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Mediterranean Wireless Innovation (WiNNOVATE)
Mediterranean Wireless Innovation
(WiNNOVATE)
Start date: Apr 30, 2009,
End date: Apr 29, 2012
PROJECT
FINISHED
WiNNOVATE aims at strengthening the innovation capacity of regional and municipal authorities in Greece, Spain, Italy and Slovenia by transferring knowledge and best practices, as well as coordinating policies, on the introduction and proliferation of wireless applications and services for citizens, government, and economic development actors. More specifically, the project will leverage and cross-fertilize existing wireless infrastructures (local and metropolitan wireless networks), define and experiment pilot applications that will add value on these infrastructures for the benefit of end users, and propose policy interventions at the regional, national and transnational levels. We will define an operational toolkit positioning regions in terms of maturity and capacity levels for the introduction and use of innovative WiFi- and WiMAX-based applications and services and use this as a guiding vehicle for the gradual increase of wireless innovation potential for any given region in the Med space. We will jointly establish the specifications and pilot one wireless information service per region, delivering concrete results and acting as a proof-of-concept for the operational toolkit. The projects main outcomes will be: a reusable methodological approach for assessing and guiding regional authorities towards wireless innovation, working pilot applications at each participating region, evaluation of the lessons learnt by the pilots, and a set of policy recommendations. Achievements: State of the art of project implementation since the project startWiNNOVATE's progress so far has returned valuable results raising focus on: - Identification of the regulatory&policy boundaries in all 4 participating countries, - Analyzing the innovation requirements&assessing the participating regions' level of readiness towards the implementation of innovative wireless services. - Developing a scientific index(WIRI) that can accurately estimate the readiness of LA toward incorporating & offering to end users, innovative wireless services and applications. - Developing a tangible methodological instrument(Toolkit) serving as guidance for municipal & regional authorities to determine the most beneficial, among a portfolio of wireless applications. - Implementation of Site Implementation Analyses - Implementation&Evaluation of pilot applications - Proposing policy recommendations of Wireless Innovation - Developing of Site Business Plans&Exploitation Plan - Analysing economic & social impacts of Mobile/Wireless technologies in MED&EULatest project activities and outputsDuring the 6th period of implementation, the project focused on the finalization and evaluation of the pilot activities. All partners dedicated significant effort toward the evaluation of the pilots while all partners also participated in the Consolidation workshop where all the pilot results were provided and discussed. Moreover, all partners developed the site business plans for the exploitation of the wireless applications they tested and contributed to the policy recommendations on MED and EU level based on the results provided by the pilots. Moreover, a Consolidated Exploitation Plan for all the pilots was drafted while the -Economic and Social Impact of Mobile/Wireless Technologies' drafted provided insights about the impact of Mobile/Wireless Technologies on economic indicators (GDP, employment, public finances), on enterprises (innovation, new product/service development) & on citizens (benefits, social services).Next key steps for the projectThe project has been finalized. All partners will try to find opportunities for capitalizing project's results and the continuation of the project.