Commentary
20 Smartups to Watch
The emergence of services and technologies in the intersection of physical and digital changes both. Rather than everything being digital or physical, everything becomes something else. This something else is currently being defined by “smartups”. Demos Helsinki along with a global panel of carefully selected panel of experts in startup acceleration,…
Read MoreSmartups as the next Nordic Miracle
Did you know that a room booked via Airbnb produces 66% fewer carbon emissions per night than a hotel room? And that 80% of company leaders see immediate business opportunities arising from the depletion of natural resources? These two facts are intimately intertwined. The team at Demos Helsinki have published a major new report on the future of…
Read MoreDemos Helsinki at Slush 2014: Impact through wicked opportunities
Startup scene is getting more diverse – it’s no longer only about games and mobile apps. Themes like health, education and resource smart living offer practically an endless demand for solutions. This is visible also at Slush which has a big focus on impact this year. Demos Helsinki is going…
Read MoreMaria Ritola in the Kesko blog: ”Behavioural change – the untapped opportunity of consumer markets”
Demos Helsinki researcher Maria Ritola guest authors in the Näkökulma (transl. point of view) blog of the Finnish trading sector giant Kesko this week. Ritola’s text explores the new business opportunities arising around sustainable lifestyles. According to a new study by the communications agency Futerra 80% of business executives believe…
Read MoreSmartups: the new wave of cleantech
Smartups: New wave of cleantech from Demos Helsinki on Vimeo. There is something really intriguing going on in the world of startups: The biggest and the most interesting new companies in the world are very particular. Airbnb, Tesla and Uber, BlaBla car, Sidecar, Scoot Networks, Nest, Swap.com, Piggybaggy, Foodtrade and…
Read MoreWhat Is Consumer Cleantech?
The cutting edge field in Finnish innovation and industrial policy has for the past few years been cleantech. The focal point of Finnish cleantech is traditionally in industrial solutions that spring from innovations in process industry companies. Now the situation is changing, as cleantech startups spring up in consumer markets.…
Read MoreThe Nordic (urban)model revisited
A big group of Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian directors, researchers and other top professionals from the fields of construction, energy production, real estate and many others are wandering around in Hökarängen, a small Swedish suburb almost 20 kilometres from Stockholm’s T-Centralen. Someone might ask why. The Nordic countries have a…
Read MoreRetro started turning Smart in Stockholm
Smart Retro, a smart city project by Demos Helsinki and its distinguished partners, was kicked off in a spirit of enthusiastic co-operation. The high ambition of the Smart Retro is to turn the massive potential of the 60’s and 70’s buildings stock into a business model innovation that combines energy retrofitting…
Read MoreWhere lies the value in locality?
Last spring Demos Helsinki worked on a report concerning locality and local value. Our approach was to map out the theory and examples of the relationships between locality and the local media, and by organising a workshop in Tampere. A group of influential regional actors from businesses, municipalities, universities and…
Read MoreFunding, work, and participation are changing. No biggie.
The yearly Computer-Supported Cooperative Work Conference organised in Baltimore in mid-February was a goldmine of state-of-the-art research that crosses the boundaries of the social sciences and information technology. I spoke about a current project that examines the networked hospitality exchange fostered by the Airbnb concept: Account sharing in the context…
Read MoreGatekeepers: Unsung Heroes Of A Smart Economy?
New York City based The Sallan Foundation commissioned an op-ed from Tuuli Kaskinen and Aleksi Neuvonen. The Snapshop article ‘Gatekeepers: Unsung Heroes Of A Smart Economy?‘ describes how so called gatekeeper businesses can accelerate emergence of a smart economy. As many of you know, this is something Demos Helsinki has been working since 2008 in…
Read MoreSmart Retro – proof of concept for sustainable services in the built environment
Keväällä 2014 moninainen ryhmä julkisen ja yksityisen sektorin toimijoita käynnisti kunnianhimoisen kolmen kaupungin projektin Lahdessa, Tukholmassa ja Oslossa. Hankkeen tavoitteena on rakentaa puuttuva kytkös kestävän rakennetun ympäristön ja kestävien palveluiden välille. Smart Retro tekee tämän muuttamalla 60- ja 70-lukulaisen rakennuskannan valtavan potentiaalin liiketoiminnaksi, joka yhdistää energiaviisaan korjausrakentamisen ja älykkään palveluntuotannon.…
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