Innovation partnership Eindhoven

Urban Development Initiative

The Urban Development Initiative (UDI) was initiated by the Fraunhofer IAO together with the municipalities of Eindhoven and Helmond, Brainport Development and the TU/e with the ambition to provide integrated and innovative answers to complex urban issues in one the most innovative regions in the Netherlands. This will contribute to improving the quality of life, work and living, now and in the future. Strong partners such as the Open & Agile Smart Cities initiative (OASC) are already joining forces in the UDI, and the initiative welcomes further interested parties. By cooperating on several themes with a large number of parties from the business community and the public and semi-public sector, ecosystems with a high innovative capacity are created. In this way, innovative solutions can be developed more quickly and more efficiently on a local level and then scaled up to other cities. Besides digitalization in the city, UDI plans to research and develop solutions in building-innovation and energy transition in the build environment in the future.

Why partake in an innovation partnership?

The research network of the Fraunhofer initiative »Morgenstadt: City Insights« offers the opportunity to work together with cities, municipalities and businesses to make an active contribution to a CO2-neutral, climate-adapted and viable city of the future. The overarching idea: innovative and sustainable technologies utilzed effectively have the potential to achieve this.

Brainport smart city think-tank

The city is devloping a think-tank, as a cross-disciplinary association of key stakeholders with members to share insights into digital solutions, urban mobility, energy, infrastructure, finance, real estate and urban development in order to use the technology as efficiently as possible. The think-tank will focus on the most important measures to provide concrete recommendations and subsequent solutions to urban challenges. 

Fraunhofer IAO is dedicated to co-develop, co-ordinate and manage the think tank in close collaboration with the local business community and the city hall. As coordinator and lead partner of the German Morgenstadt Initiative, Fraunhofer is well suited to support this important innovation project for Eindhoven.

Main goals:

1. Facilitate joint "Smart City" projects between companies, research institutions and municipal/public institutions

2. Support the development goals of Eindhoven by transferring them into innovative city development projects

3. Support local economic development through facilitating innovation and attracting investment

4. Attract private and public funding from national or EU levels to Eindhoven

5. Organise events (workshops, conferences) with strong focus on a variety of Smart City topics