Frequently Asked Questions
1. I'm struggling with the „what's in it for me?" part of becoming a member or strategic partner.
Generally the benefits are improved innovation capacity, higher access to market and investments, quickened operations, faster growth, professional and technological development, related diversification, membership of a learning community.
Services are extended to representatives of financial service providers such as banks and insurance companies, to executives of start-up companies, to inventors, to representatives of healthcare and engineering companies and institutes, to members of social groups and communities, to local governments, to NGOs, to multinational companies, to for profit and non profit associations, clusters and networks
Please go to question 3. Below for details.
Briefly:
The most important Take Aways offered by the system are: access to financial capital, access to social and technological capital, shorter time to market / sped up sales, higher sales levels, improved quality, newer investment opportunities, access to international supply chains, access to international social capital and references, capacities to recreate newer ideas and businesses. Co-operation is based on „fee for service" paid to the „project facilitator" (holders of Green Cards, Blue Cards) and the „project teams"(accredited technology, product, service providers).
A strategic partner is a natural or legal entity that is accredited by BEDC as a „key account„ invited to projects as the „preffered supplier or buyer" assigned to a particular field. Strategic partners are selected and accredited by BEDC committees formed by members. Normally, members represent one or more of their affiliations (companies, institutes, communities).
Members are those legal or natural entities who pay membership fees and participate in the „Green Card" and „Blue Card"programs. At the entry level members can apply for prior „entry level points".
2. I cannot really grasp the core processes implied under the „regional economic center of gravity" and the „co-creating knowledge ecosystem" emphasized there in. Please explain!
BEDC has been called to life by the faculty of business and economics. BEDC is a knowledge based regional project network, originating from the knowledge of university's internal stakeholders functioning as a space independant (aspatial) international community of practice (professional knowledge based community). BEDC is a decentralized international network of members and strategic partners. The system has been founded as cluster but has the capacity to take newer forms for achieving high impact innovation.
Key terms explained:
- Co-Creation: Making and remaking ideas for hi impact innovation occurs through a joint learning process with stakeholders. Through joint knowledge exchange newer forms of approaching the goals and operationalization procedures are made.
- Regional Economic Center of Gravity : The cross-regional knowledge mass of the network that enjoys attracting power for economic actors. Every new member joining the network increases this power in an exponential manner.
- Space Independant Knowledge Ecosystem: The knowledge milieu is created by the intecation of actors that are not necessarily present in the same physical space at one given time. The international connectivity is key here.
- Knowledge Based Economic System: An economic system which is directly based on the production, distribution and use of knowledge and information (see New Growth theory principles for more information).
- Project Network: Organizational expansion and revenue generation are achieved through ongoing and newer projects originating from business ideas. Every activity area, be it administration, is treated as a project that has to go through a screening process for feasibility. The Organizational DNA project is the umbrella project of all ongoing and newer projects in the network.
3. I have some difficulties understanding the unique services offered by the incubation platform and the infrastructure-energy related services. Would you please detail the benefits of working with BEDC and/or joining BEDC as a member or strategic partner?
Members are those participating in the Professional Development Programs (below) buying and selling knowledge within the system, Strategic Partners whom are the accredited legal entities acting as buyers, investors, service providers etc. Whom are accredited by the members for such service. Normally, strategic partners are organizations directly linked to members are brought into BEDC by members.
a.The Entrepreneurship Incubation Platform
BEDC's incubation platform is referred to as TEIP: „The Entrepreneurship Incubation Platform". This platform, assists the identification of unique competencies, high impact ideas and their translation to growing businesses and ventures. Ideas and businesses may arrive at any stage of their life cycle, be it at their very early formation stage or at their take-off phase when scaling sales and operational expansion is sought or when assistance for survival and sustainability is needed. The take aways are higher sales, newer investments, access to international market, access to international social capital and references, most importantly newer unplanned emerging ideas and businesses.
TEIP participants receive accreditation for their brought and acquired expertise under Professional Development licensing programs. These are referred to as the „Green Card" and „Blue Card" programs. TEIP graduates (Green Card holders) are licensed members whom have completed the learning phases (as trainers as and learners) of TEIP. This means a minimum of 100 BEDC Hours points/year and maximum of 300 BEDCH/3 years of participation in the programs. A member may receive BEDCH points for any predefined transaction within TEIP. This means buying and selling services and products (normally knowledge related). The „Blue Card" program is only an extended contiuation of the Green Card program within the Professional Development activities for those participants seeking specialization in The Infrastructure Capacity and Energy Based Development TICEBED fostered by this Platform (see b. below)
The main emphasis of the licensing programs is monitoring continuous innovation capacity building at TEIP. In working with its international network, the licensing programs seek continuous harmonization with prominent academic, business and industrial systems. TEIP relies on a history of successful co-operations of the faculty with the Ohio University and a web of European universities promoting innovation capacity through interdisciplinary applied learning.
b. The Infrastructure Capacity and Energy Based Development Platform, TICEBED
First it is important to note that all Organizational Development and Revenue generating activities of BEDC and its participants are promoted through TEIP projects. These projects benefit from the following processes depending on the needs of their life cycle stage in a plug-in, plug-out manner:
- Knowledge Generation and Competence Scouting for High Impact Innovation
- Knowledge Transfer and Implementation
- Knowledge Management (Recoding, Benchmarking, Publication)
- Knowledge Community and Network Development
- Knowledge Ecosystem Governance for Sustainable High Impact Innovation
While TEIP follows the principles of a General Business Service (A-Z) service without an industrial focus, TICEBED endeavors to assist BEDC participants through SMART specialization in order to best serve its mission for achieving high impact sustainable innovation capacity building on embedded knolwedge within the community of practice. This occurs through the following methods:
- Mapping, analyzing and reporting high impact innovation capacity, through screening intangible and tangible knowledge transactions within BEDC using advanced models developed by members of the faculty of business and our network of leading global partners.
- Mapping, analyzing and reporting the movements of knowledge centers' influencing economic center's of gravity.
- Assisting in building capacity for SMART SPECIALIZATION through extracting the embedded knowledge across BEDC's knowledge ecosystem These enjoy two dimesions:
- Innovation process re-design for a zero waste regional development inspired by successful benchmarks of the nature (ecomimicry and biomemitics).
- Increasing the number of projects in the fields of Infrastructure and Energy.
4. What are the general policies imposed by the cluster for project owners when negotiating sales with third parties after becoming a member.
This is case-based and jointly negotiated.
Note: at Simonyi BEDC focus on Members (individuals) first and then on their entry or emerging projects.
a. A member signs up to the Green Card and Blue Card licensing programs (see above)
b. Terms of contract for the commercialization of each project is "case based" and negotiated with the Project Facilitator as a part of the commercialization plan written in the project "Scope Document".
Rights and limitations for sales inside and outside the cluster for readily existing products or services are defined within the scope document, where timelines, commercialization project members and parties are introduced, investments in the project and shares of the outcomes ratified.
c. The licensing program focuses on two capacity building areas (above):
- c.1. Entrepreneurship Capacity Building. This is facilitated by TEIP and monitored by the Green Card level of the licensing program
- c.2.High Impact Innovation Capacity Building This is facilitated by TICEBED and monitored by the Blue Card Level of the licensing program·
Based on the above we do not look at the capacity behind the Solar Ice Sustainable Energy Ice cream Tricycles, as being limited to the invented Tricycle, but the Engineering and Entrepreneurial Capacity that has made it (TEIP) and the contribution it can have to Regional Development, Sustainability and Quality of Life (TICEBED)·
Our Goal is: "You enter with one innovative idea , and by the time you have commercialized that idea you have started the commercialization of at least 4 new ideas"
c.3. Both c.1 and c.2. rely on a systematic method of building and utilizing , private-public social capital and a closely tied knowledge eco-system . This is built through systematic involvement of the members of the eco-system in the member's projects and the member's involvement in other projects within the ecosystem ( see answers to questions 1-3)