Frequently asked questions

What is the aim of Testbed Vantaa?

We want to advance the competitiveness of businesses by providing a functional model for development cooperation with the city. By opening up the city environments for pilot testing, we promote innovation as a part of urban development.  

We also offer development assistance after the pilots have been carried out. The aim of pilot testing is to gain experience, lessons and knowledge to support and guide the development process.   

The pilot results will be openly available, but any business secrets of the companies will not.    

How can you get involved in Testbed?

We announce all urban food and built environment related pilot testing opportunities on this website (see open applications). You can also propose an experiment to us by filling in the contact form (see Suggest an experiment).  

Who can apply for and carry out pilot testing? 

Domestic and international companies of different sizes and at different stages of development can apply. Pilot testing can also be carried out in cooperation with research, development and innovation organisations (universities, universities of applied sciences, research institutes, etc.)  

How do businesses benefit from participating in pilot testing? 

Participation in Testbed activities benefits businesses in many ways (business feedback:)  

• Increases customer understanding (direct contact with product and/or service users).
• Makes it easier to scale business ideas.
• Makes it possible to gain experience of a real user environment.
• Speeds up the process of developing new solutions.
• Provides companies with a facilitated pilot testing process.
• Provides valuable references.

What criteria do pilots have to meet? 

• The actor (company, RDI actor) must have a genuine need to develop the product or service that is being proposed for pilot testing.
• The piloted product or service offers a solution for a genuine problem, or it offers a significant improvement over existing solutions.
• The piloted solution has business and scalability potential.
• The City of Vantaa must have a need related to the proposed pilot and the necessary resources to enable the implementation of the pilot.

The criteria for open innovation challenges organised by the city are always defined separately when the challenge is launched. 

What is expected from the company or another pilot testing partner? 

We expect companies and other partners to clearly describe the objectives of the solution they wish to pilot and how the pilot will serve their product development or business development objectives. If the pilot is chosen to be executed in a development environment provided by the city, the partner must commit to successfully implementing the pilot by providing sufficient time and human resources.

How does the City of Vantaa enable pilot testing?

The city will enable pilots on a case-by-case basis. The city participates in executing the pilots, for example, by designating the right place or service unit for the pilot and involving city experts and staff and/or client groups in the pilot. For open application pilot proposals, the city often has the opportunity to contribute to the costs of the experiment for the company or other partner. The city will procure the most successful proposal applications to be executed as pilots. 

How will the cost of pilot testing be covered? 

From a cost perspective, pilots can be carried out in two ways: 

• The parties to the pilot bear the costs they incur themselves, so that no money moves between them, or
• The city procures the experiment from a company or other partner and reimburses part or all of the costs of the experiment to the partner. 

What is the average duration of a pilot?

Depending on the case, pilots typically last from a few days to a few months. 

Who will retain ownership of the pilot tested solution?

The City of Vantaa and the partner proposing the experiment (company, RDI organisation) form an agreement on the implementation of the pilot, which defines the intellectual property rights of the solution (product, service) to be pilot tested. As a general rule, the rights remain with the main organiser of the pilot (company, RDI organisation), unless otherwise agreed. 

Quoted: https://testbed.hel.fi/en/general/frequently-asked-questions/

Examples of pilots

Blokgarden ja kaupunkiviljely palveluna​

"Without the project, experimenting with substrate recycling would have been difficult and would not have happened. Being part of the project has given us a lot of support, knowledge, contacts and visibility."

– Tuomas Ilander, partner, Blokgarden Oy ​

Fiksu Kalasatama

"The Smart Kalasatama Agile Piloting Programme buys small (1000-8000e) trials that bring innovative services to city residents. The idea behind the Agile Piloting is to promote the development of good concepts into service innovations and new businesses. Solutions are tested in a real urban environment for a period of a few months. The Smart Kalasatama project will help launch the trials and reach out to users."
 

EKAT - Energiaviisaat kaupungit 

"The aim of the Energy Smart Cities project was to make the cities involved in the project international role models in energy-efficient housing, zero-energy construction, implementation of a diverse energy system, energy efficiency monitoring and user guidance."