Towards a collaborative future: new methodologies of innovation for creating solutions towards society¿s challenges.

Procés Participatiu a l'aire lliure

In this article, the UAB Research Park's entrepreneurship and participation team explains the methodology and experience required to tackle participatory processes that help solve real business and social challenges.

16/04/2024

Towards a collaborative future: new methodologies of innovation for creating solutions to society’s challenges.

In a world in constant evolution, the ability to adapt and innovate is crucial for sustainable growth and competitiveness. In this context, there is a need for a figure to function as a catalyst, driving the co-creation of effective solutions in aspects such as the implementation of advanced technologies, the definition of new lines of innovation, and the optimization of organizational processes, among others. Participatory processes are the cornerstone of this innovative approach. Based on design thinking, it’s an agile methodology that promotes creative thinking and gets the participants to different phases of analysis and prospective thinking. This way of solving challenges, focusing on the needs of the user, eases effective decision-making.

Through different dynamics designed to promote dialogue and the exchange of ideas, these processes encourage the active participation of different agents, creating innovative proposals that have the goal of becoming prototypes to be tested in real contexts.

During these participatory processes, the participants identify specific challenges, decide their priorities, and define joint solutions.

One of the main positive aspects of this methodology is the promotion of a sense of community, collaboration, and responsibility while consolidating the ecosystem, favoring productive interaction among different actors. Moreover, it significantly improves competitiveness, visibility, and reputation for both businesses and organizations.

The UAB Research Park offers a transformative process that guides businesses, institutions, and public administrations from the initial identification of needs to the specific action of ideating and implementing solutions, adopting an integral focus to solve real business and social challenges. Through a specifically designed process, the UAB Research Park brings together administrations, businesses, the community, and UAB experts from a wide range of sectors, promoting close collaboration to create innovative and creative solutions with a deep understanding of the perspectives of the different actors involved.

Our process has the following steps:

  • A study on the current situation: a deep analysis of the needs and business environment to identify the critical aspects that require attention.
  • Union of people through team dynamics: promoting the collaboration and cohesion of the quadruple helix agents (university, industry, government, and people) through team dynamics.
  • Identification of challenges and key needs: through a deep analysis, identify the most urgent business challenges to identify and the specific needs that need addressing.
  • Solution finding with the help of experts: we work tightly with our team of experts within the UAB campus to find innovative and effective solutions to the identified challenges.
  • Development of solutions and prototypes: we work hard to bring ideas to life; for this, we use different tools that allow us to generate prototyping processes for their implementation and validation in real-world contexts.
  • Identification of new collaborative and funding opportunities: we help explore new opportunities for growth and funding.

Both UAB and the UAB Research Park have applied this innovative focus to assess the creation of spaces and entities such as Tech4Molins, the Hub d’Innovació Cerdanyola Activa, and the Ajuntament de Ripollet; project ideation and prototyping for the Hub d’Intel·ligència Artificial and for the Instituto de Nanociencia y Materiales de Aragón; or the transformation of the primary attention at La Garrotxa for the Fundació Hospital d’Olot i Comarcal de la Garrotxa, etc.

With a vision focused on the excellency and innovation, the UAB Research Park becomes a trusted ally for businesses that aspire to grow and stand out in a competitive and constantly evolving business environment.