Design Challenge Pilot

2026-07-22

The aim of the project is to enhance the co-creation philosophy to the service delivery system of urban challenge solving, through the inclusion of innovative SMEs in the design process. During the implementation of the project, the partners will peer review a co-creation procedure of setting up a solution that addresses a local challenge, satisfying the affected target group, capitalizing the expertise of the innovative SMEs of the region/country and enabling local authorities both improve the use of public money and raise their citizens’ satisfaction rates. The 3 partners, will peer-review other similar initiatives, in order to come up with a backbone of a “design service” offered to the local ecosystem by innovation agencies, that will enable cities, SMEs and citizens collaborate for the common good. The consortium members will set up a procedure where all the beforementioned parts will collaborate to “frame the challenge”, “ideate possible solutions”, “prototype” the best of them, “test” them in real life and adopt the ultimate one that satisfies the most, all stakeholders involved. In the end, the partners will set up a new service, which will be piloted in Greece by KEPA. The service will ensure that all stakeholders will be included and KEPA will facilitate the procedure of solving a social challenge by making maximum use of local SMEs expertise. The partners, based on the peer-learning activities and the Pilot Action, will develop a “Design Options Paper” –a guidebook on how other innovation support agencies can also cope with social problems and SMEs activation.

Greece, United Kingdom, Estonia

2026-02-01