The role of metropolises in nurturing innovations

Slettemeås was invited to a panel at the 2nd European Congress of Local Goverments, in Krakow, Poland, April 5-6 2016. The Economic Forum / European Congress of Local Governments is a meeting platform for local leaders and regional elites to exchange views with public administration, NGOs and business. The programme presents 5 thematic tracks (Finance, Environment, Economy, Society and Innovations). Slettemeås featured in the panel on “The Role of Metropolises in Nurturing Innovations”, togheter with French, Polish, Latvian and Ukrainian panelists. The background for the panel was: “Metropolises have a very wide range of possibilities when it comes to stimulating innovation. Firstly, as academic centres, they drive scientific progress by supporting the creation of technology parks and encouraging companies to set up R&D units. Secondly, with residents and tourists in mind, they implement intelligent technological solutions, including mobile applications. Finally, it is in metropolises that sharing economy was born, construed as a global trend built upon the idea of sustainability and doing more with fewer resources”. Slettemeås used examples from innovation collaborations in Norway and abroad (RFID/NFC, IoT, smart cities - based on experiences from the RCN-financed projects "RFID in Society" and "NFC City"), as well as sharing city initiatives. In both these developments cities/ municipalities become increasingly involved through participating in large innovation projects. Slettemeås emphasized that in the future cities should be more active and provide a vision for how large scale tech/social innovations/ecosystems should be developed, as these smart/encompassing technologies become deeply embedded in the everyday functioning of cities and in the daily lives of citizens/consumers.