Innovation - raw
material economy and society *)
Everything that can be
invented has been invented .. - Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, US Patent
Office, 1899. [1]
Introduction
It used to be a small part of the
population that was highly educated, now 40% of young people have a higher
education [2]. It is unclear if these figures hold for our community or not,
sites like www.waarstaatjegemeente.nl
and www.cbsinuwbuurt.nl (both sites
with statistics of the Dutch cities) do not tell, unfortunately. That high
level of education, leads to high expectations: 'innovation' is the magic word.
From China [3], Europe [4], the Netherlands [5] with a 'top sector policy 'and
a National Research Agenda [6], to our province (in other countries/perspectves
that would be state, county or canton) with its own Economic Development Board
which took the initiative for an Innovation Task Force (www.taskforceinnovatie
.com), to our community with initiatives like "Green Economy at the
Utrecht Ridge" (see Council Information Letter of March 4 2014 [7]) and
the Q4-initiative Entrepreneurs Convention (www.stichtingq4.nl/Economisch-Congres-7-april
.html, this foundation is a co operation of four entrepreneurial societies
in neighbouring cities), and to ideas and actions in the local department of
D66 [8].
This trend of more and better
educated has been around for a while and has the effect that much more
research, development and innovation is possible. Simply because there are many
more people and thus opportunities for cross-pollinating ideas and developments
... at least in theory because these people have to 'meet ' eachother; in real
time or in the digital world. Otherwise they can not form building blocks and
value chains, and dust will come over all those wonderful ideas, inventions and
prototypes on respective digital shelves, abandoned sheds or scrap heaps.
<<<<<
Let's look at some recent breakthrough ideas from the Agro-sector that the
Foundation for the Future of Technology (STT.nl) has put in a row with the
publication 'Of
autonomous robots to salty potatoes' (in Dutch but there will be a
translation in English). Would an autonomous robot can take over a piece of
forest maintenance? Weed recognizing and pulling they can all fine, milking
cows they also do quite some time. Aquaculture and vertical farming have already
been mentioned in this series of blogs. What about protein transition
(artificial meat)? And what's even more innovative in the catalogue: 3D
printing, 4D Printing, autonomous acting miniature drones and micro-robots,
Bioinformatics, biorefining and biofuels, Preservation Technologies, Food
design, Genetic Engineering, Renewable Energy, Information Technology and IT
infrastructures, Precision, Sensor, Smart materials, synthetic biology,
Robotics, Transport Technology, Vertical farming, Weather Effects.
The challenge: can we
at our local Utrecht Ridge use these innovations, new features and capabilities
to make our community even more beautiful than it already is, for and with
Smart Men/women and Entrepreneurship (SME)? How and where can we all find solutions
promptly if we need to solve a problem? Do we have a mechanism to collect and
retrieve those innovations? >>>>>>
Clearly
All those clever people living in
one time frame. That will have significant consequences. Through the media one
innovation after another reaches us at an ever faster pace as it seems, but ...
where to leads that great cacophony in a world in which everyone is 'sending'
and hardly anyone is 'listening' or 'receiving'? A decade ago, I had an
informal newsletter to inform my contacts on SME opportunities in the world of
R&D and scientific research in which 'sending' was not in the habit. The
note was not much; just a lot of links. It consisted of three parts; a general
section (about e.g. upcoming trade missions, visiting delegations, links to
(new) newsletters of businesses, industries, R&D and research
organizations. Part of the opportunities were links for (NL) entrepreneurs by
which a single phone call, so to speak, would acquire them a license to sell a
new product in Europe. The third part -in reverse- where links by which a phone
call would licences someone in Asia or elsewhere to sell Dutch products in
other countries. The range of the newsletter was very limited but it reached a
select group of (international).. knowledge and innovation agents and brookers.
Looking back, the series of newsletters would have produced a nice
"catalogue" or database [9].
<<<<<A
quick sample of what innovations from recent media:
·
drone that can sow billion of trees
(other things planting or seeding it will also be able to?);
·
new type of concrete can absorb 400
liters of water per square meter;
·
flour beetles break down plastic;
·
a mini fusion reactor can supply
100,000 people power;
·
the Lucy mirror in the window
disperses sunlight into a dark room;
·
an ecocapsule enables to live in
the most desolate places;
·
and refugee a Filipino -American
inventor invented a folding house .
These examples are from numbers 1 and 3 of the journal
'Science in View' from a library visit. A look at the other magazines provides
monthly many more examples . >>>>>
Internet and social media made the informal newsletter
superfluous, as perhaps many of those more or less glossy newsletters from
research, science, R&D and industry associations. Facebook, LinkedIn,
Twitter and the like promised to be the new information channels instantly
sharing news and innovation as it happens... But what about the memory of those
media? Have you ever tried two weeks later to retrieve a message? And who is
24/7 looking at social media 'spotting' that kind of messages and opportunities
for entrepreneurship? Social media posts are almost immediately overshadowed
among countless others. Thus we lose track of promising developments and we
miss opportunities to find the right solution 'just in time' and the
combination of the right Smart Men/women and Entreperneurship (SM), to make the
solution work. Fortunately, there are "Internet crawlers " but it is
equally difficult search to find a suitable and safe -freeware- crawler. [10 ]
<<<<<< A quick grasp
of the Internet:
·
Transparent metals: www.kennislink.nl/publicaties/onderzoekers-maken-metaal-transparant
·
3D visualization ' without glasses
' www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLYsTiwbPfM
·
Ridge Journal: a horizontal
windmill ph on your rooftop www.bright.nl/ridgeblade-wint-green-challenge-2009
>>>>
In short: a cataloguing crawler would be useful. One that
finds for any issue or challenge, the developed solutions and innovations, and
lists them with a link and contact information. Fairs (in particular, address
lists ) are well suited to build personal networks in a natural way, and offer
the chance to actually see and to speak to the developers themselves. After
all, YouTube and TED videos can fake from here to eternity. But a one-time
event or exhibition is not mechanism to bring together people, knowledge and
innovation periodically. So the local Q4 initiative
for a periodical Entrepreneurs Convention would be helpful !
With a regular event at the Utrecht Ridge where each year
entrepreneurs, inventivers, R&D specialist could meet (a yearly Innovation
Day) the community would put itself firmly on the map. Each year a different
theme, starting with the topics of the sequel of previous columns around basic
preconditions for a thriving community up to 2030 and beyond. Some problems
(and thus 'markets') are already reported; water [11], food, energy, [12]
commodities [13], etc. In short, the topics of the national priority sectors,
the provincial Innovation Task Force and the local activitities of Q4 at
Utrecht Ridge. We have on the Ridge a few nice yearly activities; atelier
route, flower parade, the UH Marathon, and a series of country fairs. What
month is still available? One year the topic might be 3D printers (what can
useful things can one do dealing with them, in and around the house, garden and
safeguarding privacy and security?). Another year on drones; ditto - what can
you do with them? What about the message of a billion tree planting drone? If
it can do that, the trick would also work with corn, beets, potatoes, corn!
Such Q4 initiatives are seized from D66 Utrecht Ridge's
heart. (D66 Utrecht Ridge is the local department of the national political
party D66). Not in vein the Election 2014-2018 stated: "Not only tourism
and recreation should be strengthened, but also the use of green power in the
area for business services must increase. Consider the attractiveness of the
municipality of Utrecht Ridge for educational institutions along the
"knowledge - axis” between the Uithof and Wageningen [the sites of two top class Dutch
universities]. Conference centers that provide spin-off for the local SMEs.
Innovation through sustainable entrepreneurship would find the right inspiration
in our municipality. An economically vibrant area that can the future ,
combining nature, activities, affordable housing and safety. D66 wants to leave
grabbing four elements together to achieve further upward spiral." [14 ]
Conclusion
Innovation is wanted by "everyone". An active
connection between
Smart Men/women and Entrepreneurship (SME) to beautify
our town more than it already is. Suppliers and customers are 'sending' and
'listening' past each other. The proposed 'Inventivers or Innovation Day' would
be an option. Thematically it can be hooked up to the 'big priorities' of the
Netherlands or of our province. Or more random, like the 3D printers, the
drones or anything else; those are just the provokative innovations of 'today'.
Important, yes. But is there a view of the necessary innovations of proverbial
"tomorrow" and "the day after tomorrow"? And periodically:
then everyone knows that next year there is another moment where the 'sending'
and 'listening', 'meet and greet' might
again coincide! The above Q4 Initiative goes beyond April 7th, 2016.
Q4's activities aim to become a permanent flywheel and a stable driver for
frequent contact between suppliers and customers in the region, and around our
community, in the coming years.
À Propos about proverbial “tomorrow”: in previous columns the 'Horizon
Scan 2007' report was cited that looked at the future towards 2040. It has
received a successor: the 'Horizon Scan 2050' [15], which looks ahead four
decades. This new study identifies for us (nationally and to some degree
Europe-wide) the signals for change of upcoming (social) challenges and also of
some innovations that may be useful in handling these challenges and the
'markets of tomorrow' .
<<<<<<However innovations of
'yesterday' are instructive and useful to anyone who asks for 'lessons learned'
and 'examples of good practice'. See, also of STT: the publication Sea View.
The section on SEA-friendliness overlooks a 11-numerous concrete examples and
experiments zeebenutting central. In most cases there will be a substantial
piece of technology look at. The Seawing proposal stands out; floating pontoons
are home to a multitude of productive functions on a small area in which
various production 'smart' pick up on each other. The yield is energy (vertical
windmills) and food (fish, mussels, etc. from the breeding tanks which are also
the pontoons of the floating windmill. >>>>>
BV/30/3/2016
* this blog is a transcript -slightly adapted- of the
blog in Dutch @https://utrechtseheuvelrug.d66.nl/publicaties/blog-innovatie-grondstof-economie-en-samenleving/
on behalf of the local departement of a national political party that goes by
the name D66 (which stands for Democrates 66,referring to the year of its
establishment, 1966)
=== === === ===. ===. ===. ===. ===. ===. ===. ===. = ==
[1] The decision was later debunked https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Holland_Duell
[2] Women who are now mid-thirties, have a higher
education than men of their generation. Nearly 43 percent of these women have a
college or university education. Their male peers is 38 percent. For older
generations, the picture is reversed. Source: http://www.cbs.nl/nl-NL/menu/themas/onderwijs/publicaties/artikelen/archief/2015/onder-dertigers-vrouwen-vaak-hoger-opgeleid-dan-mannen.htm
4] (http://ec.europa.eu/growth/industry/innovation/facts-figures/scoreboards/index_en.htm)
[5] De Staat van Nederland Innovatieland (State of
the Netherlands Innovation Land) https://www.tno.nl/media/3350/staat_van_nederland_innovatieland_2014_tno_hcss.pdf (2013)
[6] http://topsectoren.nl/
en http://www.wetenschapsagenda.nl/
[8] https://utrechtseheuvelrug.d66.nl;
guse search key ‘innovatie’
[9] For an old days list of newsletters link addresses;
see http://www.bjernv.dds.nl/BM.html#_Toc446188659
(this toc is only valid till June 1th).
[10] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_crawler
[11] UN: Water Shortages by 2030: www.unep.org/NewsCentre/default.aspx?DocumentID=27068&ArticleID=36102
[12] www.oxfam.org/en/research/eus-2030-energy-and-climate-change-package
[13] http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2016/finalwebsite/
[14] The local election programme http://docplayer.nl/13448879-Verkiezingsprogramma-d66-utrechtse-heuvelrug-2014-2018.html
[15] http://stt.nl/nieuws/horizonscan-2050/;
the report in English can be downloaded at http://stt.nl/stt/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/STT-Horizonscan2050-ENG.pdf