From 'Smart-only' Island Towards Lighthouse of Research and Innovation

This paper presents a systematic approach on how to transform islands into Lighthouses of Research and Innovation (R&I) by moving beyond 'smart-only' islands towards humane, self-aware, and cooperative hybrid islands. It requires the following prerequisites: First, to adopt an Open Innovation 4.0 approach based on the Quintuple Helix Model. Second, to critically reflect on 'smart-only' developments as characterized by the 'Smart Everything Paradigm' and focus on different design trade-offs when designing future smart environments. Third, to be aware of the lessons learned from moving beyond 'smart-only' cities towards humane, self-aware, and cooperative hybrid cities, where 'self-awareness' provides a new definition of 'smartness'. Fourth, to identify the special issues of islands and so called 'Outermost Regions' (ORs) addressed in the EU-funded FORWARD project which provided our application context. Based on these prerequisites, we applied the lessons learned from 'smart-only' cities to 'smart-only' islands, including a semantic extension of the notion of 'hybrid' for islands. A transformation and change approach based on participatory design and associated methods provided the foundation for the Island Design Cafe held on the island of Madeira in October 2021 with active participation of a group of researchers, stakeholders from local businesses and institutions, and people of Madeira. The goal of the Island Design Cafe was to develop ideas, strategies, and a road map for transforming Madeira into a 'place to be' as a Lighthouse of Research and Innovation (R&I). The results of this extensive group effort are reported supplemented by conclusions and perspectives for follow-up activities.