Project Overview
Engage2innovate is a European-funded project that will investigate and address barriers to implementing EU security research and innovation outputs, including:
- Poor engagement with end-users, stakeholders and citizens,
- Lack of front-end research and problem framing,
- Ineffective innovation processes.
Project Background
According to the founding father of innovation theory, Joseph Schumpeter, the defining characteristic of innovation is implementation — and this differentiates it from invention. While invention is "conceiving a new idea for how to do things", innovation is "carrying it out into practice"
Despite significant investment over many years, the uptake and impact of innovations developed within the EU Security Research Programme remains regrettably limited.
This is often attributed to issues of 'user acceptance', inferring the fault lies with those on the receiving end of security 'inventions' — so-called 'end-users' and the general public. E2i believes this can more accurately be described as a problem of 'implementation' — and thus a shortcoming of the innovation process itself. For E2i, human-centred design plays a critical role in bridging the gap between invention and implementation.
Project Mission
The Engage2innovate project aims to enhance security solution design, adoption and impact by enabling increased and more effective engagement with end-users and relevant stakeholders.
E2i's is a compelling call to action — to reframe the role of design within Horizon Europe-funded Research and Innovation (R&I) projects.
Target Groups
Engage2innovate targets 7 groups across the quadruple helix:
- Security researchers
- Security practitioners
- Industry representatives
- Civil society representatives
- Security policymakers (local, national & EU level)
- Training providers and professional bodies
- Experts in ethical, legal and social aspects (ELSA)