Our approach is articulated in a horizontal, more transversal dimension, and in a vertical, or functional dimensions. In the horizontal dimension, the goal is to develop an ecosystemic environment which allows for a continuous eco-systemic evolution of organizations and community networks where different actors and services (in conjunction with open knowledge and models) interact with one another and evolve taking into consideration the local environment and boundary conditions embedded in the concept of the Innovation Tripole.

The core idea of the Innovation Tripole is that innovation arises as the result of the synergic coordination of the three main innovation stakeholders, namely users (bringing domain knowledge), enterprises and SMEs (bringing knowledge of the market), and research centers (bringing the latest research results). The tripole is instantiated in each project, thus allowing for the direct and strong involvement of users and their consequent co-creative participation to innovation, in their double role or actors and customers of the results of the innovation process. The effective coordination of the actors involved is reached following a participatory action research approach.

Participatory action research proceeds through iterative cycles. It begins with a reflection on some actions; then it progresses around with some questions and fieldwork; then it motivates an analysis which then evolves in a new round as a reaction to a new action which is then further analyzed.

All those elements are then virtually represented in the open interoperable technological medium, a distributed collaborative and business platform, based on the open source software concept that would reassure users of their technological choices and on a distributed framework that will favor the development of interoperable software services. It will be reusable in different application and service domains providing a great level of flexibility and will provide the possibility to share knowledge and models within the community’s ecosystem.

This platform will be the link between the networking layer and the service layer of the TasLab LL. The transversal multidisciplinary ecosystem driven approach is coupled, in the vertical dimensions, with a focus on the Trentino’s vocation areas like e-Mobility, e-inclusion, e-Business (and government) and e-Environment. This list is not exclusive and some new areas will also emerge over time.