Insights

In today’s rapidly changing world, very few organizations or people can make it alone. At best, orchestrated ecosystems built around companies can be strong drivers for growth and competitiveness but building and leading them can be tricky. A group of Spinverse ecosystem leaders recently rolled up their sleeves with Ulla Koivukoski for an interesting book project. The newly published Ecosystem Handbook offers fresh insights for engaging different people and organizations, to work better together to solve complex problems and grand challenges. The book gives practical help both for ecosystem leaders and all people working in them.

The goal of the European multi-disciplinary ELISE project, recently funded with 12 M€ by the European Commission, is to drive artificial intelligence (AI) by machine learning (ML). The consortium of 23 partners, including Spinverse, will build upon the open and excellence-driven ELLIS research network of top-level and diverse AI institutes that aim to drive adoption of outstanding ML algorithms and research in European companies. Spinverse facilitated the preparation of the funding proposal and will lead the communication and dissemination activities toward European industries at large during the project.

Spinverse recently helped the Norwegian start-up sensiBel in securing the 2.5 M€ grant and 4.2 M€ equity from the EIC Accelerator instrument. The funding will assist sensiBel in their goal to finalise their product development and scale up the manufacturing of their unique optical Micro-Electro-Mechanical-System (MEMS) microphone. With the accelerated manufacturing, sensiBel will be able to satisfy the needs for better high-performance microphone technology in voice-controlled user interfaces, high-fidelity audio recordings and sound capture markets.

When our customers succeed, we succeed. So do our employees. The new promotions in the Sustainable Industries business unit are a result of relentless work in supporting our customers’ projects, big and small. Warm congratulations to our colleagues! This month, we also welcomed a new colleague in the Spinverse team!

The European Maritime and Fisheries Fund supported the sustainable development of the blue economy SMEs across the European Union with an overall budget of 22,5 M€ in its 2019 call for proposals. The BlueInvest Fund addressed the challenge of developing and bringing to market new products, services, and business models for early-stage businesses, SMEs and scale-ups. The next BlueInvest call 2020 with a budget of 20 M€ is planned to be published later this autumn with a deadline in mid-January 2021. Is your company ready to tackle the new opportunities enabled by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund? Find out how Spinverse can help you get ready for the upcoming funding opportunity!

While waiting for European Commission to publish more details on their ambitious Horizon Europe programme, we would like to share some of the benefits your company would be able to reap by a successful proposal for funding through the programme. As Horizon Europe progresses, we can support you to stay up to speed with the latest developments by offering you a new service.

The European Working Group of Innovation Consultants (EWGIC) has published a new Position Paper regarding the agreement by European Council on the Multi-Annual Financial Framework (MFF) and the Next Generation EU budget. The Position Paper, released on the 24th of July 2020 makes a plea to European Parliament's decision makers to take swift action to prevent the Horizon Europe's budget cuts that threaten to slow down the recovery of Europe from the current economic crisis.

In 2017, the European Commission officially launched the European Defence Fund to boost Europe’s defence capabilities. From 2021 onwards, the new European Defence Fund (EDF), worth 13 B€, will foster an innovative and competitive defence industrial base and contribute to the EU's strategic autonomy. Two pilot programmes, the European defence industrial development programme (EDIDP) and the Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR) precede the EDF. EDIDP is an industrial programme of the EU aiming to support the competitiveness and innovation capacity of the union’s defence industry, whereas PADR funds research projects.

Horizon Europe will be launched in January 2021 and extends until 2027. It is the European Commission's proposal for an ambitious programme worth close to 100 B€ to boost European research and innovation. Over the coming months, we can expect more detailed information on this programme and its strategic planning process, work programmes, funding calls and other relevant activities. If your company is interested in seizing the moment for future growth, now is the time to act! Spinverse has developed a new service to help you — find out how!

In July, Spinverse Consultant Sonja Lätti defended her doctoral dissertation on the evolution of innovation and strategy processes at Aalto University School of Business, becoming the 14th holder of doctorate degree in our company. She presented her case study on the development of the people flow solutions at KONE between 2004-2015. The findings show how the efforts on both top and middle management levels are interconnected when driving change in a large organisation. We asked Sonja a few questions about her research and how she managed to combine work and scientific study.