 22 3.4 Open and Smart Cities (6AIKA) .............................................................................................. 24 3.5 Aalto Open Innovation Initiatives ......................................................................................... 25 3.6 Digital Smart Services Initiatives ........................................................................................... 26 3.7 Helsinki Smart Region Showcases ......................................................................................... 28 4. EU Strategy 2020: Opportunities for Pioneering Regions ............................................................. 31 4.1 European Strategic Frame for 2020 ...................................................................................... 31 4.2 Europe 2020 Strategy and Regional Innovation Ecosystems ................................................ 32 4.3 Horizon 2020 Supporting Pioneering Cities and Regions ...................................................... 33 4.4 Opportunities for Smart Regions under Cohesion Policy ...................................................... 36 5. Ambitions and Objectives of Helsinki Smart Region ..................................................................... 38 5.1 Positioning Towards 2020 ..................................................................................................... 38 5.2 Enhancing the Helsinki Region Innovation Ecosystem .......................................................... 39 5.3 Helsinki Smart Region and International Collaboration ........................................................ 39 5.4 Conclusions and Follow-Up ................................................................................................... 40 Appendix 1: Sources and References .................................................................................................... 42 Appendix 2: Helsinki-Uusimaa Region Facts ......................................................................................... 43 Appendix 3: Horizon 2020 and Cohesion Policy Opportunities ............................................................ 45 4 Summary The purpose of this paper is to assist stakeholders in the Helsinki-Uusimaa Region in international cooperation across Europe. The paper also serves as input to the upcoming conference on “Smart Specialisation Strategies: Implementing European Partnerships”, a bench-learning conference for pioneering innovation regions organised by the Committee of the Regions, the S3 Platform and the Helsinki-Uusimaa and Valencia regions and the Province of Utrecht, 18th June 2014 in Brussels. Grand societal challenges are typically extremely complex by nature. Therefore, the key success factors in regional policy include continuous learning and reflection of new opportunities, as well as research and innovation in multi-dimensional co-creation teams and networks. Significant learning takes place as part of large innovation ecosystems. In the interfaces between universities, industry, public authorities and citizens, knowledge exploitation and capacity-building processes constitute important concepts, as do also exploration and knowledge co-creation. The regional innovation policy tackles these challenges. Its practices need to integrate top-down policy with bottom-up self-renewing activities, taking into account the characteristics described in this document. Smart Specialisation is one of the starting points and key principles reviewed in this document. Smart specialisation