On September 19th, 2023, our project partner, CRIT Srl, organized a Open Seminar in Modena titled, “Public Participation in Research and Innovation: Empowering Engagement through the Quadruple Helix Model.” This seminar featured two distinguished speakers, Johanna Ronco, Green Technologies and Materials Manager at CRIT, and Marta Pellegrino, Head of Operations for 4 Laboratori Aperti in Emilia-Romagna.

Johanna Ronco started the event with a general overview on the topic of Open Innovation 2.0 and the Sharing economy. She unveiled the Synergy platform, an innovative crowdfunding service designed through the lens of the Quadruple Helix approach. This platform offers fresh opportunities for collaborative innovation. Afterwards, Marta Pellegrino took center stage to unravel the Quadruple Helix model. This model is a transformative force that bridges the gaps between science, politics, industry, and society. Its power lies in its ability to enhance public acceptance of innovations, promoting their effective integration into the fabric of society and invigorating public engagement in the realm of research. This model finds support in European Union policies, particularly those aligned with the principles of Open Innovation 2.0. In specific cases, the model comes to life by creating and implementing cutting-edge technologies. It necessitates active involvement from all stakeholders, who collaborate and contribute through crowdsourcing or open functional platforms that serve as hubs for idea generation, systematization, and the translation of these ideas into practical, real-world solutions.

This thought-provoking seminar served as a platform to raise awareness among participants about the significance of the Quadruple Helix model, in harmony with one of the core objectives of the IDEATION project: fortifying the ‘Triangle Network Knowledge.’ Moreover, the attendees, a diverse mix of industrial professionals and academic experts, responded with enthusiasm and positivity, underscoring the seminar’s profound utility and its direct relevance to their respective fields and endeavors.