Visitation programs can provide vitamin injection in the innovation work

Hello there Erik Borälv. You are responsible for Vinnova's new effort Residens X. What is it?

It is a residency or residency program that allows a activities to invite a person for a limited period of time with a person with unknown perspectives, skills and abilities to create something new. It is about cross-border collaboration to develop products and services, but also ways of working and organizing.

Why does Vinnova invest?

Residence or residency programs are established in the cultural sector with many surprising results. For example, the tradition is found at glassworks to get innovative thinking into the craft. We believe that residency programs can be valuable to many more, so we are testing this fall. Today, innovation work is influenced by many factors, such as new technology, digitalisation, that we work globally. It places eligibility requirements on access to new and different skills than we have in our own organization. We follow several exciting examples. I Malmö city, for example, includes entrepreneurs from the local business community in the digitization of the business.

What do you hope for results ?

We have renamed the investment to Residens X with \"the X factor\" in mind, which is aimed at something extra or unexpected. We hope to see surprising and cross-border collaborations with a curiosity about unfamiliar skills and abilities. The goal is results which means significant renewal - to innovation - that sets the track after the stay.

Who is calling the invitation?

All legal persons are welcome to apply, both within the public sector and industry or associations. The host company is the one who is seeking funding at Vinnova. We hope for applicant who are curious and ready to test to be enriched in a new and unexpected way. You may want a vitamin injection to take a step further in your development or your innovation work. At the same time, the stay should be rewarding for both parties. The host needs to be mature to be able to offer a stimulating environment for his guest. We have eligibility requirements that there should be stays where there is a significant distance between the host and the guest. For example, I imagine a major industrial company receives a drone pilot or a preschool receives an elite athlete.

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