“The Invisible Made Visible”: Science and Technology

Abstract

An Introduction by Marco van Lochem As described in Chap. 2, it started for me in 2010. After almost 20 years working in the IT and High Tech Industry, I founded my own company (Odeon Interim Management) and was looking for a way to contribute to a sustainable society. In that period, Jean-Paul Close and I met. Based on his vision and experience regarding sustainability, we discussed how we could improve the living and working environments in cities, initially in The Netherlands, but with a global focus. Polluted air is a major health hazard in world cities and a tremendous cost for society. This was the start of AiREAS, using our network and experience to create a multidisciplinary co-operation with a human value-driven sustainable focus. In our discussions with the municipality of Eindhoven in North Brabant, the Universities of Utrecht and Twente, ECN, Philips and Axians/Imtech ICT, we defined a first tangible goal and project contributing to the higher AiREAS purpose of healthy cities. We agreed to make visible the invisible by designing and imple-menting an Innovative Air Measurement Network ('Living Lab') in Eindhoven. To get this first project started, the commitment of individual persons from these stakeholders was key (not to mention that it would help in getting commitment from their individual organizations as well). Without this, we could not have been suc-cessful. Instead of discussing budgets and investments upfront, we started by co-creating a project plan focusing on 'what has to be done and what are the deliverables.' The next step was to specify the cost of the project. And finally, we asked who would invest and for what would they be paying. It is essential to realize that AiREAS projects are not based on traditional customer-supplier relationships, but on co-creation, mutual commitment and equality. In this way, we managed to get an agreement on the project plan, including the (fixed) budget and finance part, without losing the entrepreneurial spirit and com-mitment of individual persons and their organizations. This was very important because of the result-driven characteristic of the project, including the risks. We defined milestones with deliverables and payments and assured everyone that communication and co-operation were open and based on the AiREAS values of 'respect, trust and reciprocity'. In a relatively short time, this AiREAS co-creation project managed to deliver a world class Air Measurement Network in Eindhoven. And although money and budgets were an important aspect, the focus of participants was mainly on the committed deliverables and contribution to the higher AiREAS purpose. Everybody was aware of the fact that it was a unique initiative (still small, but with huge potential and exposure) and we managed to solve problems and manage risks along the way and within the context of the AiREAS values. Although it was only the first AiREAS project and new initiatives have already started, with many to follow, it shows that the difference is being made by indi-vidual persons taking responsibility. I therefore want to thank everybody involved for their personal commitment to join AiREAS in this great sustainable journey.