Organised Innovation Spaces: a taxonomy

A new study has recently been published by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, authored by former IASP Advisory Council President Luis Sanz, with Magnus Klofsten (Linköping University, Sweden), Paul Jensen and Jacques van Dinteren (IADP, The Netherlands), also frequent IASP collaborators and Think Tank experts.

“A taxonomy of Organised Innovation Spaces” addresses the lack of common terminology around innovation entities and ecosystems, as well as intermediary actors. Said entities, referred to as Organised Innovation Spaces (OISs) aim to stimulate knowledge transfer, collaborative innovation, and co-creation through the connection of businesses, entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, users, and institutions. This new term, OISs, serves as an umbrella name for science parks, areas of innovation, innovation districts, incubators, and other such innovation ecosystems.

Conducted to aid practitioners, investors, and stakeholders to better understand the opportunities they provide, the taxonomy identifies and describes the defining characteristics of OISs depending on their scale and location, organisational and management set up, as well as main target users and services provided, also aiding policymakers in the creation of relevant policies and initiatives regarding innovation ecosystems.

Curated and edited by Alessandro Fazio and Anna Battiston from JRC, this publication further contributes to the development and sustainability of innovation ecosystems, simultaneously supporting the European Union’s commitment to innovation for knowledge-driven economic development, employment creation, and social development.