Co-Creating Innovation: A Systemic Learning Evaluation of Knowledge and Innovation Programmes

Knowledge development is traditionally seen as a quest for facts and measurable data. Sometimes knowledge is factual and tangible, something it is more invisible, more intangible. Knowledge development efforts can also be motivated by a desire to support already made decisions. However multifaceted knowledge is as a construct, it goes without saying that knowledge development is a crucial part of any attempt to address serious problems and challenges and prepare for the future. While knowledge development can occur in many ways, this thesis is fundamentally interested in the knowledge development process as it occurs through the cooperation of experts and stakeholders: the co-creation process. Co-creation can occur on ad hoc basis, but also in more structural forms, such as deliberately designed public-private partnerships and knowledge and innovation programmes. This thesis will investigate the impact of these more structured forms of knowledge and innovation co-creation and is part of a larger effort to develop more adequate means of evaluating such multi-actor programmes. It aims to assess the impact of two particular programmes, and also provide insights for the further improvement of the programmes’ outcomes. This will be done through shared learning and with a systemic perspective, in which the dynamics of the context the programmes operate in play an important role. This Chapter One starts by discussing the development of programmes for knowledge and innovation co-creation in general before outlining the approach this thesis will take in evaluating them.

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