NEAPOLIS II – POLICY-ENABLED INNO­VA­TION

Our society is increas­ingly shaping future markets through legis­la­tion. One of the main goals of envi­ron­mental regu­la­tions is to make sustain­able tech­nolo­gies and inno­va­tions compet­i­tive.

From a compli­ance perspec­tive, compa­nies already have knowl­edge of these regu­la­tions.

This project will develop the equally crucial inno­va­tion perspec­tive: When can I earn money with which inno­va­tion in which markets based on the regu­la­tions?

To this end, a collab­o­ra­tive and inter­dis­ci­pli­nary approach will be used to jointly build up reli­able knowl­edge of regu­la­tions, partic­u­larly in inno­va­tion depart­ments.

In this 6-month project, the topic is being devel­oped from a top-down perspec­tive in order to quickly provide an overview for all part­ners. The approaches with the greatest rele­vance for the part­ners are being iden­ti­fied jointly. There is the possi­bility of contin­uing the collab­o­ra­tion to explore selected topics in greater depth.

The following re­search ques­tions will be addressed:

• Policy instru­ments: What is the land­scape of current and announced envi­ron­mental, social, and geostrategic regu­la­tions and market-based instru­ments in the EU, and which of these regu­la­tions are rele­vant for inno­va­tion in the broader elec­tronics sector (in the short, medium, and long term)?
• What are the poten­tial impacts of current and announced envi­ron­mental, social, and geostrategic regu­la­tions in the EU on the compet­i­tive­ness of existing and future tech­nolo­gies, prod­ucts, mate­rials, and busi­ness models in the broader elec­tronics sector and in terms of new oppor­tu­ni­ties as solu­tion providers?
• What inno­va­tion oppor­tu­ni­ties arise as a result?
• What risks exist in polit­i­cally shaped markets?
• What inno­va­tion strate­gies make sense in this context?
• What are the appro­priate orga­ni­za­tional struc­tures and processes for managing future-oriented, sustain­able inno­va­tions based on regu­la­tions?

The project uses the following methods:

• The current state of knowl­edge and knowl­edge require­ments of the partic­i­pating compa­nies are assessed through inter­views.
• The state of knowl­edge is further devel­oped in line with the re­search ques­tions and according to the needs of SAL's part­ners.
• In two cross-company work­shops (4 hours each), the knowl­edge gath­ered is trans­ferred, existing knowl­edge within the compa­nies is exchanged, and new knowl­edge is devel­oped jointly.
• Between the work­shops, optional oppor­tu­ni­ties are offered to inten­sify coop­er­a­tion and knowl­edge transfer (e.g., working out loud, online or onsite work meet­ings, rapid feed­back on interim results).
• External experts will be consulted as needed.
• A super­vi­sion work­shop will involve other deci­sion-makers from the compa­nies in order to commu­ni­cate results and define any follow-up collab­o­ra­tions.
• Dissem­i­na­tion mate­rials will support the commu­ni­ca­tion of results within the respec­tive compa­nies.

Recom­mended team compo­si­tion on the part of the partic­i­pating compa­nies:

Colla­bo­ra­tion Circle:

• 2 (possibly 3) people per company
• Profes­sional back­ground: inno­va­tion manage­ment (central or product-specific), corpo­rate fore­sight, busi­ness devel­op­ment, product sustain­ability.
• Time commit­ment per person: 2-hour inter­view, 3 work­shops of 4 hours each, 5-20 hours of in-depth study & collab­o­ra­tion.

Super­vi­sory Circle:

• 2-3 people per company
• Profes­sional back­ground: Product group managers, inno­va­tion managers, CTO, corpo­rate strategy, sustain­ability managers.
• Time commit­ment per person: 1-hour inter­view, 1 work­shop of 4 hours