Innovation Portfolios pave the way for collaborations with the creatives

The use of an innovation portfolio approach creates movement or transformation of an area, broader than individual organizations, individuals, or projects. One advantage of portfolios is that the aim isn´t to produce a single innovation but to nurture a palette of innovations contribute to a transition. How are these portfolios created? They can emerge from changes in legislation, new technological or cross-innovation opportunities, or the desire to solve a societal challenge.

CCSI is relevant to all nine faculties of Lund University and can serve as a bridge for collaboration between different parts of the university.

Within the innovation platform Future by Lund’s thematic areas—Creatives & Changemakers, Future Living & Spaces, Digital Cities & Citizens, Moving Things & People, and Ideas & Science for Society—the projects are organized into portfolios. This is an approach used to move or transform growth areas within the ecosystem.

To give an example of how portfolios can be built, let’s look at the work that Future by Lund and Lund University have carried out within the theme of Creatives & Changemakers. In this thematic area, Lund University and the innovation platform Future by Lund collaborate on all portfolios.

”Lund University identified the trend that Europe is investing in supporting the cultural and creative sectors and industries (CCSI) to develop these industries but also to have them participate in driving development and innovation. CCSI is relevant to all nine faculties of Lund University and can serve as a bridge for collaboration between different parts of the university,” says Charlotte Lorentz Hjorth, coordinator for ekip, the CEO of Future by Lund and working at the Collaboration Office at Lund University.

It became second nature to develop cross-cutting innovation portfolios—linking two or more fields to spark fresh ideas and novel solutions. The focus shifted toward identifying and initiating potential portfolios that bridge disciplines, unlocking new avenues for collaboration, impact and also to attract investments.

Charlotte Lorentz Hjorth conducted about 40 interviews with individuals from various faculties.

“Through the interviews, we initially identified 25 cross-cutting innovation areas, revealing a wealth of opportunities. While many potential portfolios could be assembled, it’s essential to build on both the strengths of individual areas and strong collaboration—locally within the innovation ecosystem and internationally with partners.”

To play a key role in major European partnerships, Lund University must align its internal capabilities with external cooperation. Following the mapping, the steering group chose six portfolios to initiate.

“Lund University has a significant advantage by being a broad university with nine faculties.”

But this can also be a challenge.

”At Lund University, we have so much that it can make it complicated to see what we should position ourselves with in Europe. We have chosen to look at cross-cutting areas where two fields can be merged to create a new and very exciting innovation area and portfolio.”

WHAT BENEFITS HAVE YOU SEEN AFTERWARD?

“The real benefit is that we’ve established a connection with Europe and clearly communicated our priorities. We’re ready—we’ve created compelling portfolios and can now actively invite partnerships and collaborations. This makes it much easier to seek funding from European support systems while engaging the right partners to join us, but also to attract investments.”

Read more about the portfolios:

https://www.futurebylund.se/en/portfoljer#Innovationsomrade