Synergies of smart innovations as a key to the effectiveness of measures in response to climate change
The professor will talk about the need to integrate technical, technological, social, behavioral and other innovations in order to eliminate negative impacts and increase the effectiveness of innovative measures for the prevention, adaptation, mitigation and compensation of the impacts of climate change. He will present the newly formed consortium Smart Innovation and Transfer Consoritum Slovakia and how this consortium approaches the integration of smart innovations addressing cities, towns and regions.
Smart development and adaptation to climate change are not two separate worlds, but the same way of thinking: context, synergies, and common sense. The lecture showed that technologies are only a means and that nature-based, more accessible solutions often exist. The key lies in alliances on both the supply and demand side – from research through municipalities to residents. The “smart” concept was once co-opted by marketing, but its essence is simple: choose appropriate, meaningful solutions. An example is the construction of sewers and wastewater treatment plants into which municipalities invested heavily, yet only a small share of residents connected – due to dispersed settlement and low accessibility. In such an environment, decentralized alternatives may be more sensible, for example reed-bed treatment plants. Smart is thus choosing a solution that fits the place, the people, and the wallet.Smart doesn’t always mean high‑tech
