An inclusive innovation environment is an advantage to develop for Lund Innovation District

Caroline Wendt

Communicator, content manager, storytelling

Published

February 20, 2024

Categories

Business, trade & Industry

Innovation district

Sustainability

Innovation management

When Lund Innovation District was analyzed through a survey conducted by Future by Lund and Parlametric, the results indicated that Lund is a relatively equal and inclusive place for innovation. On the whole, people of different sexes and of different ages were satisfied with the Lund Innovation District — and this was true even when comparing responses in Swedish with responses given in English. However, the survey also found some opportunities for improvement, for example in how to attract graduates to stay and how Lund can become better at highlighting equality and a non-hierarchical environment as good reasons to settle in Lund.

In autumn 2023, Future by Lund conducted a survey of Lund Innovation Distict. The interviews were analyzed with the help of lundabolaget Parlametrics AI-based approach that allows to contextualize and categorize open responses in surveys, resulting in an intuitive understanding of the outcome. Instead of using multiple choice questions, respondents are allowed to formulate their answers freely in free text. The percentages given therefore represent the ratio between the number of people with a categorized opinion and the number of respondents. In total, more than 500 people who work, live, study or otherwise visit the area that can be called Lund Innovation District participated. It is therefore a survey of those already operating in the area.

The survey showed that many of the participants think that Lund's climate for promoting innovation and entrepreneurship is good, that cooperation, access to capital and proximity to academia are key factors for innovation processes, and that the university, proximity and inspiring environments make Lund a good place. When looking at the responses based on gender affiliation, age and organizational size, the most striking observation is that the groups are relatively in agreement.

- I find it gratifying and surprising how many people think Lund as an innovation area is good, and all the top response groupings are positive formulations, says Peter Kisch, operations manager at Future by Lund. As Lund markets its benefits, this could be part of the offer. If we look at the factors that different groups highlight, the most interesting thing is that we cannot see any major differences in underlying values, it is mostly a matter of nuance differences and could be more on an individual level. The highest rated negative comment is that Lund is “difficult to access and not inclusive” — but only 3 to 4 percent respond to this and it is not any particular group that stands out. Our ambition is for the Lund Innovation District to be inclusive for all categories, regardless of age, gender or nationality. The survey shows it looks good but we may need to take a bigger grip.

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Here are the answers to the call “Describe your experience of Lund as a meeting place for innovation, development and entrepreneurship.” Blue responses are answers submitted by men, purple by women.

Comparison based on gender: When respondents were asked to describe their experience of Lund as a meeting place for innovation, development and entrepreneurship, there is once again consensus. Just over 20% of men and women think Lund is good, but on the level of detail you can see a difference in that more men than women describe the site as Innovative and Creative (18.3% men and 13.3% women) and that more women answer “Don't know” to the question. (3.1% men, 7.2% women).

In terms of the key factors of the innovation process, both men and women see collaboration as most important, followed by access to capital and proximity to academia. In terms of site qualities, the groups are again relatively in agreement on which factors are important, but women value factors such as access to education and research, well-thought-out infrastructure and inspiring and attractive environments somewhat higher while men to a greater extent highlight proximity, the right skills and access to funding and opportunities for collaborations. However, the differences are very small.

Comparison based on age: All age groups answer questions about Lund as a meeting place in a positive way. If you look at the responses based on age, you can see that the 18 to 24 year old group seems to be the most positive group and that satisfaction decreases in the 25 to 34 age group and is lowest in the group between 35 and 44 years, and then goes up slightly with increasing age. In terms of the key factors of the innovation process, the importance of cooperation increases from a relatively lower interest in the groups up to 34 years and is most important between 45 and 54 years. The youngest group is the one that most appreciates the proximity to the academy.

- These small differences are not so surprising, says Peter Kisch, but they are easy to explain on the basis that we prioritize differently based on where we are in life. What we choose to focus on after the survey is that there is a tendency for satisfaction with Lund to decline after student time, and there may be reason to think about what Lund can do to become more attractive for the age range between about 30 and 45 years, when you have left the student bubble. After all, we want to create an innovation district that is attractive also to the graduates and show them why they should realize their ideas here in this area. We need to ask ourselves whether we have access to the right premises, office space, meeting places, housing and capital to attract and retain this group.

Comparison Swedish/English answers: In the survey it is also possible to compare responses in Swedish with responses in English. Then it turned out that the respondents in English generally describe Lund in positive terms, and the largest categories “Think it's good” and “Innovative and creative” are about as common answers as in the Swedish responses (the English answers are translated so that they can be compared). Significantly more English responses describe Lund as open, inspiring, dynamic and engaging, but none respond that Lund “encourages entrepreneurship” or “offers deep and broad knowledge”, as 3.6 and 3.9% write in the Swedish responses, respectively. Very few respond that Lund is difficult to access and not inclusive — and this is also an even more unusual response in the English material.

- It seems that those who have given answers in English are satisfied and often enthusiastic, says Peter Kisch. The differences in how you describe the Lund Innovation District are probably mostly about the fact that you express yourself a little differently in the different languages.

When it comes to key factors for innovation, the Swedish and English responses are consistent in seeing cooperation and access to finance as the most important factors, while it is more common to mention “Proximity to academia” and “Meetings with other people” in the Swedish responses, while the English responses more often write about common forums.

When it comes to which plastic qualities are seen as the most crucial for attracting and developing innovative companies and entrepreneurs, the English participants call for a well-thought-out infrastructure, networking opportunities, restaurants and cafes, access to housing, a sustainable and green city, a welcoming environment, co-working and an international presence.

Lund can have other advantages that become visible mainly if you look at the city from the outside or if you work with people who have recently come to Lund. Lisa Andersson works at International Citizen Hub Lund and takes daily care of people whose partners have got work in Lund and thus has an insight into how Lund is perceived.

- An important advantage that we should talk about more is that Sweden is not hierarchical compared to many other countries. In Sweden, for example, I can call a CEO — and he will answer me. That's a huge advantage. (Lisa Andersson, International Citizen Hub Lund)

The survey of the Lund Innovation District gave a first indication as to how people who live, study, work or visit the Lund Innovation District perceive the area. Work on the Lund Innovation District is now continuing through discussions, events and possibly further investigations. If you would like us to send you invitations to upcoming events send a message to info@futurebylund.se

How does Lund work with the Innovation District? Lund University and Lund Municipality have commissioned Future by Lund and partners to catalyze the work to co-create Lund as an international innovation district. The work is done, among other things, to enable us in Lund to increase our capacity to solve complex and shared challenges. The work is based on a steering group consisting of Anders Almgren, Chairman of Lund Municipal Board, Pia Kinhult, ESS and Kristina Eneroth, Vice Rector at Lund University.

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