D6.4 New Tools to Enhance Innovation Up-Scaling: Best Partnership Brokerage Practices

The FIRE-RES project, funded under the EU Green Deal, developed and tested innovative solutions to build wildfire-resilient landscapes across Europe and beyond, with a particular focus on extreme wildfire events. Recognising that up-scaling innovation requires more than technology alone, FIRE-RES established the Innovation Acceleration Hub to integrate place-based needs, multi-stakeholder engagement, and entrepreneurial pathways. The Hub drew on eleven Living Labs as real-world testing grounds, while fostering collaboration between project-internal Innovation Actions and external solutions recruited via an Open Innovation Challenge. Through a comprehensive acceleration programme, the Hub provided innovators with tools such as readiness self-assessments, skills training, business and exploitation planning, as well as tailored brokerage of partnerships with researchers, entrepreneurs, policymakers, communities, and end-users. The project’s partnership brokerage activities played a central role in linking solution seekers with solution providers. They included online visibility formats like Forestry Speed Dating and Innovation Action Webinars, in-person matchmaking events in the form of the Innovation Days series, and real-world innovation testing opportunities in Living Labs. Individualised brokerage – such as targeted introductions, customised coaching, and access to international institutions – further enhanced adoption likelihood and opportunities. These activities created an extensive community of wildfire innovation practice, supporting both societal and institutional integration, and market uptake of innovations. Lessons Learnt: · Centralised coordination through the Innovation Hub ensured effective and synergistic support. · Living Labs proved essential for contextualising innovations, fostering adoption, and validating real-world applicability. · A dual strategy of recruiting both research-driven and entrepreneurial innovations broadened scope and impact. · Effectiveness and impact of partnerships brokerage are increased by combining broad matchmaking with tailored introductions for expertise building and business acquisition. · Online pitching formats are cost-effective for visibility; in-person events enable more immediate deep engagement and collaboration. · Embedding field visits and place-based testing significantly enhances feedback, learning, and stakeholder buy-in. · Bringing multiple innovators together encourages collaboration rather than competition, opening new synergies. · Testing in Living Labs confirmed the value of place-based co-creation and validation, benefiting both innovators and stakeholders, ultimately encouraging adoption. · Business model development, IPR support, and investor access are crucial for moving from technical readiness to market maturity.