The innovative bottom-up methodology to optimise costs and resources
Anne Marie heads Inishowen Innovation, a technology hub where local brains can develop their full potential. Like Anthony and Aidan, who closed their company in Derry, Northern Ireland a year ago, and launched an underground drone software business here in Buncrana, Subterranean. There are several reasons for this. In particular, Anthony explains, the flexibility of renting premises, but, he continues, 'We also have access to various types of government assistance. We are currently working on a grant proposal, and we have officials who come here and you can talk to them and get assistance because of their expertise in the field.'
In fact, the local government puts a lot of effort into the project. County Donegal, of which Buncrana is a part, used a disused administration building to convert into this hub. The building was extended, modernised, equipped, and made available to freelancers and start-ups for the development of their projects. Currently, around 25 companies, including start-ups, SMEs and multinationals, are taking advantage of it through various forms of subscription. A 'necessary' project in the area according to John McLauhling, Donegal County Executive, 'to bring new, highly skilled and innovative jobs. And the hope,' he continues, 'is that people can start small here, grow, and then form a larger company in the surrounding area, creating employment and opportunities.
The creation of the hub is part of the European project ERUDITE (Enhancing Rural and Urban Digital Innovation Territories). A project for which a total of around 2.08 million euro was invested, 1.74 million of which came from the European Cohesion Policy through the Interreg programme, involving seven different regions. Besides Ireland, Finland, Sweden, France, Italy, Slovenia, and Hungary benefited.
Peculiarities of ERUDITE, its innovative methodology SEROI+methodology, in which citizens and local companies are actively involved in defining objectives and analysing the social and economic return on investment. You can find a very clear and detailed explanation of the methodology in the bonus below. Programme manager José Manuel San Emeterio sums it up as follows: "Interventions are analysed not only from a financial, monetary point of view, but also consider the social and environmental values. We work from the very beginning of the project with our stakeholders, consulting them on the possible impact of a certain intervention, and also to get more information on the needs of the community, and then target the intervention to fit those needs.'
Needs such as environmental protection. For example, living five minutes away from the hub like Anne Marie reduces pollution. This commitment was also realised when the hub was restructured: 'We have a very sustainable building, we have been very proud of it from the beginning,' Anne Marie boasts. The building has an air-water heating system. Let us recycle as much as possible, generate as little waste as possible. We have installed solar panels on the roof and we also have a charging station for electric vehicles.
Directly involving stakeholders (citizens, companies...) in a project and not being limited to calculating only economic returns. This is the objective of SEROI+, a revolutionary methodology devised within the European project ERUDITE and codified so that it can also be used in other areas.
SEROI stands for 'Social and Economic Return on Investment.' Programme manager José Manuel San Emeterio explains: "Interventions are not only analysed from a financial, monetary point of view, but social and environmental values are also considered. When carrying out public interventions, the social and environmental dimensions are also very important.'
José takes as an example the Inishowen Innovation hub in Buncrana, County Donegal, a local initiative set up as part of the European ERUDITE project. A hub that, José says, "will obviously have a return on investment due to the economic activity of the companies that set up shop here, but it can also have an environmental aspect, thanks to these people not having to go to work all the way to Letterkenny, the main town in the area. This also means saving CO2 emissions. And finally, there is a social aspect of community building, families staying in their local area, consuming in local businesses. So we analyse that part which considers not only the monetary part, but also these values.'
And then there is the SEROI+. That + stands for 'Open Innovation'. In concrete terms, José explains, 'We work with our stakeholder from the very beginning of the project. We are not the ones analysing the case alone, but we also involve people who know what the values might be and consult them on the possible impact of a certain intervention, and also to get more information on the needs of the community, and then direct the intervention to fit those needs.'
A true bottom-up methodology, in which the people to whom the project is addressed decide which aspects to address and how to judge its performance.
Mateusz Morawiecki is convinced that in talks with Moscow, Kyiv needs the support of the West. "No word that comes from the Kremlin should be trusted by definition. The Russians, previously the Soviets, were able to break all the treaties they concluded. (Therefore) the treaties must be supported by real force. The Ukrainians have such real force, but in order to be able to oppose Russia, it must be a force supported by the West" - emphasizes the head of the European Conservatives and Reformists.
The former Polish Prime Minister became the head of the European Conservatives and Reformists group, which brings together conservative groups in the European Parliament, a few months ago. Morawiecki replaced Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who recommended him for this position. When taking up the position, the Pole emphasized that among the goals he sets for himself is maintaining and developing transatlantic relations. Now he says on The Europe Conversation that these relations are necessary to end the war in Ukraine. "Without the Americans, it is hard to imagine lasting peace, and yet we all strive for it. So I hope that it is not only these words of Minister Lavrov or President Putin, or other officials, the highest state officials of Russia that will set the directions of changes in the near future. But above all, hard power, hard commitments and guarantees on the European side, but also, above all, on the American side," emphasizes Mateusz Morawiecki in an interview.
According to the former prime minister, good transatlantic relations are crucial for peace in Europe and Trump's expectations towards European partners are natural. Trump, says Morawiecki, "must demand from his European partners that all of us in Europe, European NATO countries in particular, rise to the occasion. Without American support, we in Europe would not be able to be calm for decades." The politician believes that if transatlantic relations were not to survive, "our European world will be endangered, it will be very seriously endangered. Russia will enter into a very lasting agreement with China, and such a Russian-Chinese tandem is a powerful force that is able to dominate not only Central Europe, but simply the whole of Europe."
The former prime minister recalls that it was his government (Morawiecki headed the Polish government in 2017-2023) that committed to greater defense spending. Currently, Poland allocates over 4 percent of its GDP to this. "Today, we are the country among the 32 NATO countries that spends the highest percentage on defense policy," emphasizes the former head of the Polish government. In 2026, Poland will spend at least 5 percent of its GDP on defense, which means over PLN 200 billion.
The politician believes that Donald Trump's actions are more important than the changing narratives of his country: "I don't get used to what he says at a given moment, I just look at what he does, and his actions lead primarily to this. Let's look at this moment from an American perspective, in order for American forces and American resources to be transferred, to be "switched" partly to the Pacific, to the Chinese section (Trump) must demand from his European partners that all of us in Europe, the European Union, NATO countries in particular, rise to the occasion". According to Morawiecki, Poland, since he was prime minister, has been fulfilling its obligations as a member state of the North Atlantic Alliance by paying high contributions to the NATO budget.
"Today, we are the country among the 32 NATO countries that allocates the largest percentage of its budget to defense policy. Our words were followed by actions. It is different in Europe. These words, which I have been hearing for a year, two, three, are not followed by actions," emphasizes the former Polish Prime Minister in The Europe Conversation. Morawiecki believes that Europe has a very powerful instrument in its hands that would allow it to quickly end the war, but it still does not reach for it: frozen Russian assets. "Let's take these assets and Russia will immediately sit down at the table, because it will be afraid that it will lose 300-350 billion dollars forever," argues the head of the European Conservatives and Reformists group. The entire interview with Mateusz Morawiecki on Euronews in the program "The Europe Conversation".
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