An Open Innovation Framework for Future low Carbon Cities

Open Innovation in the form of case competitions, open innovation calls or hackathons have in the past decade or two become a favorite tool for organisations seeking to address sustainability challenges and creating systems change - and there are good reasons for this.From a value creation perspective, open innovation often pays off on several accounts if done well: it creates new and innovate solutions to real world problems, it brings together organisations and individuals in a working relationship and thus strengthens the innovation ecosystem around the challenge, and it is relatively cheap compared to other options for seeking innovation and solutions. The case example explained in this publication is catalyse systemic change through innovation in areas of human activity that have a critical impact on greenhouse gas emissions - cities, materials and finance - and to create climate-resilient communities. Catalysing systemic change through innovation means connecting a supply of innovation with demand-side actors: problem-owners and those with high ambition for change.