Regional Foresight
In the context of Regional Foresight and by means of an interdisciplinary perspective on the InnoHub 13 region – with taking into account different spatial and regional dimensions and contexts – we are opening up access points for a better identification and mobilisation of, in particular, regional potentials for problem-solving. As a basis for addressing these regional issues serves the communication about and understanding of regional situations and settings. This is subsequently the starting point for anticipating and addressing potential future scenarios for the region. In doing so, the knowledge we generate offers orientation and provides stimuli for user-oriented and user-based innovation processes.
Regional Foresight thereby combines two kinds of knowledge in a flexible manner and in varying constellations: the knowledge about the status quo of regional issues and respective solution potentials, and the knowledge about possible future scenarios and settings. Both kinds of knowledge generating are relevant when it comes to political and administrative decision-making. On the one hand, as an analytical basis for short- and mid-term decision-making processes, on the other hand, as part of a strategic knowledge base with long-term time-scales and as a prerequisite for better understanding and dealing with highly complex and dynamic social developments and alterations in a regional context.
Foresight processes
Economic regional analyses
Open Region
The Foresightteam of TH Wildau identifies and implements topics for foresight processes with differents methods and formats from the area of foresight analysis coming into play and being applied. This refers to methods with regard to
- status quo analysis and status quo description, for example competitive analyses or SWOT-analyses, case studies or retrospections
- the development of future projections, for example in the context of scenario analyses as well as
- the development of options for action for various stakeholder groups, for example by means of cross-impact-analyses, chance-risk-reports or backcasting
The team of Brandenburg Technical University Cottbus-Senftenberg analyses regional potentials and captures by means of quantitative data the current status of the region. It is in particular the structural transformation caused by the withdrawal from lignite-based electricity, together with the resulting challences and chances, that is given attention in that respect.
The Open Region team understands regional challenges as potentials and addresses the question of how they can have an impact on innovation processes. By means of qualitative methods such as the analysis of media and newspapers, interviews and participatory observations, the Open Region team deals with that topic in greater detail and develops suggestions and plans on how universities can seize this generated knowledge alongside these regional challenges through systematic transfer processes and can incorporate it into everyday scientific working practices.
Prof. Dr. rer. pol. Dana Mietzner
TH Wildau
Dr. Frank Hartmann
TH Wildau
Markus Lahr
TH Wildau
Prof. Dr. Stefan Zundel
BTU
Marius Nagel
BTU
Prof. Dr. Suntje Schmidt
Leibniz IRS
Caron Pomp
BTU
Foresight processes
The future of knowledge and technology transfer in the Innovation Hub 13 region
In a first foresight process with regard to the future of knowledge and technology transfer in the Innovation Hub 13 region, general knowledge about regional players and player constellations, forms of organisations, fields of activity and tools of knowledge and technology transfer was generated. This process of knowledge gathering underlines the strategic focus of the Innovation Hub 13. The basis for the foresight process is a profound retrospective analysis of the project region’s development in knowledge and technology transfer. The results can be used by players either directly involved in the Innovation Hub 13 project, but also by other transfer institutions or business development agencies on different regional levels.
The following publications and policy papers are available
- Überblick zum Foresightprozess: Vortrag auf der Futures Conference, 18. September 2019. Wissens- und Technologietransfer 2030? – Neue Wege und Herausforderungen
- Rückblick zum Wissens- und Technologietransfer in der Region: Hartmann, Frank/Mietzner, Dana (2021 forthcoming): Wissens- und Technologietransfer in der Innovation Hub 13 Region, Rückblick und Status Quo, Working Paper im Rahmen der Working Paper Series „fast track to transfer“.
Analysis of the Berlin-Brandenburg airport region
In 2020, a team of Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau conducted an analysis of the Berlin-Brandenburg airport (BER) region from the point of view of their potentials in science and technology as well as of selected location factors within regional communities around the BER airport. The results of this first analysis were discussed by various players from the academic field, from economic and regional politics and business development agencies. The results were the basis for drafting a participatory scenario analysis dealing with the potential future of the airport region as a (successful) location for science and business. The process of a strategic scenario analysis started in early 2021 in accordance with the Airport Berlin Dialogue Forum and complan Kommunalberatung GmbH (complan Municipal Planning Ltd.).
The following policy papers/publications are available from the first stage of analysis
- Überblick zur Analyse: Poster auf der Wissenschaftswoche der TH WIldau 2021
- Agenda und Keynote des digitalen Dialogforums zur Flughafenumfeldanalyse am 3. Dezember 2020
- Dokumentation der Analyse: Mietzner, Dana; Hartmann, Frank; Melzer, Klaus-Martin, Vossel, Markus; Bautz, Franziska; Wiechers, Henning (2020): Die Rolle von Wissenschaft und Innovation in der Flughafenumfeldregion: Herausforderungen und Perspektiven, Bericht, urn:nbn:de:kobv:526-opus4-13790
Transferworkshop: Zukunftscampus Fürstenwalde // Die Aufbauschule
Anfang Juni 2022 entwickelten das Regional Foresight-Team des Innovation Hub 13 und die Hochschulpräsenzstelle Fürstenwalde erste Vorstellungen zu einem kompakten, stadtbezogenen Foresightprozess in der Form eines Zukunftsworkshops. Hierfür wurde ein geeignetes Vorhaben gesucht, das sich in einer frühen Entwicklungsphase befindet und an dessen Umsetzung in Fürstenwalde Akteure interessiert sind.
Gemeinsam mit der IGP AG und der Fach & Werk Projektentwicklung GmbH wurde mit dem Vorhaben „Zukunftscampus Fürstenwalde // Die Aufbauschule“ ein geeignetes Thema gefunden und die Partner:innen entschlossen sich, ein passfähiges Format für die partizipative Entwicklung von Zukunftsbildern in einem zweitägigen Transferworkshop zu entwickeln und umzusetzen. Dieser fand am 13. und 14. Oktober 2022 in der Kulturfabrik Fürstenwalde statt.
Sein Verlauf und entsprechende Ergebnisse sind in der folgenden Fotodokumentation veröffentlicht.
Economic regional analyses
Within the transfer project Innovation Hub 13 and its subproject Regional Foresight, a team of Brandenburg Technical University Cottbus-Senftenberg evaluates the current status of the project region and its subregions. From the given results, (economic) analyses are generated.
Locational factors of the project region
Employees of the Innovation Hub 13 have compiled a database which shows the region’s factor endowment and the in- and outputs of the regional innovation system by means of different indicators and time periods. This regional database displays more than 50 indicators in seven categories and bundles statistic raw data of different origin on one single homepage: https://indikatoren.innohub13.de/.
For a better illustration and for further analyses, the indicators can be displayed either as diagrams or within maps.
The database is addressed to players in politics and administration, companies, business development and researchers.
Economic analyses
Based on data collection, the Regional Foresight team of Brandenburg Technical University Cottbus-Senftenberg has furthermore conducted various economic analyses of the region.
Some of these analyses have been published in the series of the area of expertise of general economics with the focus on energy and environment economy, in German Schriftenreihe des Fachgebiets Allgemeine VWL mit dem Schwerpunkt Energie- und Umweltökonomik The publication „Wat den Eenen sin Uhl‘, is den Annern sin Nachtigall“ (2020), written in Platt German language, deals with selected items of the Lusatia location quality.
The comparative analysis "Innovation in Darmstadt-Starkenburg and Lusatia," in German "Das Innovationsgeschehen in Darmstadt-Starkenburg und in der Lausitz“ (2021).
Based on the evaluation of location- and industry-related empirical results, the most recent essay looks at „Eine Region unter der Lupe. Versteckte Wirtschaftspotentiale der Lausitz“ (2021). The aim was to break down the granularity of the study of industry focal points to the municipal level in order to examine whether and to what extent the industry focal points of Lusatia are reflected at the municipal level.
Impact assessment of regional knowledge and technology transfer
A further focus of work of the Innovation Hub 13 is the impact assessment (outcome, impact) in a) its entirety and b) in measuring the results of subprojects and particular transfer activities. With regard to that topic, the review "The informative value of knowledge and technology transfer indicators in peripheral regions,“ in German language „Der Informationsgehalt von Indikatoren des Technologietransfers in peripheren Regionen“, has been released in 2020 as a first evaluation.
Current activities
Currently, the members of the Regional Foresight team of Brandenburg Technical University Cottbus-Senftenberg are examining governance tools aimed at strengthening the transfer between universities, research institutions and the regional economy. Furthermore, we collect and analyse data with regard to regional industrial key sectors and micropotentials.
Open Region
The activities of the Open Region team can be located in the context of a call for rethinking the interrelations between regional development, innovation politics and territoriality. As a guiding principle for this rethinking serves the Open Region heuristic (Schmidt et al. 2018), which proposes activity options in the fields of "creating and seizing opportunities" as well as in "mobilising and making expertise tangible".
Identifying innovation
InnoSalon
The Innovation Salon (DE) erproben wir ein Transferformat, das Sichtbarkeit für Akteur:innen und regional relevante Themen schafft und als Methodik von Hochschulen und anderen Akteur:innen in der Region angewandt werden kann, um Innovationsprozesse zu unterstützen.
Under the title "Can this also be done digitally? Media educational content in youth social work". the Innovation Hub 13 and the Leibniz Institute for Spatial Social Research (IRS) e.V., together with the Youth Information and Media Center "JIM" Fürstenwalde in the Oder-Spree district, will devote a second workshop on 09.03.2022 to the topic of digitalization in youth work.
More information about the event can be found here. Registrations for the workshop are open until 07.03. on the website of the IRS
Previous InnoSalon events
"Can this also be done digitally? Media educational content in youth social work".
The first Innovation Salon "Baruth and the Health House" was held on 19.01. and 23.02.2021. On 29.06. and 18.08.2021, a second Salon tandem was dedicated to the topic of "Tools for multi-directional knowledge transfer"..
Creating opportunities
Policy Lab
Through Policy Labs, the Open Region team addresses policy- and decision-makers and offers them the opportunity to transfer theoretical and practical findings into concrete policy measures for the Innovation Hub 13 region. The Policy Labs discuss framework conditions which can support and foster an open dialogue between scientific and regional, non-academic players. The term "transfer" is here considered adhering to openness, approachability and curiosity beyond individual disciplinary borders. For the second half of year 2022, two dates for hosting a Policy Lab are scheduled.
Making expertise tangible
Good Practice Database
Through both the Good Practice database and the topic-related brochure "Universities in mission-oriented innovation ecosystems," Open Region provides stimuli and inspiration for people interested in usage-oriented innovation processes and political decision-makers alike.
Currently, the Good Practice database will be complemented with further examples gathered by a team from Fraunhofer Centre for International Management and Knowledge Economy (Fraunhofer IMW). The database comprises examples of/for joint projects of universities and non-academic players from the Netherlands, Sweden and Great Britain in various fields of application (for example, education, research or public administration).
Map of Potentials
Resulting from the findings gathered at the Innovation Salons, a map-like agenda of current and future potentials of the region is generated. This map also provides an offer for players interested in usage-oriented innovation processes who, originating from various local events in the Innovation Hub 13 region, will subsequently receive more knowledge and concrete options of activity with regard to similar challenges. Simultaneously, the map-like agenda of future potentials will be further developed into a template for the systematic recording of regional stimuli, which can be then incorporated into university-based transfer activities. In doing so, the map of potentials and the regional database from the team of economic regional analysis thus serve as two complementing perspectives on regional innovation potentials.
Do you have questions, suggestions, ideas or specific projects? We are looking forward to talking to you!
Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau
Brandenburg Technical University Cottbus-Senftenberg
The "Innovation Hub 13 - Fast Track to Transfer" of the Technical University of Wildau and the Brandenburg Technical University of Cottbus-Senftenberg is one of the 29 selected winners of the federal government funding initiative "Innovative College", equipped with funds of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research BMBF And the state of Brandenburg. Further information can be found at www.innovative-hochschule.de
