Copenhagen Clean-tech Cluster: Building the Future - Essay Example

Copenhagen Clean-tech Cluster: Building the Future COPENHAGEN CLEAN-TECH CLUSTER: BUILDING THE FUTURE Copenhagen Clean-tech Cluster, in 2011, began an innovation platform to give public authorities, knowledge institutions, and companies an opportunity at working together do as to determine what challenges and needs smart cities face. The innovative platform’s is meant to unite the needs and wishes of cities and the capabilities of the companies to combine them into concrete, visionary, and ambitious solutions.

The institution’s goal is that the innovation platform will present basic material for the city developers can use when issuing tender calls on the establishment of infrastructure (Bhalla, 2011: p22). The smart city concept is connected to the premise that the cities and districts want to be developed and organized in a way that seeks to make everything smarter, easier, and cheaper. These smart city innovations cover the reduction of emissions and efficiency in the management of traffic, energy, water, and waste, as well as increasing life quality for citizens through the utilization of innovative methods.

Those companies that can think outside the box and come up with innovative business models face great earning potential and unique business opportunities; by integrating into their portfolios smart city solutions. The models are usually complex since they need to be capable of implementation across the existing companies and industries while at the same time taking the societal challenges and needs that most cities undergo into consideration (Ruwanpura et al, 2012: p33). The primary area of focus for Copenhagen Clean-tech Cluster as far as the innovation platform is concerned is the identification of demands for smart cities’ digital infrastructure.

Subsequently, firms have an opportunity to generate suggestions and ideas as to how the infrastructure needs to be organized and structured. Majority of cities demand smart solutions, although they do not know what it is. It is at this juncture that Copenhagen Clean-tech Cluster, together with knowledge institutions and innovative companies come into play with pioneering inputs and ideas (Ruwanpura et al, 2012: p34). Through the innovation platform, various partners come together to discuss what the infrastructure should include and the business models on which the infrastructure needs to build on.

One of the main areas on which their platforms are seeking to generate smart solutions is in the Copenhagen district of Nordhavn. According to plan, the area is to occupy approximately 40,000 people, as well as an equal number of future work places (Gibson, 2012: p44). Because of this, the innovation platform is searching for inputs from scientists, companies, and city developers, who possess proposals to solutions that can qualify requirement. It would be only reasonable that their portal is recognized as a national guideline.

The expectations to the platform are that, by the end of 2014, the basic material is to be presented, resulting in its function as inspiration and guidance to be utilized by city developers in the entire country, especially when tenders for the establishment of infrastructure are issued (Gibson, 2012: p45). Their proposed framework is divided into various components. The first is a smart government aided roadmap, whose starting point is a diagnosis that look forwards to, not only understanding existing infrastructure, but also to set a path to a model of smart cities for the coming 5 to 10 years (Singh, 2012: p51).

With basis on the forward-looking exercise, an investment road map and action plan tailored to each city’s specific context. Secondly, they also identify city priorities with interactive sessions with the cities’ main stakeholders. Local universities, civil society organizations, software developer communities, sector specialists, and public officials are gathered to discuss their main priorities and needs, focusing on the ones that could be solved via technology. They also share practices from other cities and countries, in addition to further definition of, problem statements (Singh, 2012: p52).

There is also co-creation solutions based on identified problem statement alternatives. For instance, they develop direct specific applications while also participating in such events as crowd source solutions that spur entrepreneurship and innovation (Power & Houghton, 2011: p11). Partnerships with the private sector and academia also result in teams in multi-disciplinary terms co-creating solutions using innovative approaches. These activities create concepts and prototypes, which have been tested in fields and begin a virtuous feedback cycle; from citizens and responses from the government, which are all aimed at creating improved and new service.

They also have urban innovation labs that keep momentum and traction that is generated through the co-creation process, which facilitates ongoing interaction between stakeholders where new solutions and ideas can be tested in a fail-safe environment. This urban innovation lab needs to lead future iterations of proposed processes, and support the stakeholders in coming up with solutions to problems aimed at the improvement of life quality in their city (Runestone Press. Geography Department, 2012: p104).

Finally, the Copenhagen Clean-tech Cluster also works towards networked cities. These cities, as they go via the process, can create a network to share practices and applications. In this way, they are able to maximize solution values that they develop through sharing with other peers. They also learn from other experiences, as well as learn from experiences, as well as build on them. References Bhalla, U., 2011. Collaboration and co-creation : new platforms for marketing and innovation. New York : Springer Science+Business Media.

Gibson, D., 2012. The technopolis phenomenon : smart cities, fast systems, global networks. Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield . Power, A. & Houghton, J., 2009. Jigsaw cities : big places, small spaces. Bristol : Policy Press. Runestone Press. Geography Department., 2012. Street smart! : cities of the world. Minneapolis: Runestone Press . Singh, S., 2012. New mega trends : implications for our future lives. New York : Palgrave Macmillan . Ruwanpura, J., Mohamed, Y., & Lee, S., 2011. Construction Research Congress 2010 : innovation for reshaping construction practice.

Reston : American Society of Civil Engineers.