Swiss innovated" label promotes research, business and society
In addition to the "Swiss innovated" label, the Universities of Bern and Neuchâtel, inspired by open source software and Creative Commons (CC) licences, are offering a new project entitled "Inno-Futures". Through knowledge exchange, creative ideas in technology, business and society are to be identified and realised.
Is Swiss policy not innovative enough? What can we mean by "Swiss innovated"? "Swiss innovation policy needs to promote exchanges between research, business and society," says Tina Haisch of the Centre for Regional Development (CRED) and the Institute of Geography at the University of Bern (now at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland). Technological developments are advancing ever faster, and world economic crises are creating new inequalities.
Great uncertainty
The digitalization of the economy threatens traditional jobs, and environmental issues require the sustainable use of resources. The great uncertainty in the economy and society poses numerous challenges and complex issues. In this context, increasing innovative capacity is becoming increasingly important politically.
Innovatisation" can already be observed in various areas of government action, for example in research, industrial, tourism, energy and agricultural policies. However, these innovation policies have their limits, as Tina Haisch points out together with Hugues Jeannerat of the Institute of Sociology at the University of Neuchâtel.
Complex challenges
According to the researchers, the existing paradigms of innovation and their implementation in sectoral innovation policies often fall short. Moreover, the economic benefits of some Swiss innovations do not accrue to Switzerland. The team led by Haisch and Jeannerat held numerous discussions and organised workshops with the various actors in innovation as well as Swiss and international expert groups. On this basis, they developed a new Swiss innovation policy: the policy of the innovative commons.
This policy brings the actors from research, business and society closer together to meet current challenges in an innovative way. However, the solutions are not products, but collaborative resources that the actors of the Swiss innovation system make available to all other stakeholders. For this purpose, the platform www.innovative-allmende.ch created.
Inspired by current examples such as the Creative Commons licenses or the development of open source software (e.g. Linux), the Innovative Commons policy aims to create, maintain and develop the framework for innovative collaborative resources. Its goals:
- Understand innovation as a driver for the development and regeneration of strategic community resources (knowledge, culture, nature, landscape, energy, etc.).
- In the development, application and regeneration of these resources, companies, research, politics and civil society complement each other and share responsibility. This dynamic must be encouraged.
- Anchor the development, application and value creation of innovations in the regional context.
- Ensure participation of civil society in the innovation process.
- Avoid loss of community resources and external value extraction. Ensure sustainable welfare for all.
Swiss Innovated" label
The researchers led by Haisch and Jeannerat also propose the creation of a "Swiss Innovated" label to enable the international recognition of Swiss innovations. This label should promote the recognition of the Swiss innovative commons and reinforce Switzerland's reputation as a champion of innovation. All actors and all forms of innovation (technological, economic and social) should thus be officially recognised and promoted.
The label would thus contribute to the further development of Switzerland and strengthen the image of an innovative Switzerland that is attractive to both companies and the population.
The researchers are convinced that an economy of solutions, encouraged by a policy of the innovative commons, reaches much further than mere technology transfer. It is firmly anchored in the respective context - production, consumption and living conditions. Cities and regions are social experimental spaces that need to be promoted in order to involve consumers in the elaboration and evaluation of new forms of social innovation and collaborative economic activity.
