Fair and Circular Innovation Ecosystems (FACE)

Purpose and goal:

The proposed project aims to build new knowledge on how to design and manage fair and circular innovation ecosystems. Specifically, our objective is to investigate how a large truck manufacturing company can initiate and influence circular and equitable innovation ecosystems in two regions with significant diversity. The long-term goal is to contribute to a fair and green transition in the transport sector with a significant effect on reducing the use of non-renewable resources and creating new, sustainable jobs and businesses through this process.

Expected results and effects:

The project will result in descriptions of current innovation ecosystems around the manufacture of trucks in Umeå and in Durban with the identification of driving forces and obstacles to implementing circular resource flows in these innovation ecosystems. These descriptions with driving forces and obstacles will serve as a basis for developing solutions that will be tested and evaluated. Ecological and social sustainability issues and effects will be highlighted.

Approach and implementation:

Project participants include KTH, AB Volvo, Umeå municipality and GSB University of Cape Town. The project follows two circular initiatives from AB Volvo as they design, initiate and manage innovation ecosystems in two significantly different contexts (Umeå, Sweden and Durban, South Africa). Using an action research approach, qualitatively rich and longitudinal empirical data will be collected, analyzed and synthesized into business model generation tools.

AB Volvo and regional actors will actively test and learn, resulting in circular systems and new business models.