"We received a total of 87 Expressions of Interest."
The first calls of CIIIC – the Innovation Impact Challenge by RVO and ADRIE (Artistic & Design Research for Immersive Experiences) by the Creative Industries Fund – have recently launched. In this and future newsletters, as well as on our website, we’ll share insights into how these calls are progressing.
This time, we’re speaking with Carmen Biemond-Wijermans, liaison on behalf of RVO (Netherlands Enterprise Agency).
“In the coming years, we’ll launch many more calls around other, still-to-be-determined social themes.”
So who is Carmen, what drives you, and what’s your role in the programme? (And what excites you—or maybe even scares you—about it?)
“I’m Carmen, I work at RVO and coordinate the innovation and demonstration projects within the CIIIC programme. Together with a team of advisors at RVO, we’ll use the Innovation Impact Challenge over the next few years to boost innovation using IX (immersive experiences) to tackle social issues.
I really enjoy diving into a new sector—especially one that was unfamiliar to me until recently—and exploring what’s happening around IX in the creative field. What excites me is that we, as RVO, can help address urgent social challenges through the Innovation Impact Challenge. The developments around AI and IX are accelerating and reinforcing each other, but this also brings new challenges alongside the many opportunities. Within the CIIIC programme, we pay close attention to public values like privacy and inclusion, which are essential when developing immersive experiences. We want to help counterbalance the negative aspects of digital transformation overall.
It’s also exciting to see what kinds of innovations people come up with, and how well these will match the challenges. Another interesting aspect is that we’re working across different areas of expertise—after all, the creative sector isn’t one uniform sector, and each world has its own jargon. It’s a challenge to find the right language that works across all disciplines.”
The first Innovation Impact Challenge call—IX in Urban Development—has now closed. How did it go? (Was there a flood of interest? Or total silence?)
“We introduced an Expression of Interest (EoI) phase, since we couldn’t predict how much interest this specific challenge would generate. And it turned out to be a good move—we received a lot of interest: 87 EoIs in total. This EoI step allowed applicants to briefly outline their idea and get early feedback from RVO on how well it aligned with the call. Of those, 45 applicants were invited to submit a proposal for phase 1. They have until 12:00 noon on June 6 to submit. Then, on June 30, an independent review committee will meet to select up to 20 proposals that will be awarded phase 1 contracts.”
Can you give us a behind-the-scenes look at the process so far? What’s been done already, and how has it gone? (What went well, and where did you run into bumps? In other words: what are the key learnings?)
“In addition to my work as a CIIIC liaison, we at RVO have developed the framework for future Innovation Impact Challenges and are contributing to the broader programme activities.
RVO carries out these challenges on behalf of other government bodies. So we first meet with them to explore whether the challenge addresses a genuine societal issue—one without a market solution—and whether innovation is needed to solve it.
For this call, we spoke with the municipalities of Almere and Amsterdam to help shape a call that had clear parameters, without prescribing what the solution should look like. Our urban development advisors set up an expert committee and are currently preparing for the review meeting.
Other advisors are already working on the next call—this one with the Dutch police—ensuring everything aligns well. We held a well-attended market consultation to sharpen the focus of this call. I’m also working with programme director Heleen Rouw to explore opportunities with other government bodies interested in launching their own challenges.
One key challenge we faced: our timeline had to be pushed back during this startup phase, so the launch was later than we’d hoped. A major learning has been the value of including a market consultation—something we’ve now added to the police challenge to clarify the call for potential applicants.”
What’s the ultimate goal of the ‘IX in Urban Development’ call? Can you paint a concrete picture of what it should deliver?
“Cities face a wide range of challenges—often layered on top of each other. They may need to build more housing, add a new bridge, and renovate outdated water infrastructure—all while making sure the area stays accessible, liveable, and as sustainable as possible.
This challenge aims to create a clear overview of solutions that address these various urban development issues. With IX, we want to visualise how different projects, measures, and their impacts interact in the physical environment. Right now, that overview is missing, making it hard for stakeholders to coordinate and build support. By involving residents, municipalities, implementers, and other public partners early on, we can increase the chances of success.
The call is structured around two themes.
Theme 1 focuses on IX products and services that make the combined implementation and impact of multiple solutions tangible and visible. For example, innovations that improve collaboration between the many stakeholders involved in urban development.
Theme 2 seeks IX innovations that help prevent or reduce the side effects of urban projects, like noise pollution or poor accessibility. An example here would be a solution that shows the interconnectedness and influence of different projects and interventions in an area.”
And finally—the big question: can people still get involved? If not, when’s the next opportunity?
“The IX in Urban Development call is now closed—but don’t worry! In the coming years, we’ll be launching more calls around other, yet-to-be-determined societal themes. So there will definitely be more opportunities. That applies both to innovators who want to submit ideas and to public organisations looking to launch their own challenge.
The next call—with the Dutch police—is in preparation now and is expected to open this fall.”
Also read the interview with Tim Terpstra of the Creative Industries Fund about the ADRIE (Artistic & Design Research for Immersive Experiences) call.
Photography: Ben Houdijk