RIS3 WORKBOOK (A) FOR LEARNING-DRIVEN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT For project organizations, regions and project consortiums

involved in regional development projects

Toni Pienonen and Mikko Markkanen, Business Arena Oy

!

www.innofokus.fi

Change2020 development program was part of

the operations carried out by INNOFOKUS

project which was funded by European Social

Fund, Ministry of Education. INNOFOKUS

project was managed by Aalto University School

of Business Small Business Center (SBC).

Summary

RIS3 WORKBOOK FOR LEARNING-DRIVEN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

provides a practical view on how project organizations, regions and project

consortiums involved in regional development projects can meet the smart

specialisation requirements of EU programme period 2014-2020.

Contents of this workbook were documented by Toni Pienonen and Mikko

Markkanen as part of INNOFOKUS project and its Change2020 program.

Throughout the year 2014, the program organized several opportunities to create

clarity on these issues. Following tens of participatory workshops and bench-learning

events for hundreds of participants, this workbook summarizes the results.

This workbook has a companion piece RIS3 WORKBOOK FOR PROJECTS which is

intended for individual projects. You can find at it at www.innofokus.fi

* Please note that in this context, ”projects” mean specifically regional development

projects or applied and demand-driven research projects, unless otherwise stated.

Contents

The approaches described in this workbook can be used to orchestrate

the regional development activity of a project organization, a region or a

project consortium. Workbook has four blocks.

1) Smart specialisation is not a fixed top-down strategy paper, but an

ongoing process of experimentation and discovery.

2) Regional developers need to pool together a variety of resources

around the same vision. To make this happen, anyone working with

regional development can utilize ”activity portfolio thinking” in one way or

another. Portfolios are an instrument for project organizations, regions and

project consortiums involved in regional development projects to manage

interlinked activity.

3) Orchestration ensures that actors behind activities interact, learn and

move in the purposeful direction.

4) Idea and case examples help to illustrate how to increase interaction

and learning in practice according to RIS3 requirements.

Catalyzation and facilitation

Activity portfolios

Orchestration

Idea and case examples

The purpose of smart specialisation

(RIS3) is to act as a catalysis for a bottom-up process. It is not static

paper or structure, but an evolving

process, where participants learn by

doing. This attitude requires a new

set of processes and instruments

from everyone involved. Instead of

control, facilitation and shared

ownership are the key.

1)

CASE EXAMPLE: Kymenlaakso Change2020 journey - university as regional smart

specialization facilitator

During the Change2020 program, KyAMK became the regional primus motor in the process of

setting smart specialisation on track in Kymenlaakso. They learned first hand that smart

specialization is an evolutionary learning process of discovery and increasing co-creation.

1/2014 KyAMK enters in Change2020 program

Aalto partnership possibilities in Russia-cooperation

10/2014 Learning from Lapland and local universities’ role as smart specialisation primus motor

1/2015 → Partnership possibilities with Change2020 regions

Jumping off to moving train - regional council and Cursor onboard in ”Team Kymenlaakso"

Common Kyme delegation to Brussels 12/2014

Team Kyme opening new networks internationally

Finding out about own regional strengths with help of outside viewpoints

EXAMPLE: First Follower - Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy

http://youtu.be/fW8amMCVAJQ

Video on what catalyzation and change making is

really about in simple straightforward manner -

starting and nurturing a movement.

• be easy to follow

• be clear about what you want

• go public, work in the open

• make it easy to follow and join in

• nurture the first follower

• the first follower is what makes a dancing

madman into a popular movement

Activity portfolios are a set of

projects and development

activities guided by a shared vision

in a specific theme. By utilizing

portfolio-thinking, regional

developers can leverage and reach

resources that would otherwise be

unattainable.

2)

Activity portfolio always needs a specific theme

Building the portfolio starts with identifying a specific theme that brings together different

activities and actors.

For example, the common thematic can be

formed around:

• a societal challenge, issue or a wicked

problem

• a regional smart specialisation spearhead

• an emerging technology

• a multidisciplinary industry / field

If the theme is too narrowly defined, you may end

up limiting the scope too much. Make it too big,

and there isn’t enough glue to connect activities

in a sensible way.

Activity portfolio always a needs a strong vision

Just like individual projects (and even more so)

portfolios need a shared vision. A well-defined

common theme helps to set it out. Activity

portfolios are essentially self-organizing networks

that cannot be controlled - they can only be

nudged in the right direction. Vision is a glue that

binds together individual activity and gives a

sense of purpose for people involved.

Activity portfolios can take place on three different levels

Secondly, portfolios to define on what level the

activity portfolio takes place. Roughly speaking,

portfolios can exist on three levels that overlap

each other:

• A project organization (one organization): for example, a university may have its set of

project and activity portfolios for certain

themes

• Region (one region, many organizations): projects and activity used to advance a specific

goal, for example related to bioenergy, often

implemented by various individual project

organizations

• Programme or a project consortium (many regions, many organizations): a network of

different project organizations working

together with interlinked activities

Portfolios should use funding instruments in synergy

In Finland, domestic funding for

regional development projects is being

significantly reduced. At the same time

European Union expects that ESI funds

and domestic funding instruments

should be used increasingly more in

synergy with H2020 funding and other

international project instruments.

For Finnish HEIs and project

organizations to be able to better reach

out for international project

possibilities, a sort of investment

thinking towards project orchestration

is required. Leveraging international

funding with domestic funding is the

key.

Domestic €

International

€€

International + domestic

€€€

One way to depict the structure of activity portfolios is to position individual projects and activities in the big picture according to typology of these three different types:

1. Capacity building: Helping businesses and HEI to build groundwork.

2. Creating new: Research and development with (international) partners.

3. Research to market: Applying latest research and knowledge in practice.

Note that this is not a stop-gate model. Portfolio, projects and information flows can work in different directions.

1. Capacity building

2. Creating new 3. Research to market SHARED

VISION

information and resource flows

Activities Activities Activities

As certainty increases, iterate and scale up by pooling more resources. Build pathways for university-society-cooperation and international leverage. Involve businesses in development.

World-class research: R&I, demonstration pilots and development of KETs (key enabling technologies)

CAPACITY BUILDING

Platforms, living labs, communities, ESI and EAFRD funds, Tekes and other development activity for: capacity building, skills, proof of concepts and business advisory services.

CREATING NEW

Horizon 2020 and other international funding instruments for networked R&D.

RESEARCH TO MARKET

Platforms, living labs, ESI and EAFRD funds, Horizon SME instrument, Tekes and other development activity for applied technology and knowledge transfer to businesses and market.

Small-scale experiments test the ideas and solutions in practice. Objective is to demonstrate the impact, benefits and learn as much as possible. Experiments also attract resources (networks, inertia, partners) behind the idea.

Transferring and implementing latest research knowledge into innovations with businesses as early adopters. Sourcing existing knowledge and combining it into new concepts.

EXAMPLE OF A PORTFOLIO UTILIZING SYNERGY OF DIFFERENT FUNDING INSTRUMENTS

Circle = project or activity,

radius of the circle

corresponds to the size of the

project or activity SHARED VISION

Portfolio requires

an orchestrator who

supports and

facilitates the key

players - with

information,

resources and

learning

3)

In the end, it’s not about who owns the projects and

activity, but who orchestrates the portfolio - someone

who connects the dots, understands the big picture

and drives others towards vision.

Orchestration ≠ traditional leadership

Since activity portfolios (and smart

specialisation in regions) are

essentially networks based on

collaborative leadership, where

leadership is shared and comes in

different forms (as opposed to

hierarchy and official leadership),

orchestrator needs to use a

different kind of leadership

mindset.

Networks are living systems of self-

organization. They cannot be

controlled, only nudged in the

right direction.

Collaborative leadership maxims that orchestrators should follow

• There is no leader in a network. Networks are orchestrated with strong vision,

sense of purpose and meaningful roles.

• Paint the big picture and show a common direction. Connect the dots. Make

it clear how individual elements are connected to each other.

• Communication in its many forms (face-to-face meetings, events, etc.) is vital.

• Orchestrator should help others to learn from each other and recognize

opportunities. Make learning, success stories and good failures visible - not

to punish, but to learn effectively.

• Bring expertise from the network for common use and help to combine

resources.

• Instead of planning, focus on doing things. 90% of time spent in a network

should be about doing, 10% planning. Trust builds from results.

• Help people in the network to become more active; seek champions and first

followers, and nurture them

Examples of

orchestrator’s tasks.

Learning and co-

creation enable

portfolios to function

successfully

Organize events and

workshops

Broker and connect

people, activities and

resources

Remove impediments

Document the process

and lessons learned

Use digital open

platforms to make it

easier to share

Turn experiences into

stories

Developed and modified from Scrum methodology and Kari Mikkelä’s description of Urban Mill service process: urbanmill.org

QUESTION: Who in your organization or region should be the orchestrators?

!

Failed experiment

Successful experiment

Portfolio orchestrator needs to analyze which solutions in different

projects and activities work and do not. He follows the mindset of

”Failure is a result. Fail fast, learn fast. You cannot find the right answers,

but workable solutions.”

Learning takes place all the time - within projects and across the portfolio. A

portfolio needs both physical and virtual arenas for sharing tacit and explicit

knowledge.

Furthermore, portfolio orchestrator and individual project managers need to maintain

flexibility and a vigilant watch for black swans, the unexpected surprises that can result in

profitable spin-offs and spin-inns.

Idea and case examples on how to

increase learning and

co-creation in

portfolios

4)

CASE EXAMPLE: Lapland’s staff exchange, a good practice

Since most valuable project knowledge (tacit

knowledge and social capital) is so strongly

embedded in individual people - and is therefore

difficult to transfer - one of the best ways to

increase learning in project portfolios is staff exchange.

Regional project organizations can cooperate and

learn from each other by allowing their experts to

simultaneously work in two different organizations

and / or projects.

It was discovered in Change 2020 activities that

Lapland in particular had excellent experiences

from widespread use of staff exchange between

HEIs and regional development organizations.

30% Regional development agency

70% University

”Knowledge transfer on legs.”

Utilize cities, regions and

social environments as living

labs and testbeds

“The laboratories for innovation are no longer traditional

university facilities, but regional innovation ecosystems

operating as testbeds for rapid prototyping of many

types on user-driven innovations: new products, services,

processes, structures and systems, which need to be of

transformative and scalable nature.” - CoR Opinion on

Horizon 2020

© Toni Pienonen

Platform-based approach and ecosystems are the new black in regional development

Some typical characteristics of platforms:

• facilitating bottom-up activities, letting things happen (instead

of control or management)

• testbeds for knowledge co-creation, citizens, business and

society, universities and public sector together (quadruple helix)

• experimentation, prototyping and piloting possibilities

• solving thematic issues via multidisciplinary approach

• intermediaries that connect HEIs, business, users and society

• agile resource-sharing, continuous organizing and reorganizing

around required tasks via individuals, who can take care of

them, not by organizations

Urban Mill is a thematic focal point and open innovation platform

service for global urban innovators in Espoo, Finland. It is a co-

working space, an innovation community, as well as a change

orchestration tool for urban development. It aims to re-define the way

in which people accomplish joint innovation work, and aims to make

societal impact in a global urban context. Urban Mill is part of Espoo

Innovation Garden, a focal point of innovation buzz on Aalto University

campus. www.urbanmill.org

CASE EXAMPLE:

Platforms are essential, as paradigm

of Open Innovation 2.0 takes a

prominent role. The key is to involve

users and society, business,

universities and public sector in

cross-fertilisation, experimentation

and rapid prototyping in real world

setting.

It is vital to understand the

importance of individuals and their

impact. Tasks should be organized

according to individuals and shared

ownership, not organizations.

(source: Bror Salmelin, DG Connect)

Don’t lock your

mindset in

arbitrary strategy

boxes - design the

activities based on

real-life needs,

those of the

customers and

society

If you represent an European region or organization trying to find international partnerships, it might be easier to build common ground and vision with partners and business by creating solutions to real-life societal challenges.

Don’t be fixated by your own arbitrary strategy boxes of supposed smart strengths. Instead, reflect your RIS3 priorities or themes in comparison to grand societal problems and needs, e.g. ”urbanization”.

Understand how answering to these societal needs translates into untapped international business opportunities, particularly in growing markets of Asia, Americas and Africa. Europe should not be too inward-focused.

Co-create new solutions with society, business, public sector and universities.

Utilize the various testbeds and platforms provided by European partners, living labs, R&D facilities. Experiment and validate your solutions internationally. Europe is after all a diverse place with different markets and regions. Make use of this diversity to create references that work anywhere around the globe.

Scale-up rapidly and commercialize

society

business

universities

public sector

Thematic approach: For example, topic of urbanization crosses many different smart specialisation spearheads - for example in case of Uusimaa ”urban cleantech”, ”welfare city” and ”smart citizen”

Societal need: Internationally, urbanization touches particularly growing economies

Quadruple helix: co-creation to build solutions

Experimentation: European testbeds for experimentation and validation to create European solutions

CASE EXAMPLE: Two-part project call for creating more cooperation and synergies between different funding instruments in a region

1. Thematic idea tender: regional financing authority

requests solutions and ideas

for regionally important

themes

3. Feedback to ideas: financing authorities give

feedback for all tender

participants

4. Combining and sparring ideas: using virtual and

physical environments, the

financing authority brings the

participants together, helps

them to identify common

possibilities and portfolios

5. Public project call: As a

result, the project bidders are

better equipped to answer

the official project call - there

is more cooperation and

actual project call phase is

faster

2. Proposing solutions: project organizations,

businesses and stakeholders

propose ideas and solutions

North Karelia Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment and Regional Council of North Karelia

organized a similar idea process in the spring of 2014 with much success. Before phase 4), ideas were added to an

open virtual board for discussion and overview: https://trello.com/b/lwCZ02vV/pohjois-karjalan-hankeidealeiri-2014!

KYMENLAAKSO

CHANGE2020 JOURNEY

LAPLAND

CHANGE2020 JOURNEY

POLAMK

CHANGE2020 JOURNEY

AALTO

CHANGE2020 JOURNEY

Ideas and connections for Open Innovation 2.0

Partnership possibilities with Change2020 regions + sharing international connections

Partnership possibilities with Change2020 regions

Showcasing Otaniemi campus area and platforms

Lapland as an internationally recognized example to other regions in smart specialisation

Outsiders’ perspective and input for identifying Lapland’s strengths Partnership possibilities with

Change2020 regions + sharing international connections

Ideas and benchmark from other universities

Tools and input for improving PolAMK’s Horizon 2020 capability

KyAMK as facilitator and accelerator of Kymenlaakso smart specialisation

Aalto partnership possibilities in Russia-cooperation

Learning from Lapland and universities’ role as smart specialisation initiator

Advancing Lapland’s smart specialisation with Change2020 feedback

Opening international networks to other Change2020 participants, demonstrating Aalto’s role in Uusimaa smart specialisation

Activating internal development - excitement and activation

Partnership possibilities with Change2020 regions

Identifying new activity possibilities in Nordic and Arctic reach

Jumping off to moving train - regional council and Cursor onboard in Team Kymenlaakso

Common Kyme delegation to Brussels

Team Kyme opening new networks internationally

Opening up Aalto University resources and connections to Change2020 partners

Reflecting and learning from others

CASE EXAMPLE: Change2020 - how different regions benchlearned from others and formed new partnerships in one year with common thematic workshops

Gamification metrics - make project work fun

In his TED talk, Tom Chatfield described seven ways on video games engage

the brain. Gamification can be applied in project work to make it funnier and

more efficient*.

1. Using an experience system: everything should count in some way towards steady

individual progression

2. Multiple long and short-term aims: create an array of larger and smaller objectives that

help people take ownership of their progress, and keep them feeling they are

progressing and succeeding

3. Reward for effort: credit people for everything they try and do, make everything count

towards a clear measure of progress

4. Rapid, clear, frequent feedback: central to all forms of learning and engagement; show

a clear link between things, allow people to experience this experimentally

5. Uncertainty and engagement that rewards

6. Moments of enhanced attention

7. Other people: rewards come from doing something in comparison and in

collaboration with others* List originally proposed by Tapio Järvenpää and Ilkka Kankare

in their book ”Veikö Moolook vallan? Vapauta projektisi

tuhlaajakultista”

© Nintendo

The workbook comes with an additional canvas template for practice purposes.

You can use the activity portfolio canvas to summarize your activity portfolio

Find it at www.innofokus.fi

!

! PORTFOLIO ACTIVITYa) CAPACITY BUILDING: Helping businesses and HEI to build groundwork for further cooperation. What projects and activities take place here? How are they linked together and to portfolio?

b) CREATING NEW: R&D and world-class frontier research with (international) partners. What projects and activities take place here? How are they linked together and to portfolio?

c) RESEARCH TO MARKET: Applying research and knowledge in creating innovation. What projects and activities take place here? How are they linked together and to portfolio?

SHARED VISION What is the shared vision that binds all the activity together in the portfolio?

PORTFOLIO ACTIVITIES

PORTFOLIO ORCHESTRATOR Who is responsible for orchestrating the activities?

KEY PEOPLE IN THE PORTFOLIO KEY ORGANIZATIONS IN THE PORTFOLIO SHARED RESOURCES AND SUPPORT OFFERED FOR PORTFOLIO ACTIVITIES

FOUNDATION

COMMON THEME For example, the common thematic can be a societal challenge or wicked problem, regional smart specialization strength, emerging technology or specific industry / field.

TYPE OF PORTFOLIO On what level the portfolio takes place? !( ) a project organization ( ) region ( ) project consortium

EXISTING STRENGTHS AND CAPABILITIES What previous work and efforts the portfolio is based upon?

CHANGE2020 ACTIVITY PORTFOLIO CANVAS © Business Arena Oy, Aalto University School of Business Small Business Center

NAME%OF%THE%PORTFOLIO

Activity portfolio canvas contains an additional template for deeper understanding of support offered by the portfolio orchestrator.

SHARED RESOURCES AND SUPPORT OFFERED FOR PORTFOLIO ACTIVITIES © Business Arena Oy, Aalto University School of Business Small Business Center !!!How does the portfolio support the key players with information, resources and learning? - events and workshops - documenting the process and lessons learned - connecting the right people, activities and resources What are the milestones and critical moments? !!!!!!!

January

July

!

!PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY

a) CAPACITY BUILDING: Helping businesses and HEI to build groundwork for further cooperation. What projects and activities take place here? How are they linked together and to portfolio?

b) CREATING NEW: R&D and world-class frontier research with (international) partners. What projects and activities take place here? How are they linked together and to portfolio?

c) RESEARCH TO MARKET: Applying research and knowledge in creating innovation. What projects and activities take place here? How are they linked together and to portfolio?

SHARED VISION What is the shared vision that binds all the activity together in the portfolio?

PORTFOLIO ACTIVITIESPORTFOLIO ORCHESTRATOR Who is responsible for orchestrating the activities?

KEY PEOPLE IN THE PORTFOLIOKEY ORGANIZATIONS IN THE PORTFOLIO SHARED RESOURCES AND SUPPORT OFFERED FOR PORTFOLIO ACTIVITIES

FOUNDATIONCOMMON THEME For example, the common thematic can be a societal challenge or wicked problem, regional smart specialization strength, emerging technology or specific industry / field.

TYPE OF PORTFOLIO On what level the portfolio takes place? !( ) a project organization ( ) region ( ) project consortium

EXISTING STRENGTHS AND CAPABILITIES What previous work and efforts the portfolio is based upon?

CHANGE2020 ACTIVITY PORTFOLIO CANVAS © Business Arena Oy, Aalto University School of Business Small Business Center NAME%OF%THE%PORTFOLIO

Authors’ concluding words

In their commentary, Change2020 development program

participants relished the opportunities they’d been given to try

out new methods, create space for informal networking and

sharing viewpoints. We’d like to thank everyone of them for the

fun time we had.

Innovation activity is moving out of laboratories into the open,

from enclosed living labs to real-life testbed environments and

bottom-up platforms. Until now, Finnish regional development

projects have been planned, financed and - to some extent-

executed in enclosed systems. Risk-taking has been minimized.

Can we afford that anymore?

Open Innovation 2.0 thematic board (see right) contains many

similar themes that also Change2020 tackled. They serve to

remind us on what European Union expects from policy makers

and innovation actors in solving key European challenges by

embracing change.

Our answer could be: ”Maximize the coincidence. Prototype

rapidly and experiment. Harness the bottom-up activity and

nurture the first followers - don’t restrict too much. Pull up your

sleeves and act as much as you can. Keep learning.”

Open Innovation 2.0 thematic board. (http://ec.europa.eu/digital-

agenda/en/open-innovation-20)

This material was analyzed, written and put together by Toni Pienonen

and Mikko Markkanen from Business Arena Oy in April 2014 - January

2015. We’re a Finnish company specializing in university-business-

cooperation, high-impact projects and learning networks. For more

information, see: www.businessarena.fi

Toni Pienonen toni.pienonen@businessarena.fi

0400 737 238

Mikko Markkanen mikko.markkanen@businessarena.fi

+358 40 758 8712

Change2020 development program was part of the operations

carried out by INNOFOKUS project which was funded by

European Social Fund, Ministry of Education.

INNOFOKUS project was managed by Aalto University School of

Business Small Business Center (SBC).

www.innofokus.fi