Innovation is essential for economic growth and technological progress, and the space sector can enhance its innovation processes through diverse models of collaboration, open participation, and ecosystem development.
The report explores the role of innovation within economic and industrial policy. It examines various configurations of innovation management, from closed to open models, and discusses the importance of information flow and collaboration. The space sector could benefit from adopting innovative approaches:
- Establishing innovation ecosystems, where interconnected institutions and individuals collaborate, and enhance the development and commercialization of new technologies.
- Open-source software, citizen science, and crowdsourcing as effective methods for fostering innovation, offering diverse solutions and lower costs.
- The creation of a European Space Technology Innovation Institute to centralize and promote research and development.
- Encouraging partnerships between universities and industries, using wikis for knowledge exchange, and supporting skunk works for flexible innovation.
Recommendations focus on how the European space industry can enhance its innovation potential through strategic proactive measures, leveraging both proprietary and open-source methods, and fostering ecosystems to support emerging technologies.