Innovation isn’t just about inventing the next iPhone or launching a shiny new app. It’s about how society solves problems—economic, environmental, and even cultural. But here’s the kicker: the way we innovate is changing, and that change could reshape our world in unexpected ways.
A major European research project called INFU – Innovation Futures explored this exact idea. Their final report is a goldmine of insights on how innovation might look in the future, and what it means for all of us—especially in Europe (Leitner et al., 2012).
Let’s break it down.
🚀 What Is Innovation, Really?
Traditionally, innovation has been seen as something companies do in private labs—develop a product, patent it, sell it.
But INFU argues that this model is fading. Today, innovation is becoming more open, participatory, and socially driven (Leitner et al., 2012). Think of people contributing ideas to companies online, building their own products with 3D printers, or even cities leading their own innovation efforts.
🔍 The “Signals” of Change
The INFU team collected dozens of real-world examples, or what they called “signals of change.” These were actual trends already emerging around the world, such as:
- 💡 Dell’s IdeaStorm – Customers suggest new product ideas (Leitner et al., 2012, p. 12).
- 🏭 Fab Labs – People design and print their own products using local 3D printers (Gershenfeld, 2005).
- 🧠 Netflix Prize – A $1 million public contest to improve recommendation algorithms (Leitner et al., 2012, p. 12).
- 🧴 Cradle-to-Cradle Design – Designing products where all materials are reused (Braungart & McDonough, 2006).
These examples hint at a future where innovation is:
- Decentralized
- Eco-friendly
- Crowd-powered
- Socially driven
🧠 20 “What If” Futures
Based on these signals, the researchers imagined 20 creative future scenarios for innovation. Here are a few that stood out:
| 💭 Future Vision | What It Means |
| 🧍♂️ Create It Yourself | People produce their own products at home with smart tools. |
| 🧾 Public Experimentation | Citizens test out new ideas in local pilot projects. |
| 🔄 Waste-Based Innovation | All products are made from reused or recycled materials. |
| 🏙 Open Innovation City | Cities become labs for testing and scaling new ideas. |
| 🧑🏫 Innovation Meets Education | Kids learn creativity and problem-solving from a young age. |
These visions were not predictions but provocations—designed to encourage debate and planning (Leitner et al., 2012, pp. 22–26).
🔬 What Drives These Changes?
The INFU team identified 8 major forces reshaping innovation (Leitner et al., 2012, p. 53):
- New Coordination Models: Markets aren’t the only mechanism—networks and digital platforms matter more.
- Participation: From citizens to cities, everyone plays a role in innovating.
- Purpose: Innovation isn’t just about profits anymore—it’s also for people and the planet.
- Technology: AI and automation might even start generating ideas on their own (see also Corsi, 2010).
- Space: New types of physical and virtual spaces foster innovation—like fab labs and co-working hubs.
- Perception: “Innovation” is now used so broadly it risks losing meaning.
- Location: Emerging economies like China and India are becoming innovation leaders.
- Systemic Challenges: Innovation is increasingly focused on solving big issues—like climate change or social inclusion.
💼 Why This Matters for Policy and Business
For economics students and future policymakers, here are some big takeaways:
- Innovation is no longer top-down. Policy must support bottom-up creativity, citizen engagement, and digital infrastructure (Leitner et al., 2012, p. 85).
- Environmental and social goals matter. Green innovation and social enterprises are becoming mainstream, not marginal.
- We need new legal and economic frameworks. Open-source design, shared ownership, and flexible IP rights are gaining relevance (see Creative Commons as a case, p. 13).
- Education systems must evolve. Skills like creativity, collaboration, and systems thinking matter more than ever.
📣 Final Thought: Innovation Needs All of Us
The INFU report doesn’t predict the future—it opens the floor to imagine it, question it, and shape it.
Whether you’re an economics student, a designer, a coder, or an activist, you are part of the innovation system. And in the future that INFU describes, your participation isn’t optional—it’s essential.
So next time someone tells you innovation is just for engineers or big corporations, tell them: the future of innovation might be happening in your living room, your neighborhood, or even your next blog post.
📚 References
- Braungart, M., & McDonough, W. (2006). Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things. North Point Press.
- Chesbrough, H. (2003). Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology. Harvard Business School Press.
- Gershenfeld, N. (2005). FAB: The Coming Revolution on Your Desktop—from Personal Computers to Personal Fabrication. Basic Books.
- Leitner, K.-H., Jegou, F., Warnke, P., Mahn, J., Steinmüller, K.-H., Rhomberg, W., von Saldern, S., Schirrmeister, E., & Watkins, V. (2012). Innovation Futures: A Foresight Exercise on Emerging Patterns of Innovation – Final Report. INFU Project, European Commission. Retrieved from www.innovation-futures.org
- Mulgan, G., Tucker, S., Ali, R., & Sanders, B. (2007). Social Innovation: What it is, why it matters, and how it can be accelerated. Young Foundation/NESTA.
- von Hippel, E. (2005). Democratizing Innovation. MIT Press.
