Lund in international cooperation for the development of innovation districts
How does Lund work with its innovation district? Lund University and Lund Municipality have commissioned Future by Lund and partners to catalyze the work to co-create Lund as an international innovation district. The work is done, among other things, to enable us in Lund to increase our capacity to solve complex and shared challenges. The work is based on a steering group consisting of Anders Almgren, Chairman of Lund Municipal Board, Pia Kinhult, ESS and Kristina Eneroth, Vice Rector at Lund University.
Since spring 2023, Lund through Future by Lund is a part of GIID, The Global Institute on Innovation District (GIID), an association that was one of the first to capture the phenomenon of Innovation Districts. Historically, innovation districts around the world have grown organically, building unique location-based assets that attract others to participate, such as knowledge, networks, talent and infrastructure. Gradually, the increasingly complex playing field of actors, assets and ambitions has brought about a need for a more strategic approach to creating inclusive, vibrant and accessible districts. Therefore, GIID exists, and members are about forty cities from all over the world. Innovation districts can be a way to leverage the competitive advantages of the area into advanced operations and to meet global challenges in, for example, the climate and health sectors. Many also see innovation districts as a way to promote equitable growth.
This is what Julia Wagner, President, The Global Institute on Innovation Districts explains in the research brief “Why Governance Matters: An analysis on how innovation districts organize for success.”
“(...) innovation districts combine academic institutions, corporate R&D, startups, and entrepreneurial support organizations in dynamic, mixed-use communities that gain strength from proximity and knowledge spillovers. In addition to catalysing the growth of jobs and businesses they function as incubators for new solutions to urgent societal challenges, from combatting climate change and reducing the burden of infectious diseases to supporting inclusive workforce development and minority entrepreneurship.
Back in 2018, Future by Lund had discussions with GIID. Future by Lund started some preparations, such as work together with Danish Lyngby, contacts with innovation districts in Barcelona and Helsinki and a first inventory of Lund innovation districts together with Jasna Pocek and Christin Scheller from the Sten K. Johnson Centre for Entrepreneurship at Lund University. Work was paused during the pandemic but contact with Julie Wagner at GIID continued.
- When GIID contacted us six months ago, they had a new set-up, says Peter Kisch. They were now putting more effort into building networks and that was exactly what we were looking for. That's why Future by Lund has joined GIID as an agent for Lund, so that we can gather Lund and manage the relationship with GIID.
Being part of a network like GIID also increases Lund's opportunities in an international arena.
- Through GIID, we in Lund have the opportunity to connect with other international innovation district actors with whom we can learn from, form alliances with and jointly develop collaborations with, continues Charlotte Lorentz Hjorth, CEO of Future by Lund. It also gives Lund visibility nationally and internationally and in this way it also becomes a way to attract companies. In addition to this, we can participate in an analysis of the innovation district to highlight strengths but also find where there are gaps and untapped potential to create an even stronger innovation ecosystem.
The work with GIID continues, among other things, through workshops on various themes.