The Innovation System in Transformation

In the light of the pressing global challenges, our need for innovation has dramatically changed. Instead of technical innovation alone, we need solutions on a much larger scale as well. The text analyses the transformation of the discourse on innovation in the last two decades, trying to illustrate the progressive shift of meanings, actors and tools involved in the process and what caused it. In the last decade, a slow mutation has occurred from the concept of creative and critical practice in the hands of creative individuals to creativity-driven innovation brought by the whole Cultural and Creative Sector and Industries (CCSI), and promoted by the establishment of the new EIT Culture & Creativity Knowledge Innovation Community in 2023. Nowadays, the debate on how to improve innovation and competitiveness must shift the attention from subjects and objects to support structures and ecosystems. Thanks to the analysis of case-studies, four possible contemporary design approaches to innovation have been identified: advanced design innovation, responsible innovation, knowledge innovation, cross-sectoral innovation. The selected case-studies and an interview with a Swedish artist illustrate the role of universities, research centres and public labs as structures supporting cross-sectorial innovation including CCSI in their research since the beginning.