Collaboration and Partnerships: the swissnex Case. Résumé

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1 Collaboration and Partnerships: the swissnex Case Résumé

2 We are proud to be amongst the founding fathers of swissnex Boston and are happy to offer this pavilion to the innovative entrepreneurial talents of Switzerland and to the collaboration between American and Swiss communities active in science, technology, education and the arts. Lombard Odier Commemorative panel at swissnex Boston, 2010

3 Preface Over a decade ago we had the great privilege of participating to an extraordinary journey. This adventure involves two men - a State Secretary and a Washington-based scientific counsellor- ; two Swiss state departments - the Department of Home Affairs and the Department of Foreign Affairs - ; and an old grocery store in Cambridge, Massachusetts transformed into a modern scientific consulate. Driving this adventure was a vision for the future of our country and its formidable innovation potential both in the cultural and scientific realms. The shared ambition was to reverse braindrain and incite brain come-back by inventing the trading-posts of the twenty-first century, places for people to meet and share the news of the world. At the time, we had been thinking about opportunities to celebrate our bank s 200th anniversary by making a significant contribution to the Swiss nation and to the generations of tomorrow, their creativity, knowledge and greater understanding. The swissnex project provided the answer to our vision. The final outcome of this journey is a unique, innovative project which promotes a new Switzerland, open to the world. It is a project geared towards the future and aimed at developing knowledge exchange and repositioning Switzerland as an innovation hub. Today, swissnex represents an unmatched network for connecting universities, research institutions, companies, and Swiss researchers across the globe; the swissnex outposts are bridges where four worlds meet: science, technology, innovation and arts. Celebrating over a decade of active existence, swissnex is a good example of an outcome that would not have been possible without the involvement and cooperation between private and public actors. In the journey for this quest, we harvested a number of lessons and realised the central role that people, vision, patient nurturing and risk-taking play in determining the ultimate success of a collaborative effort. Through a case study, the purpose of this publication is to illustrate the potential for cooperation among players from different sectors, and to draw from it and share lessons learnt along the journey. The hope is to provide useful guidelines for other actors who decide to undertake the path of collaboration. It is our strong belief that solving the complex issues and tackling the many challenges facing our society requires the constructive and harmonious collaboration of private and public actors alike. Only in this manner can the philanthropic sector achieve its tremendous potential. We hope that this study will help further this vision among foundations, funders and policy makers. Thierry LOMBARD Président, Fondation 1796 Managing partner, Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Cie September 2011

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5 3 Fondation 1796 Table of Contents I. Cooperation: an Opportunity for Greater Social Impact Why Cooperation? Different Models for Cooperation Public-Private Partnerships II. The swissnex case: How Philanthropy and Government Worked Together for Switzerland Introduction Background: New World, New Diplomacy Reaching the Starting Line Getting Started Operation, Replication and Growth Interviews A Decade of Successful Experimentation Future Opportunities III. Sharing our Experience and Learnings Partnership Exploration Partnership Building Partnership Maintenance Conclusion IV. Some Inspiring Examples of Collaborations V. Appendix A Stakeholders Consulted B Further Readings C Relevant Links

6 I. Cooperation: an Opportunity for Greater Social Impact

7 5 Fondation 1796 Switzerland has a rich tradition of philanthropy, dating back hundreds of years. Today, it enjoys a very large number of foundations: over foundations (of which over are active grantmaking ones) make it one of the countries with highest foundation density per capita. As evidenced in the Swiss Foundation Report 2011, 1 this country is also enjoying a positive dynamic of new creations, and despite the economic crisis remains an exceptionally generous nation. In the study Advancing Philanthropy in Switzerland: A Vision for a Cooperative and Recognised Philanthropic Sector, published in 2010 by Fondation 1796, foundation of Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Cie, a number of steps were identified as useful for helping enhance the impact of the philanthropic sector. Two in particular stood out: the need for increased cooperation between funders and foundations, and increasing the visibility and credibility of the sector. WHY COOPERATION? Cooperation is seen as a way to amplify the impact of philanthropy by consolidating and focusing resources and enabling cross-learning from peers. It also provides an opportunity to reduce fragmentation within the sector, for example by encouraging greater use of cooperative structures such as umbrella foundations. Indeed, by working in isolation, often without knowing what others are doing, donors may miss opportunities for building sufficient resources and influence in order to have a meaningful impact. This is particularly true for those issues that cut across different sectors and systems, and that can only be addressed by joint action. Partners thus unite to achieve objectives which would not have been achieved by any one partner acting alone. DIFFERENT MODELS FOR COOPERATION In the face of the escalating, ever-more complex and heterogeneous social needs, funders are forging new ways of working together. An array of approaches to cooperation can be identified which fit different purposes and circumstances and which effectively allow individual funders to punch above their weight 2. While each cooperative initiative is unique and cannot be put into straightforward categories, one can distinguish three different approaches to cooperation: knowledge sharing and peer learning; joint funding or action on a specific project; and cross-sector initiatives focused on specific issue or theme. These forms of cooperation can be structured in different vehicles, ranging from loosely institutionalised engagements to cooperative structures such as umbrella foundations. 3 1 For more information: The Swiss Foundation Report 2011, by CEPS (Centre for Philanthropy Studies), the Centre for foundations law of the University of Zurich, and Swissfoundations. 2 Katherine Fulton, Gabriel Kasper and Barbara Kibbe (2010) What s next for Philanthropy: Acting bigger and adapting better in a networked world, Monitor Institute, pg 14 3 Through umbrella foundations, funders are able to pool resources into a single organizational entity through individual project support, sub-foundations, funds, or direct contributions to the endowment. Because it is often neither efficient nor effective to start a new foundation cooperative foundation structures can help reduce fragmentation. In many countries, community foundations (of which there are nearly 1,500 around the world) play this role.

8 6 Fondation 1796 Cooperation Models KNOWLEDGE SHARING AND PEER LEARNING JOINT FUNDING OR ACTION ON SPECIFIC PROJECT CROSS-SECTORAL THEMATIC INITIATIVE Many of the sector s joint activities fall in this category- and for good reasons. These collaborations are often marriages of convenience and involve relatively little risks and easily result in win-win outcomes, with positive spillovers in terms of cross-learning. Foundations can greatly benefit from the activities, successes and lessons of their peers, and thereby avoid reinventing the wheel or duplicating efforts. At the most basic level, funders regularly exchange and share information and knowledge, both physically and virtually, typically around a specific theme (e.g. education, health, environment etc.). These agreements involve the sharing of studies, proposals, and evaluations and may be institutionalised under many forms: annual meetings, publications, working groups, roundtables, etc. Examples: Grantmakers East Forum, SwissFoundations Funders may decide to act together on a specific project or issue either by co-funding it, or by engaging in joint activities, such as advocacy or research. These initiatives can take many different forms, ranging from hand-off, check-writing involvement, to much deeper coordinating mechanisms and pooling of resources and expertise. By doing so, focusing and pooling resources or activities, funders can achieve a greater impact than by acting alone, and at the same time spread the investment costs and avoid duplication of efforts. Examples: European HIV/Aids Funders Group, Venture Kick, CEPS, Intergeneration These are long-term commitments by a group of players from different sectors to a common agenda, vision or action plan for solving a specific thematic issue. Individual contributions, roles and responsibilities are tailored to each partner s competences, resulting in mutually enforcing activities. These sorts of initiatives typically benefit from synergies and gains in efficiency and effectiveness that result from the complementary competences, and specific know-how that heterogeneous actors can bring to the project. Moreover, the consolidation of resources benefits both the scale and influence of the initiative. A project backed by partners from different circles benefits from increased visibility, legitimacy and weight. It also allows the penetration of communities that otherwise would be out of reach, or more difficult to access. Examples: Roma Education Fund, Public-Private Partnership on Child Protection

9 7 Fondation 1796 PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS In recent years there has been much talk about public-private partnerships (PPPs), which have often been proffered as one of the means whereby society s needs can best be addressed. In fact, the concept is everything but a new one. Lately though, their visibility has grown exponentially, entering the spotlight of economic and policy circles, and so has their number and volume: over the past two decades more than PPP deals were signed in the European Union, which represent an estimated capital value of approximately EUR 260 billion. 4 Although there is no precise data on how many of these partnerships have involved philanthropic actors, PPPs clearly represent for foundations a substantial opportunity to increase their impact. Although it is nowadays a widely used slogan, PPP is a term of art without any precise, much less generally accepted definition. There is, however, a convergence that PPPs are namely voluntary agreements between public and private actors for the supply of public-welfare oriented projects (typically in the areas of infrastructure, technology, environmental protection and education/ research). Like other forms of cooperation, PPPs can assume an innumerable number of forms, both as to the nature of the partners concerned, their roles and depth of their involvement, resulting in a continuum of possible forms of partnerships on a spectrum that ranges from design-build contracts, to regulated privatisation. The case for this kind of collaboration originates from the exploitation of synergies and the efficient allocation of complementary assets and inputs across private and public players. For example, foundations can be instrumental in bringing the needed financial capital for start-up costs where constraints on public sector budgets exist. Also, the independence of private philanthropic actors can allow them to take on controversial or unpopular solutions, experiment with pilot projects, venture into unproven business models, whereas public actors would have to adopt more prudent and tested approaches. On the other hand, public involvement increases the democratic legitimacy, influence and breath of the undertaking. 4 Source: European Investment Bank, Public-Private Partnerships in Europe- Before and during the recent financial crisis, June 2010.

10 II. The swissnex Case: How Philanthropy and Government Worked Together for Switzerland

11 9 Fondation 1796 After a concise introduction of the subject of cooperation and partnerships, this second chapter presents the swissnex case study, drafted by FSG Social Impact Consultants. swissnex is the product of a fruitful, multi-stakeholder partnership consisting of a network of 5 knowledge outposts and 18 science counsellors. It provides a platform for global exchange of ideas and facilitates connections among universities, research institutes, companies and individual researchers. swissnex represents an inspiring example of a Swiss-grown public-private partnership that today continues to develop and reap successes. INTRODUCTION In the fall of 2000, Switzerland opened the world s first scientific consulate 5 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Shaped by leaders in government, and realized through the philanthropy of private bankers in Geneva, it has catalyzed new levels of international exchange in science, education, art and technology. It was a revolutionary concept: it heralded a new form of diplomacy focused, not on privileged access to information, but on information exchange for knowledge creation and innovation. Over the decade that followed, swissnex, as it would eventually be named, has boosted Switzerland s place in the world. Its five offices in Boston, San Francisco, Singapore, Shanghai and Bangalore have helped underpin a successful rebranding of the country from folklore to a thriving knowledge economy from a Heidiland to a High-tech-land, as once coined by Xavier Comtesse, one of swissnex early co-creators. The network of sites facilitates a brain circulation that allows Swiss researchers and entrepreneurs to interact with the best minds from around the world, and in doing so, to realize new research projects or shape new start-ups. This model has been so effective that it has been replicated by the diplomatic services of several countries, from Norway to China. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this Swiss success story, however, is that it was the thoughtful and patient engagement of private donors working in partnership with the Swiss government that made it possible. The path was not easy; rather, it demonstrates that such collaborations can be both slow and challenging, and yet tremendously powerful. We hope that by telling that story, we can inspire leaders in public office and in the private sector to find a common cause in addressing other challenges, from youth employment to an ageing society. BACKGROUND: NEW WORLD, NEW DIPLOMACY The opening of the Boston office in 2000 is not the beginning of our story. Rather, when Xavier Comtesse walked across the threshold to start his first day as Director of the Boston scientific consulate, it was simply the latest step in a process that had already been in motion for decades. The swissnex idea had its roots in the 1950s and 1960s when the Confederation created the first scientific attaché posts in Washington, Tokyo and Moscow. Their role was to track scientific progress in these countries and its significance to national interests, to broker scientific cooperation and to maintain links with Swiss scientists working abroad (in the U.S. in particular). Over time, national leaders became increasingly aware of the relationship between a country s scientific prowess and its competitiveness. The European Community s coordination of a common research agenda in the late 1980s raised the stakes: Switzerland would have to find ways both to boost its own research and link into these external developments. In response, by 1990, the Confederation created the State Secretariat for Education and Research (SER), and appointed Heinrich Ursprung, former president of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ), as its head. Meanwhile, the private sector was also exploring how to respond to a new world order. The concept of knowledge and industry clusters had emerged in the 1980s, and there was a growing recognition that staying competitive meant building bridges between business and science around specific ventures in specific locations. In 1994, three visionary business leaders and philanthropists, Thierry Lombard, Spiro Latsis and Branco Weiss, created the Latsis Bavois Forum. Over the seven years that followed, the forum organized a series of high-level meetings between Swiss leaders 5 It is important to note that the swissnex offices are not real consulates as they are not integral part of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and they do not offer any of the traditional consular services.

12 10 Fondation 1796 from all sectors, to pick apart and debate the challenges to Swiss competitiveness, including a perceived inability to translate great science into innovation and businesses. Many of the people most closely involved with developing swissnex would meet at Bavois and forge strong working relationships that would prove essential later on. Over time, discussions within both government and private circles crystallized a number of arguments in favour of adapting Switzerland s traditional approach to research promotion. First, as a small nation, Switzerland s national research budgets would never be able to consistently outcompete those of the United States, the European Union or, in time, the so-called BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China. An ivory tower approach would condemn Switzerland to the minor leagues of knowledge creation. Conversely, plugging into international research networks or, even better, catalyzing them would enable the Confederation to stay on the cutting edge of knowledge and innovation. Second, a brain drain scare had emerged by the late 1990s: some two thousand post-doctoral students of Swiss origin had left the country to conduct research in the U.S. alone. With an estimated cost of CHF 1 million per Ph.D. grown in Switzerland, concern about this perceived loss of national human capacity was widespread. Others disagreed: they saw opportunity in the exposure of Swiss talent to the U.S. system, as academics returned to contribute new perspectives and practices to Swiss institutions. Third, Swiss companies were investing heavily in R&D. By 2010, this would amount to some CHF 36 billion per year, of which CHF 20 billion were being invested abroad dwarfing the National Research Fund s annual budget of CHF 650 million. If Switzerland engaged effectively with innovation, this represented an enormous opportunity to capture resources for Swiss research institutions. In the same way, however, if the Confederation got it wrong, those benefits could easily accrue elsewhere. Finally, leaders in the private sector worried about Switzerland s innovation capacity and its perceived inertia in translating discoveries made at Swiss universities into viable businesses. They were concerned that while Switzerland had great minds, it could not emulate, for example, Silicon Valley s prolific churn of start-ups. swissnex Boston building Entrance of swissnex Boston Gradually, both within government and outside, a consensus grew that Switzerland would need to respond to these challenges. REACHING THE STARTING LINE Of course, recognizing an opportunity and capitalizing on it is not the same thing: many different strands of activity would need to come together in order to turn this consensus into action. By the mid 1990s, as SER and the Department of Foreign Affairs considered how to shift the composition and focus of Switzerland s scientific

13 11 Fondation 1796 attachés, they ran into a wall: a general hiring freeze. In 1995, Christoph von Arb, who had recently returned from his science position in the U.S. to take up a post in charge of international relations at SER (succeeding Xavier Comtesse who became scientific attaché in Washington), was tasked by Ursprung to find a way around the problem. Pivotally, they began to explore the possibility of bringing in someone from outside the civil service. Two years later they succeeded in doing so: Christian Simm left his role in directing the CAST a unit of Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) in charge of promoting collaborations between the academic and industrial world- to serve as the first scientific attaché in San Francisco. Simm s appointment represented a new departure for Swiss diplomacy; not only was he from outside the government, but the post was not located within an embassy or consulate another first. In 1997, Charles Kleiber took over from Ursprung as State Secretary at SER. Building on his predecessor s work, Kleiber saw an opportunity for Bern to link Swiss universities with each other, and to connect them to international institutions through bilateral and multilateral agreements. He also saw a clear need for stronger interaction with private sector research, to accelerate the conversion of Swiss science into commercial innovation. While Kleiber was setting ambitious goals at SER, Simm, Comtesse, and von Arb were also working together on how to evolve the role of scientific attachés. They hit on the idea of creating an outreach office to promote Swiss innovation and to allow Swiss researchers and entrepreneurs to connect to knowledge created elsewhere: it would be a shop window of Swiss innovation. They worked quickly: Comtesse observed that unlike the stereotypical slow and steady approach attributed to the Swiss, we didn t discuss it forever, we just acted. A number of people were consulted in this conceptual phase including, among others, Francis Waldvogel, President of the Board of the Federal Institutes of Technology and Edouard Brunner, former State Secretary for Foreign Affairs. As they shaped the concept, it became obvious that the most promising location for such an office would be in the Boston area in Massachusetts, with its 126 universities (including the global powerhouses of Harvard, MIT and Tufts), hundreds of Swiss researchers and a budding technology cluster: the Route 128 Brainstorming session at swissnex Boston Corridor that was giving Silicon Valley a run for its money. It was on a trip to Washington that Kleiber encountered Comtesse, Simm and von Arb s vision. Kleiber saw the connection to his broader strategy and decided to champion the idea and to help bring it to life. Returning to Bern, he approached his friend Jakob Kellenberger, the State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and set about persuading him of its merits. Meanwhile, Comtesse pitched the idea to the U.S. State Department, who added to the momentum by endorsing the idea. Two unanswered questions remained: would the Department of the Interior or the Department of Foreign Affairs be responsible for running the office? And who would pay for it? Kellenberger and Kleiber were able to resolve the first question by crafting a convention that would allow the initiative to operate under joint oversight of their two departments. The second, unfortunately, remained a major barrier. Between them, the Departments could fund the basic operations of the new office, but not its construction, nor its programs once activities would begin. Meanwhile, Thierry Lombard and Patrick Odier, partners in one of Geneva s oldest private banks, Lombard Odier, had long been thinking about opportunities to make a significant contribution to the Swiss nation to celebrate their bank s 200th anniversary. They particularly wanted to support Switzerland s long-term growth and economic prosperity. Having met Xavier Comtesse through the Latsis Bavois Forum, Thierry Lombard had heard of the idea of these scientific outposts and of the efforts being made to bring it to life. He and Odier recognized the power and potential impact of the scheme and offered to donate

14 12 Fondation 1796 Al Gore speaking at the opening of swissnex Boston s new pavilion, 30th March 2009 USD 2 million to fund its realization, on condition that the money be returned to them by the Confederation if it decided to stop the experiment within the first ten years. Al gore at the opening of swissnex Boston new pavilion, 30th March 2009 This offer triggered another round of political negotiations that reached to the top of government. Kleiber won over his boss, Federal Councilor Ruth Dreifuss, head of the Department of the Interior, and she in turn sought and gained approval from her colleagues in the Federal Council. Christoph von Arb, who had been actively promoting the idea in the hallways of the federal chambers, helped secure a tax concession for the gift from the cantonal authorities in Geneva. The last in-principle roadblock to the idea had been removed. GETTING STARTED To implement the vision for the bureau, which was initially named the Swiss House for Advanced Research and Education (SHARE) before being later rechristened swissnex, three interlocking steps were needed. First, a site would need to be selected and the building constructed. Second, in order to meet the cross-sector ambitions of the scheme, it would be essential to involve both public and private sectors in the operation of the office not just in its development and financing.

15 13 Fondation 1796 Finally, a much broader base of support would be needed to ensure the experiment could continue long enough to show results. While the first of these steps seemed to be the most straightforward, it was not without incident. The gift from Lombard Odier had been secured, and the perfect site an old grocery store, close to Harvard Yard in Cambridge, on the opposite bank of the Charles River from Boston had been found. Two rising stars in Swiss architecture, Muriel Waldvogel and Jeffrey Huang, took charge of designing and building the outpost. As professors at Harvard and MIT, respectively, Waldvogel and Huang were also ideal representatives of SHARE s target audience. The state-of-the-art design was to include new media technologies which could assist brainstorming or networking sessions. It would also speak for the mission: facilitating the meetings of minds, and projecting an image of an avant-garde Switzerland. However, when it first learned of the development plans, the local community was unimpressed, and soon mobilized opposition to the project. To address this, Kleiber flew to Boston to join the community opposition meetings in order to explain the new bureau s mission and fit in the greatest knowledge hub of the world. Local advocates got involved, too, notably including local real estate lawyer, Jim Rafferty, and former U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland, Faith Whittelsely, among many others. Eventually, the opposition melted and the project was again able to move forward. Selling the idea of private involvement in operating SHARE was a more difficult proposition. Crucial to the project s success though it was, the idea initially met some resistance in Bern. However, in borrowing Christian Simm from EPFL, a precedent in this area had already been set. Building on this through patient and steady engagement, Kleiber, Lombard, Comtesse and the others were gradually able to win the skeptics round. Thierry Lombard went on to join SHARE s groundbreaking public-private board, advising on the project s implementation on an almost weekly basis Progress on this step also opened the way for important contributions from other supporters. Paul Smyke from the World Economic Forum, based in the region, lent his expertise on how to build a platform for networking and knowledge exchange, and advised the development of SHARE on an almost daily basis. Pascal Marmier, a lawyer by training and eventually third Director of swissnex, joined the venture within its first days, translating his passion for advising technology start-ups into one of SHARE s first programs: the Swiss Enterprise Network Development (SEND). The final step was to secure a long-term future for SHARE, by building a groundswell of support. By attaching the 10-year refund condition to their gift, Lombard and Odier had already created an incentive for the Confederation to remain committed to the project. However, the personal charisma of Xavier Comtesse was key. As Paul Smyke commented, I was taken by the off the wall side of Xavier. This was a total start-up and we were flying blind, but what motivated me was that we were presenting a side of Switzerland that made me proud of being connected to it. Comtesse s characterization of the opportunity SHARE offered to rebrand Switzerland from Heidiland to High-Tech-Land found resonance in the Swiss and international media, who praised the initiative for months after its launch. This media coverage would be of great help in winning over skeptics who initially, for example, wanted any new budget to flow into research directly in Switzerland, rather than facilitate knowledge connectivity abroad. OPERATION, REPLICATION AND GROWTH Once SHARE was up and running and Comtesse s entrepreneurial mission fulfilled, von Arb took over as second Consul to further develop its institutional basis. He lost little time in attracting additional private sector support for its programs, and increased its income tenfold by 2004 (from a mere USD 80 thousand in 2002). Credit Suisse, for example, was recruited to take care of the bureau s considerable technology needs and would become a major partner. Every year, Credit Suisse offers four of its highpotential IT professionals the opportunity to spend several months assisting swissnex in Boston and San Francisco. Karl Landert, Chief Information Officer of Credit Suisse, believes these assignments provide IT employees with a valuable opportunity to gain experience outside the bank and enhance their skills, and to support Swiss interests. Similarly, Nestlé and Novartis became supporters of an early career desk that

16 14 Fondation 1796 would help Swiss researchers in the U.S. identify career opportunities in Switzerland. In the meantime, SHARE had captured the interest of another force in the Swiss research and innovation landscape: the Gebert Rüf Foundation in Basel. Philipp Egger, its director, quickly grasped SHARE s relevance to his foundation s mission, and understood the need to show early results. With this in mind, the Gebert Rüf Foundation launched the New Entrepreneurs in Technology and Science (NETS) project, which sought to leverage SHARE in order to contaminate young Swiss scientists with the entrepreneurial virus. SHARE would organize study tours in the Boston region, and would work with the Babson College for Entrepreneurship to manage the program. Sure enough, NETS provided the early success that Egger anticipated and that SHARE needed. By 2006, the program was absorbed into Venturelab, a larger-scale national effort run on behalf of the Confederation by CTI-Switzerland s Innovation Promotion Agency, whose design had itself been informed by NETS experience. A decade later, 115 of the 187 entrepreneurs sent to Boston had launched a business, creating 900 jobs in Switzerland and yielding more than CHF 210 million in company revenues. The founder of InSphero, a company that markets a new method of screening biochemical compounds for pharmaceutical companies, offered high praise for the NETS experience, I was amazed by the excellent contacts of the venture leaders and swissnex. On the first evening in Boston, I met a manager at Novartis Research there Two days after that, I had one of the best sales meeting since we started InSphero! Other NETS alumni included the entrepreneurs behind successful companies such as Doodle.com, Glycart and Aleva Neurotherapeutics, among many others. 3rd anniversary of swissnex Singapore swissnex China, Shanghai Encouraged by the success of SHARE, other innovators within the government began to explore opportunities to replicate and expand on the idea. An early mover was Christian Simm, who had worked with Comtesse and von Arb to come up with the original idea during his time as scientific attaché in San Francisco. Simm was already working on transforming his function into a SHARE-like role focused on the technology hub of Silicon Valley. He called his proposal swissnex, intending to emphasize the concept of being a nexus of knowledge exchange rather than housing research and education.

17 15 Fondation 1796 INTERVIEWS Pascal Marmier Director of swissnex Boston Christian Simm Director of swissnex San Francisco Suzanna Hraba-Renevey Director of swissnex Singapore 1. Today the swissnex initiative celebrates over a decade of active existence. Has it fulfilled your expectations? What have been your greatest successes? P.M. Looking back, swissnex definitely surpassed expectations. One of the greatest measures of success is the impact we had and continue to have on the Swiss-American scientific exchange. Most of the contacts we created led to successful and sustainable collaborations for Switzerland s academic field and innovation economy. Several programs we have implemented continue to thrive and even expand. C.S. Whatever the goals were ten years ago they have been exceeded, be it the international visibility, the number of partners and clients, the amount of third-party financing, the breadth and depth of activities, the legitimacy, or any other indicator. These results encourage swissnex to continuing to connect the dots with passion and inventiveness, and to surpass expectations during the next decade! S.H.R. One of the major successes we are proud of is the growing trust of our partners from Switzerland. After a few years of successful ground work in establishing connections and supporting collaborations in niche fields such as music, healthcare and viticulture, the Board of Higher Education of the Canton de Vaud (DGES), has decided to strengthen its mandate with swissnex Singapore and hire a representative at our office. Since then the connections are broadening up to the fields of teacher s education, engineering as well as public administration and examples of common programs are flourishing bilaterally and internationally. 2. What is your vision for the future of swissnex? P.M. We are continuing to further explore how we can build a strong brand and an integrated network. Along with academic partners, swissnex will work closer with SMEs and multinationals to offer a powerful platform for innovating business strategies. Doing this, swissnex helps these companies get the best out of local innovation ecosystems, like Boston, San Francisco, Asia and other emerging regions around the world. One of the future challenges will be using new digital communication tools to better connect Switzerland with our local communities. C.S. The success of any swissnex is based on its dynamic, creative, and innovative people. They think outside the box, blur boundaries, and cross disciplines. If this is well understood - and supported - by the public and private stakeholders of swissnex, Switzerland will continue to have a very unique and successful instrument for its international positioning. S.H.R. For swissnex in general, we will strive to consolidate the existing network in good collaboration with other Swiss official entities. We are also working on setting up one or two more entities in promising science hubs with the same spirit of out-of-the-box, innovative, collaborative and creative thinking. 3. swissnex is the product of a successful public-private partnership. What is, in your opinion, the greatest advantage of this sort of collaboration? P.M. The PPP model creates a culture of entrepreneurship within the teams, pushing us to think of new ideas, execute them quickly and efficiently, while still being frugal with our limited resources. Multiple sources of funding also give us independence, allowing us to dedicate resources to innovative projects. C.S. The PPP structure of swissnex gives it increased legitimacy, encourages operations to be nimble, efficient, and very entrepreneurial. Also, PPPs in general allow buy-in for unusual or risky projects, providing them with diversified funding. S.H.R. The advantage of a PPP is to leverage on synergies in expertise from both sectors: flexibility, swiftness, risk-taking characteristics of the private sector, harmoniously balanced with a non-profit spirit and defence of public interest.

18 16 Fondation 1796 While he had a harder time securing federal funding than Comtesse Bern was still digesting the implications of SHARE, and was wary of moving too quickly Simm was able to assemble enough private support to open the doors to swissnex San Francisco in Early supporters included Yves Oltramare, another Geneva banker with fond memories of his studies in the U.S., SwissRe, one of the world s largest reinsurance companies, and Swisscom, which allowed swissnex to host its innovation outpost in the region and the Greater Zurich Area AG economic promotion agency. Soon enough, CTI was also sending entrepreneurs to San Francisco through its Venturelab program to breathe the entrepreneurial air of the Valley. Gradually, the idea gathered momentum. The mandate was expanded to explicitly include projecting an image of Switzerland as a knowledge hub. Also, while SER continued to provide core funding, a requirement was made that two-thirds of project funds be raised from the private sector. In 2002, Charles Kleiber toured Asia, in part looking for opportunities to expand beyond the U.S. He found an ally in Ambassador Loretan in Singapore. Suzanne Hraba-Renevey, then staffed at the embassy recalls, one day, he walked into my office with two kilos of paper, all related to swissnex, and said, look into this for Singapore. She soon submitted her report, and based on the country s rapid expansion as a research and commercial hub, the next node in the network was launched, with Hraba-Renevey at its head. swissnex in China (Shanghai) and India (Bangalore) followed in 2007 and 2008, respectively. To improve its ability to market its services, the swissnex name was adopted by all the offices in the network, including SHARE in Boston. A DECADE OF SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENTATION The network has enjoyed significant success. Over its first ten years of operation, swissnex facilitated thousands of connections leading to hundreds of projects around the world. Notable among these were innovative partnerships between Swiss universities and their foreign peers. The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETHZ), for example, set up a center in Singapore to collaborate on the design of future cities. Similarly, other universities of applied sciences have built partnerships in healthcare, music and teacher education and the number A Decade of Successful Experimentation The network has enjoyed significant success. Over its first ten years of operation, swissnex facilitated thousands of connections leading to hundreds of projects around the world. Notable among these were innovative partnerships between Swiss universities and their foreign peers. The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETHZ), for example, set up a center in Singapore to collaborate on the design of future cities. Similarly, other universities of applied sciences have built partnerships in healthcare, music and teacher education and the number of university students from Singapore and the region attending exchange programmes has more than doubled, creating new cohorts of ambassadors for Switzerland in South-east Asia. HEIG, the Management and Engineering School of Vaud concluded a research partnership with the University of Iowa on removing CFCs1 from refrigerators with new magnetic technology. swissnex Shanghai helped launch the Sino Swiss Science and Technology Cooperation Program in And the list runs on and on. By 2010, San Francisco was hosting five start-up companies on its premises. In just the first two years of operation, Silvia Hostettler, director of swissnex India had succeeded in realizing 22 collaboration projects in various fields from renewable energy to nanotechnology. Back in Switzerland, the swissnex idea has won widespread praise. At a celebration of the program s tenth anniversary, Federal Councilor Didier Burkhalter described swissnex as a true Swiss success story, noting both its winning attitude, consisting of expertise, hospitality, dynamism and creativity, as well as its growing strength as a network and its major role in internationalizing Swiss know-how. Michel Rochat, head of EHL, the Hotel Management School in Lausanne, and formerly in charge of Vaud s universities of applied sciences, is similarly effusive. He describes swissnex as, an unbelievable asset for Switzerland, still vastly untapped by our institutions: you have a need 6 Chlorofluorocarbons: cooling agents formerly used in refrigerators and other household appliances that, when released into the atmosphere, damage the protective Ozone layer that surrounds the Earth

19 17 Fondation 1796 internationally and you find yourself in an accelerator of insights, networking, of deal-making. It saves you an immense amount of time it s worth gold. Rochat used swissnex to support a number of specialized schools of music, nursing or hotel management in Vaud to secure exchange programs with their peers in the U.S. and Asia. This success has provided a platform to promote Switzerland as a country, countering negative publicity associated with banking secrecy and other issues. It has also attracted the attention of other governments. Diplomats and politicians flocked to the office in Boston to learn about what Switzerland was doing: Boston received some twenty-five delegations in the first two years alone. They found a striking physical site, with substance, events, debates, and young entrepreneurs: a convergence of functions that would be hard to emulate from governmental silo-structures. Countries including France, the UK, China, Germany and many others have built on swissnex experience to launch their own knowledge scientific diplomacy efforts. FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES As the swissnex network enters its second decade, it cannot rest on its laurels. With innovation at the heart of its mission, living with the status quo is not an option for its government and private sector sponsors or for its entrepreneurial staff. New opportunities are emerging for swissnex, both around what it can accomplish and around where and how it operates. Deepen services to universities and entrepreneurs swissnex core clients are increasing their use of the network beyond ad hoc requests. For universities, the network presents an unmatched opportunity to expand their global reach For example, ETHZ and EPFL have signed collaborative agreements with all swissnex to represent them in their respective regions, and to manage their alumni and media relations, as well to promote postgraduate studies. Similarly, the University of St. Gallen has permanent representatives at swissnex Singapore to promote its exchange programs. Such partnerships represent a significant added value: while it is increasingly important that Swiss universities internationalize, the cost for each one to open its own representative offices would be prohibitive; swissnex makes that internationalization possible in an efficient and well-informed way. Entrepreneurs, too, are finding long-term partnerships with swissnex valuable in building a presence in the regions served by the network. In San Francisco, for example, swissnex is hosting a number of start-ups on-site. Serve emerging client segments around trend-spotting Originally, swissnex was not intended to have an agenda beyond catalyzing relationships between people and institutions. However, recently, it has become more thematic in its approach around events focused on sustainability, clean technologies, urban planning, or social media. This proactive, thematic orientation offers swissnex great advantages over its initial, transactional approach. It can meet and even anticipate client demands. For global businesses, the kind of early trend-spotting approach proves to be very valuable in guiding product development or assessing market readiness for specific innovations. Nestlé Innovation Partnerships, for example, has worked with swissnex on a number of projects, such as exploring the frontiers of innovation in food technology and nutrition through transdisciplinary presentations and brainstorming events, in both the U.S. and Asia. Trendspotting can be relevant for universities or cultural institutions: Gebert Rüf Foundation and SER are currently financing a new initiative undertaken by swissnex San Francisco to expose Swiss universities to social media trends and understand how they might influence education institutions moving forward. Due to its experience and expertise in inter-disciplinary projects, swissnex San Francisco, has also been approached by Pro Helvetia for the launch of their Gaming Culture program, an investigation of how the gaming culture influences youth and society. Cultural institutions can gain similar value through global exchange with their international counterparts, and swissnex is well placed to facilitate this type of networking. In addition, such an approach offers an opportunity to improve the efficiency of the swissnex team, by enabling them to build

20 18 Fondation 1796 focused, relevant networks in particular subject areas. Expand into new knowledge clusters Tied to an expanding network is the opportunity to open new sites in emerging knowledge clusters. In line with their rapid development, BRIC countries continue to show new strength in science and innovation. Brazil, for example, is not yet on the swissnex map, and is an often-quoted location for expansion. Coordinate and strengthen the network With most networks, the whole is worth a great deal more than the sum of its parts. The swissnex network has demonstrated this increasingly in recent years through moves to align its brand identity and communication, and through support for innovation events across geographies. The next decade will likely bring even more opportunities for synergies, as each site increases its capacity. In the process, the work can shift from serving clients individually (and at times even in friendly competition with each other) to serving them across locations. Nicolas Henchoz of the ECAL & EPFL lab (a joint venture between the School of Design in Lausanne and EPFL), for example, used swissnex Boston and San Francisco as strategic partners for its Sunny Memories program. The lab created an initiative that aims to incorporate new solar technologies into everyday life: a mailbox that sends an SMS when the post has arrived, a park bench that stores energy to glow at night and many other similar concepts. Henchoz wanted to market these ideas, which have considerable commercial potential, in the U.S. swissnex made it happen: by raising funds for the road show, setting up the events on the West and East coasts, and shaping the communication campaign. Federal Councilor Didier Burkhalter alluded to this emerging network effect in his recent 10- year anniversary speech, noting that horizontal communication between the swissnex outposts has also had a noticeable multiplier effect for users of the network. However, harnessing the full potential of an expanded swissnex network is likely to require additional investment in its management and execution capacity that was not necessary when it was operating on a smaller scale. In order to serve new clients, manage fruitful partnerships, and facilitate the horizontal communication of which Burkhalter spoke, a new infusion of talent will be needed. It takes a unique profile of entrepreneurial leaders and managers to build and nurture these relationships; and such network builders must be recruited, trained and retained. Many observers believe that, as swissnex expands its mandate and network, a central hub based in Switzerland may also be called for in order to efficiently manage operations. It could play several different roles, including acting as a joint marketing office for the network; nurturing relationships with Swiss universities, entrepreneurs, multinational companies, and cultural institutions; and managing the additional human resources needs alluded to above. Improve governance and operational flexibility swissnex is an excellent example of the public and private sectors working together to benefit the whole society. It has helped to unleash an enormous amount of activity for the benefit of Swiss science and innovation institutions with relatively little public budget with significant success, as we have seen. Further expansion would likely offer a strong return on investment in terms of economic growth and prosperity both at home in Switzerland, and in the partner countries. However, there remain constraints imposed by its model. Expansion is costly, and it is difficult for swissnex to attract resources from an increasingly stretched public budget that must also fund other priorities. Rules inherited from the public sector, such the prohibition to accrue financial reserves, stand in the way of greater financial growth and independence. As swissnex enters its second decade, a review of the network s governance seems timely. For more information:

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22 20 Fondation 1796 SWISSNEX: SWITZERLAND S KNOWLEDGE NETWORK swissnex San Francisco (2003) Washington Ottawa swissnex Boston (2000) London Paris Madrid Bern Brussels Berlin Moscow Vienna Rome 5 knowledge outposts: swissnex Boston (2000), swissnex San Francisco (2003), swissnex Singapore (2004), swissnex China (2007), and swissnex India (2009). Brasilia 18 science counsellors: Beijing, Berlin, Brasilia, Brussels, Canberra, New Delhi, London, Madrid, Moscow, Ottawa, Paris, Pretoria, Rome, Santiago, Seoul, Tokyo, Vienna, Washington D.C. Santiago Pretoria MILESTONES Charles Kleiber becomes State Secretary at Secretariat for Education and Researchand decides to champion the idea Launch of the first SHARE consulate in Boston Launch of swissnex San Francisco Xavier Comtesse, Chistoph von Arb, and Christian Simm shape the idea of creating outreach offices to promote Swiss innovation