Innovation is not just about laboratories and technologies, but also about how we communicate and collaborate. Changes in work, the rise of platforms, and pressure for sustainability are creating new ecosystems where academia, business, and the public sector meet. Examples from Finland and international projects show how such an approach can be turned into real solutions.
Finnish inspiration and the power of clusters
In Finland, as early as 2006 an initiative was launched that brought academia, business, and the public sector to the same table to define the direction of the economy. Although Nokia dominated at the time, the trend pointed to clean technologies and long-term sustainability, in which the country subsequently achieved very good results. A few years later, digital platforms emerged, featuring global environmental challenges and databases of experts that accelerate the search for solutions. Networking became the key element: clusters and innovation ecosystems that connect capabilities and create a critical mass for change.
Such models are now spreading internationally as well: national and transnational clusters coordinate joint projects and connect companies, cities, and research. Their advantages include openness, transparent evaluation of proposals, and rapid mobilization of expert capacity. Digital tools lower barriers to entry and broaden access to expertise across countries. The result is concrete pilots and investments, not just strategies on paper.
Platforms, experts, and concrete results
A spinoff has also emerged here building on Business Finland, with the aim of connecting experts with practice in a global context. The digital platform brings together approximately 27 000 experts and forms project teams for clusters and innovation ecosystems; it also helps with their governance. Artificial intelligence is used to match experts and assignments, which speeds up assembling high-quality teams. The goal is not only to solve urgent problems, but also to create new market opportunities.
Examples show that it works: Helsinki launched an energy challenge to decarbonize by 2035, and over 230 teams with concrete proposals emerged in the digital environment. San Diego used an independent panel of experts to evaluate bids in public procurement of renewable energy, which improved the quality of decision-making. In Austria, an IoT system for predicting landslides was developed, with Slovak specialists participating, and collaboration between Oulu and Poprad helped shape the smart city agenda. International clusters and programs linking European clean technologies with markets in North America also fit into this ecosystem, as does a free sustainability course with twenty lessons for the professional community.
