1m€ Belmont Forum consortia grant for @IIPMcambridge research team @ifmCambridge @Cambridge_Eng @ESRC

Press release: http://www.belmontforum.org/news/twelve-transnational-projects-to-receive-11-5-million-euros-for-research-on-transformations-to-sustainability/

IPACSTWe are excited that our proposal was selected to receive funding from the Belmont Forum, a pan-international social science research body. The project focuses on studying how IP models can help to accelerate sustainability transitions, particularly analysing sustainable business models for clean energy and the circular economy.

Starting in October, the IPACST project will run for three years. Project partners include:

Total projects funds are about 1m€. UK funds for the project come from the Global Challenges Research Funds, respectively the ESRC. The project is among 12 selected consortia projects out of 155 eligible proposals.

We will soon be looking to recruit a postdoc, preferably with research expertise in IP and licensing, but also sustainable innovation and the circular economy.

Open IP strategies for enabling sustainability transitions

New paper published with Jan Sternkopf from Kiel University, Elisabeth Eppinger from Freie Universität Berlin and Pratheeba Vimalnath (Subramanian) from Indian Institute of Science on how firms employ IP strategies and particularly Open IP strategies to enable transitions towards a more sustainable society, including cases from Tesla and Nutriset. The paper is available in our CTM Working Paper series.

Cambridge University to Adopt Ethical Approach to Multibillion-Dollar Fund

Cambridge is moving in the right direction: „One of the world’s oldest—and richest—universities has decided to adopt a more “ethical” approach to investing its multibillion-dollar endowment fund.“

Read the full Wall Street Journal article at http://www.wsj.com/articles/cambridge-university-to-vote-on-multibillion-dollar-fund-1431944924 

Product Service Systems, innovation and the circular economy

This short video explains very well the possibilities of business models that are not based on ownership transactions. What happens to society when firms retain ownership and rather sell their products as a service? It also means democratizing consumers, who really then become users. Watch here.

MakeSpace in Cambridge

Yesterday, I visited the MakeSpace in Cambridge. A recently started collaborative fablab made possible with generous funding from ideaSpace, the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM), ARM, TTP, Microsoft Research and Cambridge Science Centre.

They got great equipment to build whatever you want, from laser cutter, 3D printer, but also the „old school“ equipment for drilling and milling. I hope this space inspires a lot of people to become creative and innovative.

Our white paper by the winter school participants now available

In November 2012 I  participated in the winter school „Already Beyond? – 40 Years Limits to Growth“ by the VolkswagenStiftung and the accompanying Herrenhäuser Symposium to mark the 40th anniversary of the “Limits to Growth” study by Dennis Meadows and others at MIT.
I am happy to announce that our white paper is now available for download here. Read more about the thoughts, ideas, comments and critics from the group of young researchers from around the globe who intensely discussed the historic, present and future implications of the group breaking Club of Rome report „limits to growth“.