CITIES AS HUBS OF CREATIVE TALENT

NICK LEON, DIRECTOR DESIGN LONDONAT RCA-IMPERIAL

DESIGN LONDON: A NEW INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR DESIGN LED INNOVATION

DesignLondonDesignLondon

Desirability

Feasibility

Viability

RCA

ImperialBusiness School

Imperial Facultyof Engineering

DESIGN LONDON’S FOUR PILLARS

Deliver interdisciplinary teaching to postgraduate students and industry

Incubate new ventures and talent to demonstrate the power of the new model

Research the role of design methods, tools and practices on business value creation

Pioneer digital technologies to enable high performance innovation

WELL CONNECTED CITIES RESEARCH• Detailed Analysis and

Integration of Existing Research on Urban Systems

• Quantitative Analysis of 168 Cities

– Impact of Broadband Usage on key Socio-Economic Indicators

– Development of Vitality Index and link to Broadband Usage

• Detailed Case Studies on 9 Cities

– Role of ICT and related services in their transformation for the Knowledge Economy

November 2008

INGREDIENTS FOR INNOVATION

• TALENTED PEOPLE

• MULTIPLE DISCIPLINES

• ENGAGING PLACES

• SMART INFRASTRUCTURE

• INTEGRATED STRATEGY

November 2008

CONNECTED CITIES

Drive Growth

Transform Services

Enhance SocialCohesions

Improve BusinessPerformance

Pervasive Broadband AccessBusiness Services Portal(s)Managed Network Services

Managed Infrastructure and Application Services

Transform Public Services

Security and SurveillanceTraffic and Parking Mgnt

Intelligent Transportation Energy managementEmergency Services

Code Compliance

Delivery of Social, Community and Cultural ServicesPervasive Broadband Access

Education and training Community owned

networks and contentHealthcare Delivery

Benefit ClaimsLeisure services

Crime Mgnt

DIGITAL SERVICE PRIORITIES

Human Capital (Florida)Skilled city and Reinvention (Glaeser)Connections (Saxenian) New York versus Baltimore, Philadelphia, or Charleston

ENTREPRENEURIAL CONNECTIONS

CONNECTING TALENT TO ENTERPRISE

19th Century 21st Century

Corporate Innovation

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Distributed InnovationIndividual Innovation

20th Century

Dodgson, Gann and Salter 2008The Management of Technological Innovation - OUP

CONNECTING WITHIN THE ENTERPRISE

Knowledge Intensive Cities

The knowledge intensity of a city is a function of its capability to produce, absorb and circulate knowledge. (Michaud, 2005)

And compare cities e.g.

•Oxford, UK

•Austin, Texas

•Barcelona/Montreal?

CITIES AS HUBS OF INNOVATION

CASE STUDY: BARCELONA• Study commissioned by 22@ Barcelona, January

2007

• Purpose: Grow the level of engagement between international community and local firms and institutions

• Key Findings:

– International Community substantial, well educated, high net worth, well connected and seeking far greater engagement

– Need for pro-active programs to engage and connect with local firms and institutions

– Cultural, linguistic, institutional inhibitors need to be addressed

INTEGRATION IN PRACTICE

22@ Media Cluster

Universities

Studios and editing suites

Global Firms

Offices for small firms

Tech Transfer Office

Conference and Exhibition

Media Museum

.....and adjacent to ICT, Bio-Medical and Energy Clusters

LINKING UNIVERSITIES AND BUSINESS

WORKSHOPS AND STUDIOS

CONFERENCES AND EXHIBITIONS

LARGE COMPANIES AND SMEs

HELSINKI

Aalto University

Design Factory

Global Firms – Nokia, Kone

Offices for small firms

Business Incubator

Conference and Exhibition

CONNECTED PLACES

FACTORIES, SHOPS, LIBRARY AND UNIVERSITY

INTERDISCIPLINARY INNOVATION CENTRE

BUSINESS INCUBATION AND VENTURE CREATION

SMART INFRASTRUCTURE

TRANSFORMING TALENT INTO BUSINESS AND SOCIETAL VALUE

CONNECTING DISCIPLINES

Low Degree of Team Diversity High

Success

Failure

Failu

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utc

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e S

uccess

460 MBA STUDENTS AND 120 DESIGNERS AND ENGINEERS

414 LONDON BUSINESSES

ARTICA

air conditioning system using 90% less energy than conventional systems

PLUMIS

automated fire suppression system that utilises water mist to extinguish fire

Winner of the James Dyson Award

Top 15 Innovations of the Decade – British Library

“This simple but clever device should become a permanent safety feature in the home.”

Sir James Dyson

FOLDING PLUG SYSTEM

INTEGRATED URBAN STRATEGY

Built environment, amenities andprogrammes to attract and connect firms and skilled knowledge workers

Large pool of scientific and technical resources and regional market for specialised skills

Regional and city level policies for innovation including presence of lead users

Infrastructure and services to support knowledge intensive, service led, networked economy

November 2008

CONCLUSIONS

• BREAKTHROUGH INNOVATION REQUIRES– CONNECTING TALENT– CONNECTING IDEAS– CONNECTING RESOURCES– CONNECTING ORGANISATIONS– CONNECTING COMMUNITIES

• INNOVATIVE CITIES ENABLE THOSE CONNECTIONS