After the first call for Digital R&D Scotland programme closed, we spent some time analysing the data from each of the 51 applications submitted to Nesta. The complete analytics document can be found on our website here.
As a bit of a social media geek, I loved following tweets and chatting online about Olympic events as I watched the action unfold. Dubbed by organisers as 'The Social Olympics', applications like Twitter have been used in way not seen before at an Olympics.
On Monday, Burberry streamed its London Fashion Week show live across the world and to its Regent Street flagship store, allowing global consumers to become part of the experience. By offering a new way to watch as if from the front row they ensured customers were fully immersed in the show.
Despite their different appearances, on a functional level, every city around the world is the same: they are connected by their need to provide services to large numbers of people in a condensed area. It is clear that digital public service innovation is something that tends to be initiated on a local level, as citizens respond to problems they observe in their own environment.
A striking characteristic of many round 1 innovations is the effort put into getting the mechanics of giving right - that's to say how to successfully tap into giving motivations, 'onboard' users in large numbers and make the process of giving simple and efficient.
There is a compelling argument to unlock more data to improve our lives, but we need to keep the dream of technology in perspective.
This guest blog is written by Paul Vickery, venture partner for NESTA's Venture Capital Fund.
As I stroll through life, I look into the eyes of strangers and I ask myself how to convert a stranger into a friend, how to challenge that paradigm - "don´t talk to strangers", how to unleash my curiosity and desire for discovery. SERENDIPITY has become an integral part of my day - SERENDIPITY not just as the happy accident, but as an intentioned happy accident, a directed happy accident, a strategic happy accident.
Industry and educators could work powerfully together to help students develop the skills they need to thrive
Wouldn’t it be good if our public and social organisations were in the habit of prototyping?
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