Skip to main content

About the Innovation Platform

In today's ever-changing economic environment, the concept of innovation has been linked to those of growth and entrepreneurship. Unlike the classic "closed innovation" model, where the various stages of innovation (from the conception of an idea to the after-sales service) are carried out exclusively within the business, the Open Innovation model is based on the logic that Innovation is generated through the interaction of the interior with the external environment of the company or institution. By exploring the concepts and various examples of such functional Open Innovation models, the value that Open Innovation and the various collaborative research models can have in a variety of different disciplines and objects becomes apparent.

The Region of Western Greece (RWG) and the Regional Development Fund (RDF) have developed an Open Innovation Platform  focused on the Greek reality. With their action they aim at the cooperation with other Public Bodies, with academic and research institutions of RWG, with companies that are established and operate in RWG and mainly with citizens who can participate in this project. The creation of such an online Platform  ( https://www.pde-oip.gr/) by the regional authority aims to highlight and support innovative ideas in selected policy areas, in order to enhance creativity and stimulate regional development. In addition, it aims to provide the possibility of extensive networking and co-creative cooperation between all actors in society, beyond organizations and beyond formal forms of cooperation, connecting ordinary citizens with companies / organizations, so that through the This platform allows companies / organizations to share information, rather than relying solely on their own employees, knowledge and research. At the same time, the platform offers an open step for the promotion of innovative ideas and finding collaborations for every interested citizen and organization.

The open innovation platform is part of a comprehensive approach by the Region of Western Greece to promote innovation within its administrative boundaries, in order to meet the needs of innovation development across the value chain, from the production of raw materials to the production of products / services, their promotion, and related support services. The ultimate goal of the whole process is to horizontally cover the whole process of innovation development, from idea formation, to research and development, to market entry, to commercialization, and to intellectual property management. The platform aspires to be a co-creative application with an exceptional capacity for innovation to include the interconnection of citizens' roles within a community (e.g. employees, heads of families, consumers, citizens), the synergy and maturity of multiple disciplines, as well as open environments for innovation (such as the so-called "open laboratories" or "Living Labs"). In this context, priority is given to all users having different knowledge, skills, experiences, roles, views and needs to be able to contribute positively to the promotion of innovation in the Region of Western Greece.

The experiences of the regions that have succeeded in this field show that the most effective mechanisms include, among other things, immediacy and osmosis between all the actors for the development of innovation. The use of the Open Innovation Platform and its reinforcement with new ideas and know-how which are obtained from all kinds of external sources can only bring benefits to the local economy by minimizing research and development costs, while promoting entrepreneurship and innovation in our region.

We invite everyone interested to actively participate with their ideas or comments on existing ideas by registering in the Open Innovation Platform of the Region of Western Greece so that the region acquires a modern tool for developing, supporting and promoting business innovation in the new business environment.