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Event | 21 Jan 2022

New investment models for urban innovation ecosystems

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The European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) will organise a hybrid event on New investment models for urban innovation ecosystems, taking place on 21st January in Dubai.

Over the last two years, the JRC has been exploring governance and investment models powering innovation districts in Europe and beyond. In 2019, the JRC released a study on Public Private Partnerships for Science and Technology Parks and Innovation Districts in collaboration with the International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation (IASP).

In 2020, the JRC initiated a study on innovative investment models for sustainable urban innovation ecosystems – focused on the attraction of mainstream private investors. The purpose of the study is to identify potential revenue generating streams and develop adequate metrics for describing and quantifying the positive socio-economic impact of innovation districts’ development projects. An understanding of how and where value is generated is expected to enable the development of an articulated value proposition to mobilise additional investments through the deployment of suitable financing mechanisms and financial instruments (e.g. sustainable investments (ESG), green bonds, impact equity investments, social outcome contracts, etc.).

This workshop, hosted at the Swedish Pavillion at EXPO2020, will present the results of the two above-mentioned studies and through discussion between practitioners, policy-makers and investors explore the potential of innovation districts as collaborative investment opportunities for the public and private sector.

Video recording

Watch the event

Agenda

(Dubai time)

 

Background information

In the context of the ongoing pandemic, fostering the growth of dynamic innovation eco-systems and attracting innovators to sustainable urban innovation districts constitutes an important opportunity to accelerate the recovery and facilitate the green and digital transitions.

Innovation generates economic and social benefits and cities are keen to capitalise on the opportunity offered by attracting innovators and the related potential for equitable and sustainable economic growth and job creation.

To this day, the involvement of the private investors in innovation districts conception, development and management has been predicated on the application of traditional bankability criteria, as normally used in more traditional Public Private Partnerships or real estate transactions. These are based on the modelling of future revenues (i.e. discounted cash-flow projection) from occupancy and real estate value appreciation as the primary source of profitability for private sector’s investments. This traditional investment appraisal model leaves little room for consideration of other innovation districts related value generation mechanisms from the generation of research results, to the creation of protected IP, to the launch of start-ups and university spin-off companies. The simple real estate investment model also fails to quantify the positive cultural, socio-economic, and environmental externalities of such projects or – in other words- their public value.