Federated Innovation @MIND is an innovative model of public-private collaboration that aims to guide and coordinate the innovation process within the district.
The activity of MIND revolves around the presence of some public interest entities (Università Statale degli Studi di Milano, Human Technopole, IRCCS Galeazzi and Fondazione Triulza) with the role of fostering connections between researchers and innovators, as well as the industry and local communities.
Federated Innovation @MIND was founded in February 2021 with the mission of bringing together public institutions and private companies in a constructive and collaborative environment, to accelerate the conversion of ideas into new products, processes and services for the Future of Health and the City of the Future, thus contributing to revitalising Italy.
The model is based on a multi-disciplinary and cross-sectoral approach: the goal is to overcome traditional business and open innovation models by stimulating collaboration between the various players in the market.
Large companies from multiple sectors, startups, institutions, and talent. A new model cooperation environment to animate a genuinely competitive ecosystem for tangible and rapid innovation
Promoters and involved entities
Federated Innovation @MIND is powered by Lendlease with the support of Cariplo Factory as a facilitator. The model originates from a process started in 2018 with MINDlab, Arexpo’s call to collect expressions of interest from companies keen to develop field tests, pilot projects and innovative technologies for people’s wellbeing.
As of January 2022, Federated Innovation @MIND includes 36 local and global industry leaders: A2A, ABB, Accenture, AstraZeneca, Be Whiz | Beside you Group, Bio4Dreams, Bracco, Cereal Docks Group, Cisco, Daikin Industries, E.ON Italia, Elettronica, Enel X, ENI, Esselunga, Fabrick, Forte Secur Group, Lendlease, Life Science District, Maire Tecnimont, Mapei, Nippon Gases Italia, Novartis, Podium, Poste Italiane, Promocoop Lombardia, Saint-Gobain Italia, Schneider Electric, Sicuritalia Group, Signify, Stevanato Group, Stora Enso, Synlab, TIM, VSBLTY, Wind Tre, and Wood Beton.
Bird & Bird and OXYGY worked with Lendlease and Cariplo Factory, respectively, on the legal and organisational aspects of the model. PlusValue was responsible for facilitating the relations with public interest groups in MIND to define a common agenda on high social impact innovation.
The model: Collaborate to Compete
The entire ecosystem of Federated Innovation @MIND is rooted in the Collaborate to Compete principle. It is an evolution from the open innovation model, notably for the protection of intellectual property – which is why the participants here form a consortium that acts as a single entity. The special legal framework allows companies in a given sector, even competitors, to collaborate while respecting competition rules.
Companies participate with their innovation teams. The ecosystem acts as a collector of national and international excellence on different scales (large companies, small and medium-sized enterprises, startups, talent) to stimulate the contamination between technologies and knowledge – both within the same field and between different fields. There are currently 11 thematic areas: Agrifood Tech & Wellbeing, Life Sciences & Healthcare, Retail Tech, Fintech, Proptech & Smart Spaces, Security & Defense, Construction Tech, Urban Digital Tech, Greentech & Circular Economy, Mobility & Logistics, Energy.
The model allows to speed up the discussion time between the public and private sectors sensibly – thus accelerating the actual implementation of innovations. Each project created within Federated Innovation @MIND responds to the strategic challenges and priorities shared by all.
