Stimulating Participation in Sustainable Innovation Thursday 10 March HIVA-KU Leuven, Parkstraat Leuven 19:30 – 22:00 Climate change. Innovation. Participation. This are the topics of this evening workshop. We facilitate a dialogue about the role of public participation in sustainable innovations that come up with solutions for the grand challenge of climate change. Participation is crucial to respond to societal challenges such as climate change because public support is the basis of solid solutions. Climate change and how we as a society respond to it touches upon each individual, and every system such as housing, mobility and energy. Participation is also crucial in the search for a common vision for a resilient society. Crowdsourcing of visions, knowledge and skills among a wide range of societal actors is deemed necessary to come up with innovative solutions. Together with young entrepreneurs, we will reflect on the following questions: Where are we when it comes to societal engagement in sustainable innovation in terms of policy? Where are we when it comes to societal engagement in sustainable innovation in terms of praxis? What barriers do we encounter when it comes to societal engagement in sustainable innovation? What opportunities can we identify when it comes to societal engagement in sustainable innovation? What are the weaknesses and strengths of current policies and praxises? What areas of improvement do we identify and what strategies can we develop to operationalise the ways for improvement? How can we as a research community support entrepreneurs?

better understanding of the complexity of a transition process among societal actors easier to scale-up a transition or experiment stronger society (democratic principle) a more resilient society shared risks and benefits model increase in knowledge that is shared strenghts weaknesses Participation in Sustainable Innovation – YouRSS CASI event 10 March 2016 opportunities threats pilot/experiments: no guaranty to success Belgian culture that attaches importance to self-control and private ownership long process (to get everyone on board) and long process to gain trust of all actors involved less ambitious project (lowest common denominator) covering all the needs and interests may result in a more complex project no financial feedback (first need to act sustainable otherwise there is no return) more people involved, co-creation and interaction may lead to: larger impact, larger visibility, a snowball-effect, societal changes, cultural changes snowball effect: the laggards may also come on board in the end increased awareness and knowledge building among a wider group of actors citizens turn into an ambassador (instead of a client) which in turn positively impacts the communication about certain transition experiments strengthened ownership (of common goods) the birth of new ideas through crowdsourcing tailor-made solutions/innovations push for the local economy (self-sufficiency) stronger lobby against established powerhouses (example Ringland in Antwerp) unbelief / lack of trust among the actors involved and in the potential of the innovation risks in terms of feasibility of the innovation, and with respect to social inclusion/exclusion (imbalances, unheard voices) complexity of projects due to the diversity and the time-consuming process power-game: innovators against established industries (e.g. net providers)