Advancing inclusive and sustainable innovation requires diverse actors to coordinate their knowledge, resources, and activities around shared objectives. Firms, public institutions, innovation intermediaries, and communities bring different interests and priorities to these processes, making governance and leadership central to translating collaboration into sustained economic, social, and environmental value.
This ongoing research project explores how governance arrangements and institutional leadership enable collaborative innovation across organisational and sectoral boundaries. It examines how participation is structured, decision rights and responsibilities are distributed, and knowledge and resources are integrated. Particular attention is given to how these arrangements reconcile economic interests with societal needs and enable stakeholders to contribute meaningfully throughout the innovation lifecycle.
Building on our findings, we are deepening our understanding of how governance and leadership operate across innovation platforms, ecosystems, and institutional contexts. Ongoing research considers settings such as Corporate Venture Studios, Age-Tech ecosystems, and European sustainability initiatives to examine how different arrangements support sustainable transformation. It also explores how regulation and institutional differences shape collaboration and the distribution of its benefits.
The project advances theoretical and practical understanding of how collaborative innovation is organised and directed towards societal objectives. It provides actionable insights for firms, policymakers, and ecosystem actors seeking to design governance structures and leadership approaches that support knowledge exchange and sustain inclusive and environmentally responsible innovation.