VCW Events in
EU Projects: VCW Events

ImpactWheel

As part of the first consortium meeting of ImpactWheel (24–26 January 2024, Nova SBE, Carcavelos), the VCW Lab designed and facilitated two cornerstone events:

VCW Sprint
An intensive co-creation session where project partners worked together to generate a wide range of strategic ideas. Using the Value Creation Wheel methodology, participants explored opportunities for entrepreneurship and innovation capacity-building in higher education. The Sprint fostered collaboration, inclusivity, and creativity across institutions and countries.
VCW Funnel
Following the Sprint, ideas were structured and evaluated through the VCW Funnel. This prioritization event guided partners in filtering the most promising solutions, balancing creativity with decision-making rigor. By applying shared criteria and multi-stakeholder perspectives, the Funnel ensured alignment and focus for the project’s innovation roadmap.

Together, the Sprint and Funnel created the foundation for ImpactWheel’s future activities – ensuring that all consortium partners share a clear direction and actionable priorities.

60+ ideas generated

10 partners engaged

3 strategic priorities identified

NextOcean

The VCW Lab played a central role in bringing the NextOcean project to life by organizing and facilitating multiple interactive events across Europe. Each event applied the Value Creation Wheel methodology to foster co-creation, decision-making, and innovation around sustainable ocean services.

Co-design Workshops (June 2023, Portugal)
VCW facilitated hands-on workshops with stakeholders to co-design services for sustainable fisheries and aquaculture. These sessions helped align scientific expertise with real market and societal needs.
Student Hackathon (December 2023, Online)
Through a VCW-driven hackathon, MSc students worked in teams to tackle real challenges in fisheries and aquaculture using NextOcean data. The event combined creativity, technical exploration, and problem-solving under time pressure.
Sustainable Value Creation Summit (24 May 2023, Carcavelos, Portugal)
As part of the VCW Summit, a dedicated session highlighted NextOcean’s role in the Blue Economy. Stakeholders and decision-makers collaborated to explore how Earth Observation data can generate value for sustainability.
NextOcean Showcase Event (1 March 2024, Plymouth – Athens – Terceira – Online)
The VCW Lab helped design and dynamize the Showcase, which brought together partners and stakeholders across three countries and online. Participants experienced live demonstrations, applied the VCW methodology to prioritize solutions, and aligned on NextOcean’s roadmap.
Webinar: Exploring User-Driven Successes (30 April 2024, Online)
VCW supported the webinar’s structure, creating space for dialogue between service developers and end-users. The focus was on co-created impact stories, showcasing how NextOcean services addressed real-world needs.

Together, these events demonstrate how the Value Creation Wheel not only supports innovation but also empowers communities to co-create sustainable futures for the ocean economy.

100+ participants engaged

5 countries represented

20+ solutions co-designed

NextLand

The VCW Lab helped dynamize the NextLand project by designing and facilitating events that connected researchers, companies, and policymakers to co-create innovation in land management, agriculture, and forestry. These events ensured that scientific advances were transformed into actionable services and strategies.

Business & Innovation Ecosystem (BIE) Workshops (2022–2024)
VCW organized and moderated multiple BIE workshops, where consortium partners and external stakeholders collaborated to generate ideas, define filters, and evaluate solutions. These structured events combined creativity with decision-making rigor, ensuring that the project’s service development reflected real user needs.
Innovation & Exploitation Labs
During NextLand’s midterm and final stages, VCW facilitated sessions where partners applied the Funnel and Sprint logic to prioritize which of the 17 Earth Observation–based services should advance to commercialization. These labs brought clarity to complex trade-offs and created a shared roadmap for the consortium.
Governance Meetings with VCW Methodology
VCW supported consortium governance by embedding its decision-making tools into plenary meetings. This ensured that strategic discussions on sustainability, exploitation, and impact were not abstract but guided by transparent criteria and stakeholder alignment.

Through these events, the Value Creation Wheel helped NextLand navigate complexity and create lasting impact — transforming research outcomes into services ready for agriculture, forestry, and environmental management.