The Evolution of Ports into Innovation Hubs: A Proposal for the Adriatic Ionian Area

Abstract

PoWER - Ports as Driving Wheels of Entrepreneurial Realm is a EU project funded under the INTERREG V B ADRION Programme. It aims at recovering the historic role of Adriatic-Ionian (ADRION) port cities as pivotal centres of development and exchanges, by stimulating their evolution into Innovation Hubs (IHs) to exploit their untapped innovation potential. IHs will strive to establish a holistic and fertile innovation environment purposed to turn actual issues and challenges into shared opportunities as well as to build on them local integrated innovation supply chains. To this extent, the project tests a methodology specifically tailored for the ADRION port cities. It stands out from ongoing trends of the IH realm for a g-local approach aimed to fully leverage on port cities energies and resources in a smart and flexible way as well as to enhance their cross-border cooperation. The final aim of PoWER is the construction of the Innovation Hubs Network, the first network of maritime IHs, where local innovation pathways are shared and merged into a transnational strategy for joint evolution and development. The project is supported by a digital platform, aimed at gathering all members of the Network and to provide them with the necessary tools to implement their strategy. The PoWER Methodology and tools are characterized by a high degree of replicability, so to offer the chance to ADRION port cities to investigate and solve heterogeneous issues in close cooperation with each other.