In March 2007 the Danish government launched a program for ”User-driven Innovation” with a yearly framework budget of 100 million DKK, managed by the the Danish Enterprise and Construction Authority.

The purpose is to make Danish companies and educational institutions work together to become world leading on innovation and specifically on innovation that is market oriented. Furthermore the Danish Enterprise and Construction Authority has put focus on certain industries, including construction materials.

With the JELD-WEN Vision 2012 it was obvious to take part in this program in some way, so we contacted AAU Center for Industrial Production who really wanted to participate.

Together with AAU, we formulated a project called “InnoDoors”. Shortly it is about developing systematic methods to collect and process ideas for products, services and concepts from our value chain: retailers, tradespersons, architects and consumers.

To have the approval of the project we had to find a number of partners who would participate actively, who would be able to use the results in practice and who could help us communicate the result. The list was impressive; Inwido, Henning Larsen Architects A/S, HP3 A/S, Optimera A/S, Abson, SmartCityDK, Confederation of Danish Industry - Construction materials, AAU and Department of Architecture and Design.

The project is estimated to last 24 months and a grant of DKK 3,5 million has been applied for. Our share of the grant must cover 50 % of the wage costs spend on the project. The project and the budget was approved at a meeting in June 2009 and started up in August.

Read more about the program on www.brugerdreveninnovation.dk. The site also includes a description of the project “InnoDoors”.