Open Innovation Slam Winners Announced

And the winner is… eMio sharing!

Climate KIC was looking for solutions that reduce carbon emissions in urban transport systems. After 10 finalist teams attended venture weekend workshops, a winner and two runner ups were announced. eMio sharing is a scooter sharing program that will be implemented in Berlin in 2015.

This challenge is a great example of how online and offline platforms can be utilised to get the most out of your idea competition. Let’s review the process climate KIC took to get their sustainable transport initiative:

1. Definition of Challenge and Call For Proposals

Climate KIC was clear about what problem they wanted to solve:

THE CHALLENGE

Urban transport is a significant contributor to climate change. About 28% of greenhouse gas emissions in the EU presently come from transport, with 84% of that coming from road transport alone. More than 10% of all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the EU come from road traffic in urban areas.

BVG’s area of operation is the German capital Berlin. In Berlin the transport sector accounts for about 4.8 million tonnes of CO2 or approx. 23% of the city’s CO2 emissions. Public transport is an important part of the cities transport system and a key factor in reducing Berlins emissions. Lowering energy consumption reduces not only emissions but also costs and is therefore of strategic importance for all tree branches of public transport bus, tramway and underground. Potential reductions could come from:

• Improving the efficiency of vehicles through changes in design, materials or technology
• Increasing energy efficiency by synergies of different technologies
• Promoting non-fuel technologies
• Improving operating practices of vehicles

This clear call to action for participants ensured that they would get solutions that tackled the real problem. Note how specific they are in the challenges the city is facing due to a lack of sustainable transit options. Climate KIC was then able to set up their online space and invite users to participate. The WE THINQ platform allowed them to create a space where participants could both create new idea projects to be considered, or give feedback to proposed projects.

2. Voting and Discussion

Climate KIC invited participants and engaged citizens to vote on and critique the proposed ideas. This allowed contributors to answer questions and refine their ideas before the judging stage. In some competitions new ideas can be formed just from the comments section! This is the strong point in open innovation competitions. Having an engaged community give feedback on potential projects really helps shape the future of the challenge. In this challenge, the 15 highest voted ideas were sent for judging.

3. Judging and Finalists Selected

Climate KIC then chose to have judges select the top 10 finalists of the competition. These judges are transportation and environmental specialists and were able to evaluate both the creativity and feasibility of the ideas.

4. Venture Weekend (Offline)

The top ten finalists were then invited to a venture weekend. The Venture Weekend consisted of: -A mix of workshops to improve your ideas -Feedback sessions to provide helpful impulses for your project and; -Inspiring encounters with innovators, entrepreneurs and experts.

By attending this programme participants prepared to further develop their ideas while also building knowledge and skills to further drive green innovation.

We love the way Climate KIC integrated this offline event to the competition. Starting with an online space made it easy for anyone to participate. Moving the space to a physical location allowed participants to really get more depth in their feedback and projects. Due to the fact that the competition was location specific, it made it easy for participants to come together.

5. Winners Selected

After the venture weekend, the judges selected the three winners. The first prize winner already has a plan to launch their project in 2015! It’s really exciting to see change begin to happen in a competition like this.

To learn more about the Climate KIC challenge visit their competition page! http://www.openinnovationslam.org