[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/5839\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EInnovation comes from Europe\u0027s citizens \u2013 Dr Anne Stenros\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is meant by innovation in cities?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I think that there is this grass roots level of innovation coming out right now, and that\u2019s something that we want to support in the future. It\u2019s not a top-down process, it should be bottom-up, and it should integrate citizens, amateurs, and professionals.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I was very inspired when I visited this avant-garde design exhibition at the DMY International Design Festival in Berlin. It had very experimental design not only in terms of tangible products, but also intangibles, such as digital design, augmented reality design and 3D printing, and the whole feeling of the fair was inspiring.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat can cities do to stimulate innovation?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It could be that they want to take something that already exists, for instance a very lively activity that they want to take to the next level, such as this kind of design or creative, collaborative event. In Manchester I visited the first \u2018fab lab\u2019\u0026nbsp;(open digital fabrication laboratory)\u0026nbsp;in the UK. There is a network of these fab labs throughout Europe, and they have something called the annual Maker Faire Europe which is taking place this year in Rome, where they bring together people who are doing things in open source and fab lab printing. I think this makers\u2019 movement could be huge in the future if we take it seriously in Europe.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018In the UK for example, they are already planning that children in secondary schools will learn (computer) coding, design, and 3D printing, so there is a new generation of innovators coming up \u2013 the \u2018Do It Yourself\u2019 innovators.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There is a lesson to learn, and that is how we can make innovation a passion for people. I think that in many cases in corporate life when it\u2019s your work you tend to approach innovation in a\u0026nbsp;very standardized, processed way, but\u0026nbsp;when you do it on a voluntary basis you take it in a more open-minded way because it\u2019s your passion,\u0026nbsp;something that you do as a pet project. So I think we need more passion in Europe in terms of innovation\u0026nbsp;and I hope this award is pushing that forward, because we all know that if you do something from the bottom of your heart, you can go through a rocky period, but you will find ways to do it if you really want to.\u2019\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018I want to see this award as a tool to make people understand that innovation is much more than what is being done in the corporate headquarters and the campus areas.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Anne Stenros, Chair, European Capital of Innovation expert group\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAre cities not already helping to promote innovation?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Yes. For instance, in the Netherlands they are now developing in dialogue with citizens the green extension, Floriade 2022 (the world\u0027s largest horticultural exhibition), in the city of Almere; it\u2019s a new type of city development that is going beyond sustainability, so it\u2019s more like a natural organism in how it is going to grow. And then in Copenhagen, they have a programme for kids looking at how the city can support them better. While there are plenty of things that are not high technology, there are of course many cities that are also doing fantastic things in terms of smart city development; from how they integrate transportation, to energy efficiency, traffic flow, and people flow.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy should a city care about innovation?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Many cities today take this very seriously because they know that it\u2019s not only about supporting innovation, they know that if you become a magnet for start-ups, you become a magnet for talent, so in the end you will also get more investors because they follow the start-ups. So, if cities can create this kind of upwards spiral, I think that\u2019s very, very important.\u0026nbsp;The truth is that cities are and will be the power houses of economic growth.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0027Metropolises have their histories, they have been the number one, two, or three by position forever, but if we look at the second-tier cities, they have so much potential because no-one is expecting them to be number one and they are the challengers. Rather than following\u0026nbsp;the mainstream they can do something in their own way, and maybe something new might come from them. I\u2019m very much looking forward to those second- and third-tier cities taking this opportunity and starting to think about their own innovation future.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESo something new might come up?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We are all are looking for some kind of transformation and that\u2019s why part of this competition requires cities to have a future plan, and to know what they want to achieve next. That is the ideal model because innovation is not about looking back; it should be forward-looking by nature. Of course, you have to have a certain type of existing culture that supports this forward-looking capability. What we need today is this kind of visionary leadership at city level to consider what a city wants to be, where it wants to go, and how citizens can share this vision. The vision should be created with citizens and it should be bottom-up. Then this shared vision could become a target or a mission for the future.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat must a city do to be a contender for the iCapital award?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018They have to show what they have done previously, so that they can show their innovative capacity and competence. We are facing a future where there is so much potential also in Do It Yourself innovation that we should encourage it more.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There are established ways of getting support for high-tech companies and so on. In Finland, we have a very good innovation ecosystem that supports companies and their innovation initiatives, and we also have the EU-level innovation programmes. However, people tend to see innovation limited to this high-tech arena, and that\u2019s why we want to break this outdated image.\u0026nbsp;Innovation can happen at many levels and all people should be included - the iCapital is an integrated thing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There is this momentum when you can create something digitally and print it somewhere locally. Even children with free software can create their own toys and print them, this is small-scale innovation for sure and we are only at the threshold of this transformation. However, this is going to be the next industrial revolution in our world. I want to see the iCapital award as a tool to make people\u0026nbsp;understand that there is potential to do much more than what is just being done in the corporate headquarters and the university campuses. If you have passion for something, go and do it.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECandidate cities should visit the iCapital award website for information and rules and conditions. Questions about applications can also be sent to:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\u0022line-height: 1.538em;\u0022\u003Ertd-i-capital@ec.europa.eu\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-t7sqnuv8n8c-w-ollno4phuedcjbbmya8pj0f9aiak\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-t7sQnUV8n8c_w__OLLnO4PHuEDCjBBMYA8pj0f9aiak\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]