Page 17 - European Energy Innovation - winter 2018 publication
P. 17
Winter 2018 European Energy Innovation 17
ENERGY SOCIAL INNOVATION
Summary of case studies analysed
Innovation/ Western Central Eastern EU Southern EU Norhrtn
Region EU EU Energy poverty EU
Innovation Crowdfunding Energy coop. (Hungary) Business (Finland)
Leaders (Germany) (Croatia)
Strong REScoop
Innovators (Belgium)
Moderate Strategy
Innovators and citizen
engagement
(Spain)
against climate change and the addressing energy action help to EU highlight renewable energy and
protection of the environment. pre-identify smart specialisation energy efficiency as focus areas of
priorities. With their focus on specialisation. These choices need
(5) Business element, referring to citizens' involvement, they ensure to be accompanied by implementing
involving citizens and their know-how the contribution from civil society complementary actions operative at
in energy business. Such measures which is normally underrepresented regional and municipal levels. l
are at an early stage of development. in comparison to other actors of the
They can be implemented via various quadruple helix (e.g. academia, public
citizen engagement methods, which and private sector).
bring company representatives in
direct contact with citizens. Finally, regional strategic thinking
and strategy development can
Policy implications for Smart underpin and lead to a multitude
Specialisation process of socially innovative actions. Many
Combining citizens' engagement smart specialisation strategies in
with innovation in firms within a co-
creation approach can be achieved More about the S3Platform
by including social innovation as a key
element of smart specialisation. Input The Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, through the
from citizens can be generated and Smart Specialisation Platform provides support to EU regions and
matched with business requirements Member States in the design and implementation of their research and
in the frame of Entrepreneurial innovation strategies for Smart Specialisation. Some of the services
Discovery Processes. This socially provided by the S3Platform include: guidance and methodological
innovative approach may allow for material, identification and sharing of good practices; research analysis,
example local energy business to information to the whole policy-making process; peer-reviews and mutual
integrate citizens' requirements into learning; access to relevant data and information sessions for policy-
their energy innovations. makers and stakeholders. One of the central activities of the S3Platform
is to facilitate inter-regional cooperation among regions with similar or
Bottom-up innovative citizens' complementary smart specialisation priorities. S3Platform website
initiatives have great potential
for advancing towards energy For further information please contact:
transition. Regulatory barriers must
be overcome at various governance Javier Gómez Prieto
levels in order to allow these @Jagopri
cooperatives and social innovation Scientific Officer Smart Specialisation
initiatives to flourish and contribute Joint Research Centre, European Commission
to identifying competitive advantages.
* The views expressed are purely those of the author and may not in any
Cooperatives and associations circumstances be regarded as stating an official position of the European
Commission
1 RIS3 stands for Regional Innovation Strategies
for Smart Specialisation
www.europeanenergyinnovation.eu
