Innovation Communities in the Context of Climate Neutrality

Who are they? ^[1]

Several types of innovation-related communities can be distinguished. Before describing them, it is worth highlighting the common characteristics they share.

Communities are usually defined as informal groups bringing together members from inside and/or outside a formal organization (we will refer to mixed community in the case it regroups both internal and external members of an organization). Often autonomous and relatively unorganized to maintain an air of spontaneity, this collective is based on the principle of voluntary membership and commitment by members who share a set of values and norms, as well as cognitive interests and/or a common practice.

Members of the community regularly meet to exchange on the problems, experiences, tools and tips surrounding the community’s object. Through their regular interactions, members deepen their knowledge as they exchange and share a common repertoire of resources destined to develop knowledge, solutions and good practices together.

• A Community of practice(CoP) is a group of persons sharing a passion or a concern for a common practice(something they do) and collectively learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.
• User communities, usually extended beyond an organization’s boundaries, form around usage of a particular product, service or even a brand. As they develop knowledge around their uses, they significantly contribute to the innovation process.
• Communities of interest group members around a common interest or cause. In such communities, there is no common learning goal, but rather a commitment, participation and contribution specific to each individual, which materializes in the desire to make individual use of the knowledge created.

Many other types of communities have been described and studied in the literature, some of which may also characterize the communities described above. For example, virtual communities, whose development is closely linked to the rise of the Internet and social networking platforms (they are different from communities of followers) or epistemic communities, which focus on the conscious production of new knowledge.

What is their role? What do they give? ^[2]

Innovation Communities are critical as dynamic spaces fostering collaboration and creativity. They bring together individuals(often from different organizations or backgrounds) sharing a common interest in developing new ideas and solutions. Through discussions, ideation, and collaborative initiatives, they provide an environment facilitating the cross-fertilization of insights.

One of their main benefits is to break down traditional barriers and promote cross-functional collaboration, enabling participants to leverage different perspectives and expertise. This collaborative atmosphere not only speeds up the innovation process, but also stimulates the exploration of unconventional approaches.

Additionally, innovation communities frequently function as platforms for idea validation and refinement. The feedback and input received from peers helps members iterate and improve their concepts, increasing the likelihood of successful implementation.

Essentially, these communities facilitate the co-creation of new solutions by promoting a culture of open sharing, learning, and iterative development. They are crucial engines for pushing the boundaries of creativity and problem-solving, contributing to industry advancement and the larger innovation ecosystem.

What benefits can a city get by supporting them?

Communities have been showcasing remarkable effectiveness in contributing to innovation and increasingly tackling systemic issues. Let’s illustrate it around 4 key aspects:

• Enhanced knowledge Creation, Sharing and Storage.
  They are particularly efficient in identifying best practices, facilitating their sharing, and broadening perspectives by connecting with external knowledge bases and experiences.

  • The CCRI CoP on Municipal Waste Companies unites European cities to reimagine waste services as circular economy drivers. By pooling local experiences in repair and reuse initiatives, the group produced guidance that other municipalities could adopt directly, ensuring tested approaches were widely shared and permanently stored. ^[3]
  • The LEDS LAC Regional CoPs bring together policymakers, NGOs, and businesses in Latin America to exchange low-emission development strategies. Through webinars and technical exchanges, members share sectoral knowledge on bioenergy and transport, creating a lasting regional repository of solutions that avoid duplication and preserve collective expertise. ^[4]
  • The Rural-Urban Europe (ROBUST) CoPs connect regional living labs across Europe to exchange lessons on food systems, cultural services, and ecosystem governance. Capturing and disseminating these insights ensures that regional innovations are developed and adapted more broadly. ^[5]

• High quality of generated ideas, speeding up the innovation process.
  The community acts as a creative space maintained by its members, continuously generating ideas while benefiting from the experiences and ideas expressed by other members, resulting in a rich pool of high-quality ideas.

  • The Industry Heat Community of Practice connects industrial operators, startups, and financiers to co-develop decarbonization solutions for high-temperature processes. Peer feedback and joint pilot design ensure that ideas are quickly refined and adapted for deployment, shortening the path from concept to industrial-scale innovation. ^[6]
  • The Energy Transition CoP started by Constructing Excellence brings together construction firms, suppliers, and public bodies to stress-test designs for net-zero infrastructure. By collectively troubleshooting challenges in real time, the CoP accelerates the delivery of practical solutions and significantly improves the quality of proposed projects. ^[7]
  • The Cohesion for Transitions (C4T) CoP, helps EU regions co-develop strategies to better use EU funds for sustainability transitions. By collaboratively creating toolkits across energy, biodiversity, and smart grids, participants produce high-quality, directly applicable policy instruments. ^[8]

• Opening new perspectives & fostering radical innovations.
  Communities are able introduce fresh perspectives that, when shared and disseminated across other communities, can lead to the emergence of radical innovations.

  • The Kaohsiung-ICLEI Climate Neutral & Smart Cities Community of Practice gathers local governments in the Asia-Pacific region to explore integrated urban strategies. By combining climate neutrality with digital innovation, participants reframe city planning approaches, leading to transformative models of sustainable, tech-enabled urban development. ^[9]
  • The Circular Economy Initiative Deutschland convenes business, academia, and politics to create a systemic roadmap for a national circular economy. By pushing stakeholders beyond incremental measures, the initiative opened new perspectives on materials use, industrial design, and economic organization, catalyzing truly radical innovation pathways. ^[10]
  • The Urban ReLeaf CoP merges citizen science, earth observation, and public policy to co-create resilience solutions. By embedding community data into governance frameworks, it redefines how cities plan adaptation measures, offering a radically inclusive model of policymaking. ^[11]

• Cost reduction in knowledge creation, sharing and preservation.
  Informal communities offer the advantage of generating and consolidating specialized knowledge at a low cost through the voluntary and committed participation of their members.

  • The Climate Action Accelerator Communities of Practice enable organisations to access and adapt shared climate action tools, guides, and case studies. By pooling resources, members avoid costly consultancy services and benefit from freely available, field-tested solutions, reducing the expense of developing knowledge individually. ^[12]
  • The Circular City Centre (C3), supported by the European Investment Bank, offers advisory services and shared methodologies to cities transitioning to circular models. By centralising expertise and providing peer support, C3 reduces the financial burden for municipalities that might otherwise commission expensive, bespoke research. ^[13]
  • The Hubs4Circularity CoP shares tools and case studies on industrial-urban symbiosis. By making tested approaches and innovations available across regions, it helps members cut the cost of designing new circular economy projects, while avoiding duplication of research efforts. ^[14]

Why would they take part in the ecosystem? What do they get out of participation?

In the context of climate action, innovation communities play a pivotal role driven by voluntary commitment, knowledge exchange, and autonomous functioning. These communities embody a shared commitment, fostering the creation and dissemination of insights among members. Participation is motivated by the reputation gained among peers, reinforcing constructive interactions, and reducing opportunistic behaviors. Instead of strict hierarchies, these communities operate with organic collaboration, where contributions to the communal knowledge pool hold substantial value.

What sets innovation communities apart is their adaptability to tackle climate-related complexities, extending beyond conventional boundaries. The exchange of ideas within these communities transforms into a persuasive process, fortified by iterative feedback that sharpens and amplifiescreativeconcepts. These communities unite around shared commitment, transcending conventional organizational structures, thereby contributing uniquely to climate action.

By interacting with a multitude of stakeholders (including other communities), innovation communities facilitate co-production, nurturing a unified vision for the advancement of climate-centric products or services. This collaborative ethos finds a compelling illustration in endeavors like the "Darwin" project - an alternative and inspiring urban ecosystem in Bordeaux.^[15] Here, diverse communities converge to rejuvenate urban spaces sustainably. Ultimately, innovation communities flourish through the interplay of shared commitment, reputation-driven motivation, and boundary-free collaboration, emerging as indispensable agents within the dynamic ecosystem of climate action.

Innovation communities are strategic assets that drive knowledge creation and catalyze systemic change. Realizing their full potential requires intentional design, structured engagement, and tools that facilitate sustained collaboration.

At LGI, we specialize in enabling organizations to build thriving innovation communities through integrated digital platforms that we develop combining professional networks and productivity tools to support community growth and engagement.

By blending theoretical approaches with practical expertise, we developed an impact evaluation framework for leaders to regularly assess their community and support strategic decision making. A streamlined version is available for leaders seeking an initial diagnostic in under 10 minutes.

Contact us to learn how we can support your innovation strategy and unlock your community's potential.

Nicola MANISI

Community Strategy Manager

1. Communities of Innovation, How Organizations Harness Collective Creativity and Build Resilience, P. Cohendet, M. Rao, E. Ruiz, B. Sarazin, L. Simon, World Scientific, 2021
2. Communities of Innovation, How Organizations Harness Collective Creativity and Build Resilience, P. Cohendet, M. Rao, E. Ruiz, B. Sarazin, L. Simon, World Scientific, 2021
3. CCRI community of practice on Municipal waste companies for circular cities
4. LEDS LAC, What is a Community of Practice?
5. Communities of Practice, ROBUST Rural Urban Europe
6. Community of Practice for Industry Heat, Tech for Net Zero
7. Energy Transition Community of Practice, Constructing Excellence
8. Cohesion for Transitions (C4T) Community of Practice, European Commission
9. Kaohsiung-ICLEI Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Community of Practice, ICLEI
10. About the Initiative, Circular Economy Initiative
11. Urban ReLeaf Community of Practice Launch ‘Citizen-Powered Innovation’, Urban ReLeaf
12. Communities of Practice, Climate Action Accelerator
13. The Circular City Centre - C3, Advisory Hub
14. Hubs4Circularity Community of Practice, H4C Community
15. Darwin, le Projet