Innovation can no longer happen in isolation. From climate change to health crises, today’s complex challenges demand new, collaborative solutions. Increasingly, they are turning to Open Innovation, a concept introduced by Henry Chesbrough, which encourages collaboration beyond institutional boundaries. Alongside this, the Quadruple Helix model—has emerged as a practical way to bring together academia, industry, government, and civil society to innovate with purpose.
These shifts are not only reshaping partnerships—they’re also redefining the role of Knowledge and Technology Transfer (KTT) professionals, who help coordinate collaboration across sectors.
Why Open Innovation and the Quadruple Helix Matter
Open Innovation allows organisations to work with universities, startups, communities, and government actors to co-create more relevant, impactful solutions. When combined with the Quadruple Helix approach, it offers a structured method to engage all key innovation actors and align outcomes with societal needs. This inclusive vision is supported by European Commission policy guidance and increasingly echoed in global innovation strategies.
The OECD’s Science, Technology and Innovation Outlook 2023 reinforces this shift, highlighting how collaborative, mission-driven ecosystems are now essential to tackling global challenges like climate change and health crises—not just ideal models, but policy-backed necessities.
Barriers Remain—and KTTs Can Help Address Them
Despite progress, collaboration between academia and industry remains difficult. Partnerships still stumble over familiar hurdles: limited time, scarce resources, and unclear benefits—barriers that remain especially tough for SMEs. Recent insights, including the NCUB’s 2023 State of the Relationship report, show that these barriers persist across sectors and sizes, especially for SMEs.
By bringing government and civil society into the process, the Quadruple Helix model helps align interests and strengthen long-term commitment. Open Innovation, in this context, becomes a practical enabler of purpose-driven, cross-sector partnerships.
Here, Knowledge and Technology Transfer (KTT) professionals are vital—acting as connectors who build trust, align diverse partners, and turn knowledge into impact. Insights from the OECD and ASTP’s 2025 Annual Survey show that KTTs are central to making these complex collaborations work.
Join the Conversation in Barcelona
Join the conversation in Barcelona. Discover how Open Innovation and the Quadruple Helix are reshaping collaboration—and how KTT professionals are driving impact—at ASTP’s Thematic Event: Academia-Industry Collaborations on 28–29 October 2025.
Sources
- Chesbrough, H. W. (2003). Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology. Harvard Business School Press, Boston.
- Carayannis, E. G., & Campbell, D. F. J. (2021). Democracy of Climate and Climate for Democracy: The Triple Helix Model of Innovation and Its Extension into the Quadruple and Quintuple Helices for Knowledge, Innovation, and Sustainable Development, Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 12, pp. 1–20. Springer, New York. Available via: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-021-00778-x
- European Commission (2022/2023). Council Recommendation on the Guiding Principles for Knowledge Valorisation, Directorate‑General for Research & Innovation, Brussels. Council Recommendation adopted 2 December 2022; Codes of Practice issued in March 2023. Available via: https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/research-area/industrial-research-and-innovation/eu-valorisation-policy/knowledge-valorisation-platform/guiding-principles-knowledge-valorisation-and-implementing-codes-practice_en
- NCUB (2023). State of the Relationship Report 2023, National Centre for Universities and Business, London.
Available via: https://www.ncub.co.uk/insight/state-of-the-relationship-report-2023 - OECD (2023). OECD Science, Technology and Innovation Outlook 2023: Enabling Transitions in Times of Disruption, OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/0b55736e-en
- ASTP (2025). Annual Survey – Executive Data Report on Financial Year 2022, ASTP, Leiden. Available via: https://www.astp4kt.eu/assets/resources/impact/ASTP%202024%20Annual%20Survey%20%20FY2022.pdf