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Building Innovation Ecosystems: A Pathway to Sustainable Growth

The foundation of advancement in the quickly changing world of today is innovation. But in order for innovation to flourish, it needs a strong ecosystem that fosters and supports its expansion, not just a great concept. As a seasoned leader with experience in both the public and commercial sectors, Kaspars Rožkalns is in a unique position to provide insights into the operation of innovation ecosystems and how businesses can capitalize on their potential. As the CEO of the biggest construction firm in Latvia and the previous head of the country’s Investment Agency, where he played a key role in establishing a national innovation ecosystem, Rožkalns brings a lot of real-world experience to the table.

Kaspars Rožkalns actively advocates the need for innovation. He brings the question: “Why would an organization need an innovation ecosystem?” The answer lies in the fact that no organization can innovate effectively in isolation. Innovation ecosystems are critical to ensuring that businesses, governments, universities, and entrepreneurs come together to create, share, and implement ideas that drive growth and progress.

One of the first steps in building an innovation ecosystem is determining whether your organization even needs innovation. In an ever-changing world, the answer is almost always yes – organizations that fail to innovate risk falling behind or, in the worst case, going bankrupt. Once the need for innovation is established, the next crucial step is to map out the stakeholders that must be involved in the process. These stakeholders may include government agencies, universities, entrepreneurs, corporations, and startups – all of which play a crucial role in driving innovation. Without the active participation of these groups, it becomes much harder for innovation to succeed.

According to Rožkalns, it’s important for developing an innovative culture within your company. Change can be difficult to bring about in an organization without an innovative culture. The course looks at different approaches to creating this culture from the ground up and making sure that innovation is integrated into the organization’s operations. A healthy ecosystem that continuously adjusts to new opportunities and challenges is largely dependent on this cultural shift.

How do you choose where to innovate and why? How are these efforts funded? The most crucial question is probably how success is measured. Creating value and making sure that these concepts result in observable, long-lasting effects are two aspects of innovation that go beyond simply coming up with ideas. Each organization should know how to determine whether their innovation initiatives are successful and what to do in the event that they are not. Innovation ought to be an ongoing process, with companies always assessing and improving their tactics to stay competitive and relevant.

The question on how technology may support the development of innovation ecosystems is also important for modern companies. Global stakeholders may now work together more easily than ever before thanks to digital technologies and internet platforms. Nonetheless, local knowledge is still essential. Global collaboration can be improved by technology, but significant innovation is ultimately driven by local insights.

Kaspars Rožkalns is sharing his knowledge with the future leaders in his course on innovation ecosystems at Riga Business School. The course goes beyond theory, diving into actionable steps that organizations can take to establish and nurture their own innovation ecosystems. If you are interested in this course – MERIT project invites everyone to join, by becoming a student of the new master’s study program Management of Smart, Resilient, and Interconnected Systems at Riga Technical University.