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Action, agency, actionable: the semantics of innovation

José Manuel Leceta, chairman of IFI Advisory Board, writes on innovation in the Spanish newspaper, CincoDías.

“… When I prefaced the book of my friend Ángel Alba ‘Minimum Viable Manual of Innovation’ (Innolandia), I pointed out my particular definition of innovation as knowledge in action. But my interest in philosophy leads me to wonder about the origin of the ideas and concepts in use. Related to action, I find an article this summer on the phenomenology of the agency function that, in its general sense, refers to one of the most important qualities of the human being: the ability to act intentionally and therefore, to achieve goals guided by reason. The semantic richness of the term is also at the base of the innovation agencies to which I have dedicated most of my professional life and which, despite their public nature, participate in an investment and business logic.

To the agency function and agencies, I would like to add in these lines the adjective actionable, which the RAE defines as: said of a mechanism, which can be operated. And this with regard to two proposals to imagine the future post-Covid-19. First of all, the 10 technologies that the Chair of the Rafael del Pino Foundation presented by the entrepreneur scientist and admirable friend Javier García Martínez, whom I met in my time at the head of the European Institute of Technology as one of the three advisers of the founding president, Martin Schuurmans… “

Read the full article in Spanish

https://cincodias.elpais.com/cincodias/2020/08/06/opinion/1596704366_711027.html

Credits foto: Manuel Lorenzo EFE

Fractal Innovation

The Chairman of IFI Advisory Board, José Manuel Leceta connects in his latest book the innovation with the fractals that are mathematical objects present in nature. Halfway between art and science, they describe complexity with simplicity, knowing the underlying pattern that is reproduced at different levels.

Successful innovation must also be simple, although it is not always simple. What if, as with fractals, there are underlying structures that reproduce at different levels? In essence, that is the thesis of his book ‘ Fractal Innovation’. And for this, he defends that innovating is betting on people; that entrepreneurship is a contact sport and that, like life, innovative entrepreneurship is a journey. This work is an original reflection on a complex phenomenon, from the conviction that those who understand the dynamics of change that induce innovation and entrepreneurship will be in a better position to understand the world a little better.

The book available

Innovación Fractal (amazon.com)

Towards smart circular economy; the role of digitalisation

The Digital Development and Society Forum of the Spain Digital Foundation supported by the Insight Foresight Institute (IFI) has prepared a dossier in Spanish entitled “Towards the Intelligent Circular Economy; the role of digitization” tries to contribute ideas proposing to take advantage of the potential of digitization to change the model of the current linear economy towards the new system of Circular Economy.

As indicated in the document, its objective is to explain the connection between digitization and the Circular Economy as well as to suggest actions that can accelerate the implementation of this new economic model. The series of specific objectives can be summarized:

Define the role of digitization on the road to the Circular Economy
Identify digital application areas to promote the Circular Economy
Suggest actions to digitize the economy towards circular models.

The dossier specifies some of the challenges to be faced in the search for this particular type of economy and identifies a series of barriers that must be taken into account, classified into three main groups:

Organizational and cultural (eg lack of talent or rejection of open innovation)
Legal and tax (eg confidentiality protection, tariff logic)
Technological (eg interoperability difficulties)

As an example of the capabilities of digitization to accelerate the transition to a Circular Economy, the main axes included in the Spanish Circular Economy Strategy are detailed; Spain Circular 2030 presenting three hypothetical cases applicable to some of them, specifically in the productive sectors of transport (urban eMobility), agri-food and tourism.

After the conclusions highlighting the fundamental role of digitization, the dossier ends by proposing lines of action to promote its role in the Circular Economy.

The Spain Digital Foundation publishes this dossier in support and collaboration towards the full implementation of the new Circular Economy system. This proposal acquires special importance at present as evidenced by the approval by the Council of Ministers of Spain, on June 2, 2020, of the aforementioned Spanish Circular Economy Strategy EEEC; Spain Circular 2030.

Download free the report (in Spanish):

Hacia la economía circular inteligente; el papel de la digitalización

Towards the smart and circular economy

CEO of Insight Foresight Institute, Totti Könnölä, writes in the Telos Magazine on the role of digitalization in circular economy. Digitalization can significantly reduce emission levels and the polluting impact of human activity on the environment.

The economic model that society has lived up to now is the linear one that follows the sequence: extract – manufacture – use – throw away and that requires large amounts of cheap and easily accessible energy and other resources, with evident negative environmental consequences. The consumption of these resources is reaching the limit of its physical capacity. Luckily companies are increasingly looking for win-win solutions providing simultaneously greater business competitiveness and a better environmental results.

An alternative that has more and more advocates is the so-called Circular Economy, based on the following three principles:

design to reduce waste and pollution;
keep equipment and materials in use longer ; and
regenerate natural systems.

Applying these three principles involves changing value chains and of business models, which makes it possible to transform the entire economy toward a new paradigm, a more sustainable system.

This concept is capturing interest from both companies and policy makers. In line with the ‘The New European Green Deal’, the European Commission adopts an EU industrial strategy to tackle the double challenge of green and digital transformation. The goal is to harness the potential of digital transformation, which is a key enabler to achieve the goals of the Green Deal. Also in Spain, the Government has elaborated the strategy to promote the transition to the Circular Economy. Including this article results from the debate organized by the Foundation Spain Digital indicating among other initiatives real and growing interest in circular economy.

More information

Download the article in Spanish (free)

Access to the full issue of the Telos including this article.

Task force to address water scarcity in Southern Europe

The CEO of Insight Foresight Institute, Totti Könnölä, participates in the task force of EIT-KICs (Climate-KIC, EIT Food, EIT Manufacturing, EIT RawMaterials). This Body of Knowledge works on finding innovative solutions for water scarcity in Southern Europe.

Water plays a central role in how societies mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change. A holistic approach considering water, the biosphere, and the anthroposphere is required to provide sustainable agricultural and economic systems that will allow us to decelerate climate change, protect us from extreme events and adapt to the unavoidable at the same time.

Main problems to tackle:

mitigating water scarcity and drought situations,
reducing the over usage of water,
wasting less water with the existing resources

In order to have a wide representation of knowledge, representatives from different sectors, including policy, industry, civil society and research and innovation participate in the process to support in the knowledge sharing and through innovation across the South of Europe.