The work performed under the framework of INVITE kicked-off with an in-depth analysis of the landscape of the European OI ecosystem and its stakeholders, with a view to setting the stage for the demand-driven design of the OI2Lab and its services. An interview-based survey of 50 OI stakeholders shed ample light on the needs and requirements of prospective users, whereas a comparative analysis of the services offered by key European OI intermediaries revealed meaningful insights into gaps, complementarities and opportunities for the OI2Lab.
Building on the findings of these activities, INVITE involved 30 expert stakeholders in the co-design of the OI2Lab during a dedicated co-creation workshop. The meaningful ideas collected during the workshop led to the co-design of OI2Lab’s 3 OI support services, namely (i) the smart matchmaking service, (ii) the OI management service and (iii) the links to financing solutions service as well as to the development/ customisation of OI2Lab’s gamified digital platform and tools, including the (i) open multisided marketplace, (ii) the e-learning environment, (iii) the online collaboration space and (iv) the opportunities tool.
The OI support services and digital tools of OI2Lab were successfully deployed and tested in real operational environments through 3 pilots running across 2 rounds, as follows: The 1st pilot deployed an innovation voucher scheme that supported SMEs to find suitable partners and launch their own cross-border OI projects to boost their competitiveness and growth and, all while also facilitating knowledge flows across European innovation ecosystems. The 2nd pilot employed an e-learning intervention offering a suite of e-learning courses, webinars and real-life case studies to equip innovators (in business and academia) with the practical knowledge and skill-set required to not only create, but also effectively capture value from OI. The 3rd pilot tested a co-investment scheme, leveraging public funding to support 11 SMEs in better communicating their innovations to potential investors, reducing their perceived risk and therefore increasing the chances of successfully securing suitable financing.
In parallel, a tailored dissemination, communication and community building strategy was implemented to promote the results of INVITE, while also fostering participation in their testing and validation. In this respect, INVITE has developed targeted promotional materials, animated its web portal and social media, issued newsletters and articles, disseminated its promotional video, attended several external events and created mutually beneficial synergies with relevant initiatives and networks. By the end of the project, a practical replication and scale-up guide was developed and actively disseminated, providing meaningful guidelines and lessons learnt to facilitate the replication of the project’s pilots. Last but not least, an evidence-based business plan, built upon market research and stakeholder-validated business models, was elaborated along with alternate individual exploitation strategies and pathways with a view to guiding and facilitating the exploitation of the project’s assets beyond the end of the grant.
