New European Bauhaus
Balanced Innovation Ecosystem Approach
The open conversation regarding the shape of New European Bauhaus was in progress till the end of June. While sharing your voice, contemporary inspiring examples, ideas and challenges could be provided. Hereby the idea of the need for an ecosystem vision for the New European Bauhaus as an innovation pool is proposed. This would require a strong level playing field enforcement, especially allowing for Society empowerment in order to shape the inclusive, socially and environmentally sustainable future promoted by New European Bauhaus. This is the proposal advanced by CID-N Collective Intelligence Development Network, join us with your opinions!
Innovation can be seen in different ways, the father of the concept Joseph Schumpeter introduced its rather romantic version of the innovative entrepreneur or company, conquering the free market. However, this vision in a complex reality presents only one of its dimensions. Grid-group culture theory based on the idea of Mary Douglas from the intersection of solidarity and group, or society position determination provides an insightful, comprehensive picture. Apart from the previously mentioned individualistic vision where everybody acts in its interest in this way contributing to the common good, at the opposed high end of solidarity and structural implications it introduces the hierarchic vision. This outlook is similar to the one implicit in the European Union policies, with its triple helix approach of actors such as Government providing the physical and legal infrastructures for productive activities of Industry and research and education activities of Academia. Recently European Union includes as well the Society, which in grid-group culture schema is especially present on the Collective quadrant, characterized by high solidarity but low organizational structuring and determination. The fatalist vision is left as a warning for a structural disempowerment.
Moreover, the sustainability question approach can also be structured throughout this vision, providing for an overall picture of different positioning regarding the Natural Environment. From the currently reigning individualistic perspective, nature has the full capacity of renewal, companies are to be centred on the profit and the environmental damage is just a collateral in the process that can be amended through technology and innovation. This issue in principle is to be dealt with only when the society raises its strong concerns. It is somehow complementary regarding reactiveness of the fatalist point of view, which considers nature as capricious and independent of human actions. From the collectivist perspective, instead, the natural environment needs a careful consideration and care. This last point of view, in turn, complements the hierarchical vision of critical or no return point, as for instance the global warming above 2ºC. Due to the environmental crisis, collectivist and hierarchical vision seem to permeate the European Union, however reticent to strongly redirect the free market and oppose the neoliberal standpoint.
Indeed, in the current configuration, it seems, that the individualistic vision is for success-oriented free market and the hierarchic outlook is mainly for the government levels, thus there is a strong need of a level playing field enforcement in the social shaping of New European Bauhaus and approach to socially and environmentally sustainable living space. The innovation and new technology outcomes have an interpretative flexibility and are prone to the social shaping due to the contextual factors of amplified context.
In order to allow this level playing field, the difference in the characteristics and structures of each actor that determine its participation in the power play need to be carefully balanced when and where required for government and academia bodies, industry lobbies but especially social and environmental entities with their strong solidarity ethics. The access to the consultation process is just the first step, because of different actors’ capacity and capability, willingness and easiness of articulation in social shaping of innovation and technology that can be born and promoted by the New European Bauhaus.
All things considered, these competing but also complementary perspectives indicate a need for a careful innovation ecosystem outlook in the New European Bauhaus conception. It should embrace the multilevel perspective as well, with the strong highlight on the society mindset and landscape influencing the other sociotechnical regime and niche levels. This was successfully done by the historical Bauhaus, which was in its base the state school with transversal interdisciplinary education responding to the industrial revolutions of its time. Building up an innovation pool with strong society empowerment and participation seem to be the way to proceed and respond to current social and environmental sustainability challenges.
To know more, read the scientific article here.
Authors:
Renata Kubus: ResearchGate, LinkedIn
María Jesús Rosado García: LinkedIn
