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Open innovation: Can it work in Europe?

A roundtable discussion, with EU Innovation Lecturer Henry Chesbrough and leading practitioners, on the practical challenges and opportunities of open innovation in Europe


Open innovation has quickly become the dominant model for multinational research, with sweeping implications for universities, SMEs, investors and, ultimately, the economy. But there are many practical challenges to making it work in Europe. Questions include:

  • Can government procurement be used to steer more open innovation to Europe?
  • How can the growth of corporate venturing be applied to open innovation in Europe?
  • How can Europe stay open for innovation, in a ‘closed’ world of rising protectionism?
  • Can our vast public-sector databases be used to spur more open innovation? 

These questions will be at the centre of an open, informal discussion among all participants in this workshop – and will build towards the drafting of a suggested EU Open Innovation Charter. The discussion keys off the lecture earlier in the day by Prof Chesbrough, the leading academic expert on open innovation, who has just completed a policy study on the topic with the Science|Business Innovation Board, a think tank formed to promote a better climate for innovation in Europe. Results of Prof. Chesbrough’s study, as well as the draft Charter to be developed in this session, will be published after the conference by Science|Business.