Episode Transcript
[00:00:03] Gretel Schaj: With us, we have today Cristina Alvarez Requena, CEO of Las Rosas SInnova, back on the podcast after her first appearance in our CIVINET Iberia episode, which we hosted in Spanish. Welcome back Nuria Blanco, head of mobility at Las Rosas Innova, who's joining us for the first time to share about specific use cases in Las Rosas.
[00:00:23] Cristina Requena: Welcome, both of you.
[00:00:26] Gretel Schaj: Cristina, if you had to describe Las Rosas in three words, which would you use and why?
[00:00:34] Cristina Requena: Hello, thank you for inviting me again. I'm delighted to be with you today to share everything we do at Las Rosas Innova and our vision of innovation from the company that exists to innovate and improve its city. I would say La Rosa Sis, maybe the city of innovation, of course, talent, because without talent we can't do anything. And a really high quality of life, a city to life, to live in.
[00:01:05] Gretel Schaj: What are your thoughts on that, Nuria?
[00:01:07] Nuria Blanco: Well, thank you very much first of all, for inviting me to this podcast. I am very proud to be here and while complimenting the one that Christina has mentioned, I will say knowledge opportunities, I think Las Rozas is a place with lots of opportunity and also natural environment.
[00:01:27] Gretel Schaj: I love that combination and I can say that's actually true. I've been here a couple of times and it really reflects the city.
So let's start at the beginning. Could you, each of you share a bit about your background and how you ended up working at this company, Las Rosa Sinova, and what drives you in your current role?
[00:01:48] Cristina Requena: Well, I come from the private sector.
I was working as head of the technical area in the innovation, head of urbaser and multinational environment management and circular economy, which gave me extensive experience in teams in innovation, project management as well. And after 17 years, more or less, I'm ready.
[00:02:11] Gretel Schaj: Very old you are not.
[00:02:13] Cristina Requena: Yeah, I switched to the public sector. I thought that it was a really good idea to lead the projects and funding departments in the. In the city, in the city council, in the public company of the city council.
And we get over 24 million euros for La Rosa City Council and La Rosa Sinova and we are just now joining around 14 European consortium.
So that strategic and funding vision probably led me to my current role. I am the CEO of the company, maybe because I'm thinking always in money and getting money for the company and for the innovation and, well, having the type of team that we have in La Rosa Sinova, the highest level of the team, as Nuria, who is with me, is one of the proofs of the success.
[00:03:05] Nuria Blanco: Well, thank you very Much Cristina, for your words related as you have mentioned, Gretel, my current position is the mobility manager at La Rosa Sinova and my background is civil engineering and urban planning and all my professional career has been connected with mobility and innovation.
I started working as a transport engineer without the Public Transport Authority of Madrid region.
I worked there for eight years more or less, and after that I started to be part of the team of La Rota Sinova. I was there responsible of the development of the sustainable urban Mobility Plan of Las Rosas. And I also developed interested initiatives related with new mobility services such as car sharing or carpooling. And I also have the opportunity to manage some research and innovation project in mobility. This what on some of these 14 projects that Christina has mentioned and being part in different European consortiums. And I think also you have said something about what drives me in my current position. I think one of the most important thing for me is that I can give answers to the mobility demand of the citizens and the fact that being part of a company as La Rosa Sinova, I can see this innovation in field in a short period of time. Think that's something very interesting from me.
[00:04:31] Gretel Schaj: It's also very interesting how you know, people who have come from different backgrounds from public private sector as well, could end up working for the company. And likely this is also the strength of the company.
Cristina, since we last spoke during the CVNET Iberia episode, how has your approach to managing European projects evolve and maybe what's new in your playbook?
[00:04:57] Cristina Requena: Yes, since we last spoke we have achieved some successes. It's very good to come here to explain our successes and to show the results. Yeah, yeah, it's great.
But it's true, La Rota sinova is only 40 years old. It's. It's not like me, it's very young and at first no one have even knew what a European project was.
It was something that they didn't think about even. But just now we've now installed an innovative spirit by learning from the best and sharing knowledge that it's the European spirit and our most advantaged area in mobility.
With projects under Orison Europe and eit, Urban mobility is one of the our most consolidated area and we are now improving and seeking innovation in other areas as sustainability as data platform, digital twin, other innovative as well areas in the city council and in the company as well.
But having in mind that we are really strong in mobility and in this kind of project that are already really established with Nuria leading them.
Yes, and we are really strong in proposal not only in European projects, but also in next generation projects in entrepreneurship. We have exploring another options for the company as going back in the trl, going back in the level of technology of the projects to co create as well the final products and to be able to benefit from patents or intelligent property. So we are just now launching a new strategy, not only improving or testing things in the city, but also giving a little bit back in the properties and in the development to co create, to give our knowledge as well to the providers so we can together get a really good innovation for the city and for the people who is in the city living and being with us.
So that's our main goal as well. GovTech, for example, is another initiative that we are launching now being in challenges of technology for the administration, for the government. That's GovTech. And yes, this kind of initiatives didn't exist before in Las Rosas or in La Rosas, Innova, but now we are really involved in in developing these areas knowing so sorry that the other parts of the company are really good established and working well.
[00:07:59] Gretel Schaj: I mean, it's very interesting because I think what you're also showing is that you are not only requesting things from the market, but in a way you're shaping it and providing feedback and trying to work with the market to develop things. And I think it would be also lovely to hear Nuria from you and the work you are doing around mobility. Can you tell us about a specific case that you are currently implementing that excites you?
[00:08:28] Nuria Blanco: Well, it's not easy to choose because during the past four years we have developed many different initiatives related with mobility.
But if I must choose one, I think it will be one of the initiatives that we are developing in the framework of European project where La Rosa Sinova is participating by now. Skol Amigos and I love the name by the way. Yeah, it's so beautiful.
In Amigos. La Rosa Sinova is One of the 10 safety improvement areas where we are testing how new technologies improve the quality of life of the citizens.
In this case, we have used artificial intelligence to support urban planning and measure the impact of some initiatives that we are developing in Las Matas neighborhood in particular, we are testing what happened in the surroundings of the new multimodal mobility area. There's something that we are going to go tomorrow with the Steven Ediveria team. So you will see it tomorrow.
And thanks to a mobility observation box. It's a device that has been developed by the Austrian Institute of Technology.
We have tested how artificial intelligence support urban planning and I think we are able there to analyze the interactions between the cars and the pedestrians, so we can analyze it and take it into account for the planning and for the development of the project.
And we are also going to put it again, like next year or in two years, in order to know the real impact of what has happened there.
So I think it's amazing, it's an amazing example of how this super cool concept of artificial intelligence can be part of the real life of the people.
[00:10:17] Gretel Schaj: That's fascinating and I look forward to seeing that tomorrow and learn more about the results.
You were already talking about European projects and they come with opportunity, opportunity to test new solutions, but they also might come with some bureaucracy or processes that you need to follow, especially when you're preparing them or reporting them. So how do you ensure that innovation doesn't get buried under the process?
[00:10:44] Cristina Requena: We can't.
I mean, it's really difficult. The procedures and bureaucracy are in every country really boring. But we have, we are lucky and Nuria and me, we came from innovative innovation background. We worked in European projects before, so we understand how to avoid or better said how to manage this bureaucracy. We are also lucky to have La Rota Sinova project and grant office. I mean, we have people and team in La Rosa Sinova who help us all the day. And with all the procedures and the boring things of the bureaucracy and European projects, they are really specialized and they help in everything. And it's not so common in the municipalities to have these kind of teams specialized to do that.
Normally we have the strategy people that open and open projects, but then we need to manage them and we need to manage very good the money and the work packages and the activities to finalize or to go to the end in the right way. And in La Rosa Sinova we are lucky to have this team and we organize that to to success with the. With this strategy. Because for us, having European projects collaborating with other cities and with other partners in Europe is the way to improve and to continue the path to the innovation and with the better partners, the best partners.
[00:12:36] Nuria Blanco: I completely agree with what has mentioned Christina, about La Rata Sinova and I want to compliment because I think that the existence of La Rota Sinova is one of the key aspect element for this.
Why? Because, well, as a public company we are more agile than the municipality itself and the processes are simple.
Another crucial aspect is that we have specific knowledge in how to manage these projects from different areas. Not only mobility, but we have other departments as Smart City, Energy, Entrepreneurship and many other places.
And thanks to this interdisciplinary team that we have in Inova. It's the, the success of this kind of project and the process to part. Be part of this bureaucracy is easy to, to hold.
[00:13:24] Gretel Schaj: That's very, that's impressive as, As a piece of work. And I think for cities of.
I don't think there are many examples that have such a big innovation company. And I think it sets.
It's a message from the city, also from the city council, to say we are going to invest in such a mechanism to be more agile and to speed up implementation.
[00:13:51] Cristina Requena: I think there are some public companies that do some of the things that we do. I mean, for example, for the entrepreneurships to help them to launch their products and so on. You can find some companies that do that or some councils. But all the things that we do in La Rosa Sinova, all the areas that we are involved in, sustainable mobility, energy, data, entrepreneurship, as well as the European funding, the events, the communication, all these areas. No, you cannot find another like Lara Tacinova. I think this is the only one. I am sincere. I think this is the only one.
[00:14:42] Nuria Blanco: Yeah.
[00:14:50] Gretel Schaj: Christina, let me challenge you with something, because some people argue that chasing EU funding can lead cities to follow the money instead of setting their own strategic direction.
What would you say to that? Is that true?
[00:15:11] Cristina Requena: It's a problem only focusing in getting the money without knowing what are you doing?
It's a mistake. For La Rosa Sinova, the European funding is just a piece of the puzzle. It's a transversal area that supports technical department projects, but not only the focus of having money without any strategy. We need to align the strategy of the company, the strategy of the public company in this case, but the city council strategy as well.
What do you want to be when you will be out there?
This strategy must be aligned with the. The ways of funding. And it's not only the European projects, but it's a part, an important part, not only for the money that you get, but the knowledge of the best or the better companies and technological companies and other cities that you can get for your own city. Yeah.
[00:16:13] Gretel Schaj: I think it's also interesting that Las Rosas is as well known as a testbed city. And you were talking about that as a role as well. Well, of Las Rosa SInnova and the role you play there. So how do you bring citizens into the picture early enough to shape the outcomes of innovation and not just to react to them? And we hear multiple times, we talk about principles and citizen participation. But then how do you bring this to reality?
[00:16:48] Nuria Blanco: Well, I think that citizen engagement is one of the challenges that all the cities have nowadays. Because now I think more than ever citizens want to be part of the decision and intervention on their cities from the beginning of the process.
So in La Rosas we have followed different approaches. For example, for the development of La Rosa's sustainable European mobility plan, we made the traditional surveys, both the online and the physical ones. But it was not the only way that we used for engaging people. From the beginning of that process, we made workshops within La Rosa's ecosystem. We made it with neighborhoods, with neighbors, companies, school public transport companies and all the relevant stakeholders for this kind of plan.
And that was done in order to identify the challenge that they face related to mobility and all the conclusions that were taken into account for the development of the plan and also for prioritizing the action plans of this sustainable urban mobility plan.
But this is not the only way. For example, in Amigos project, the one that I mentioned before, we did last year a co creation process related to the topic mobility to schools with the participation of parents, police and some innovation companies.
And the main aim of this co creation process was identifying the mobility challenge that they face in their daily lives and co create the inclusive, safe, affordable and sustainable human mobility solution.
And with that we will test some pilots thanks to this co creation process. During the following months and in the same line in other European projects that we have that it's called for coming, we have done four focus group with different stakeholders of the. Of La Rota's ecosystem.
And the focus in this case was related to the.
The scheme of the 15 minute cities and how to adapt this scheme to the suburban areas. And I think that there, there are different approaches that are very connected with their reality and with the. The things that the citizen needs.
[00:19:05] Gretel Schaj: Thanks for all those examples and I'm glad to hear that there is so much that you are doing on that front.
And it's also interesting to see that sometimes, you know, sometimes I think some organizations and municipalities struggle engaging citizens.
I don't know if that's something you saw here, but it does seem like people are ready to participate and shape different cases and projects.
[00:19:31] Nuria Blanco: Yes, I think it's complicated to engage them, but I think that also the European project context is something that facilitates this because people know that it's an innovation project, they are more comfortable to share their experiences. They know that maybe not all the things that they say there will put in practice, but they know that in this context something will, will take place. And that's something very useful. For them.
[00:20:02] Gretel Schaj: That's.
I think that's a very good point that you make because there are so many times that I hear from cities that they fear when communicating innovation and that things might fail and that maybe the services will not be there the whole time, fear that people will backlash. But as you're saying, people seem to be reacting positively to experimenting and see what happens. So I think it's very encouraging to invite other cities to keep on engaging citizens.
Let me bring you another subject because we were talking about some pilots, but scaling mobility solutions, it's the next level of the challenge.
So what are the metrics that really matter to you? Is it adoption, equity, emissions or something else? And how do we bring this scalability to mobility solutions?
[00:20:58] Nuria Blanco: Well, I think that the first question is not about parameters, it's about solved problems. I think the first thing that all of us must think is, okay, this initiative solves the problem detecting.
And with that, each initiative will have their own parameters.
For example, I have a concrete example related to the pilot that now is scaling up and it's that in we have this best practice as the promotion of car sharing in La Rofas.
In all the surveys, workshops and conversations with citizens that we had in this whole citizen engagement, always the topic of car sharing appears because three years ago we haven't got car sharing system in La Rosas.
So we start to have some conversation not only with citizens, but also with the car sharing companies.
We wanted to know what they need for start to give their services here in La Rosas.
So one after many conversations, we decided to launch an initiative that subsidized trips done with this car sharing system and it was a success. We have launched these initiatives two years and the first year city one car sharing company arrived to Las Rojas and for the money finished in six months they continue giving services here in Las Rojas. And in the second edition, not only city but also women start to give their services here. And both companies continue giving services in La Rosas. So for example, in this case, after on the pilot, they continue being here. And I think that the parameters in this case are the number of trips that were done, the adoption and also the level of satisfaction of the citizens.
[00:22:55] Gretel Schaj: So that's a very concrete example and I thank you for that because sometimes scaling seems a task that it's too big or scary to address. And it's nice how you show the path from the pilot to actually rolling out the service to its full scale.
Christina, I wanted to go back to some of the conversation we already addressed on Las Rosa Sinova and it being the municipal innovation office. But this is just a typical innovation office. It's a public company, it's a different organization from the city council. So could you add maybe a little bit more on the advantages that this give you in driving long term change?
[00:23:39] Cristina Requena: Yeah, that's true. It has advantages.
Those also some disadvantages or drawbacks.
Among the advantages I highlight agility, the ability to execute projects, tangible benefits for citizens.
We are launching as well projects related with the citizens, really focus on them and a strong internal talent. That's very good things for the company. But the downside, lack of the profitability, because doing innovation sometimes is not profitable, at least at the beginning. The improvements we introduce through innovation provide a public service.
So there's no expected return on investment. In the majority of the cases we are just involved in having patents and so on because we co create the results.
But in several cases it's not easy to get there.
And competing in the innovation ecosystem is a long distance race.
Supporting this kind of initiatives through a public company is a really privilege. I am really happy to to become to be in the innovation company, but you must stay focused and really clear on your criteria and choosing the technologies not to make the mistake and not to invest money in things that are not useful at the end or a product that you can sell at the end, or that has profitability or use or be useful for the citizens and so on. So innovation is a really beautiful issue, but you must be really focused on your strategy and your things that you need to get for your city and not wanting everything because it's impossible. You need to think away in long term, but. But do things in the short term, really focus and looking for the success of course, with good partners.
[00:26:02] Gretel Schaj: And I think that subject is such a relevant reflection in the sense that innovation for what, like what's the innovation really addressing?
So I think it needs to align with the strategy because the strategy is linked to the needs of the city and the vision of the city.
So maybe now looking ahead, what would you say is the biggest challenge of Las Rosas and the one that's facing when dealing with the innovation journey?
And what do you need to accelerate change? Would that be resources, partnerships, policy?
Any of you?
[00:26:50] Nuria Blanco: Well, in my case in the Mobility 5 we have not only one, but three main important challenges in Ilar Rotas.
I think the first one is the structure of the municipality in La Rotas is a very dispersed municipality with a considerable extension and it is crossed by three main road access that divides the City in many different portions. So these circumstances pose great challenge for the management of the mobility of the municipality and especially for the promotion of this sustainable active mobility and the accessibility to all other important challenges. Also that in this area we have different levels of competencies in mobility within the same territory. We have the local administration, the regional administration and the national administration.
And sometimes it makes it very hard to do some projects.
And the last but not least is be able to achieve a change of mentality in people's habits and the way they move.
And it's not very hard to get.
So I think for summarize related to the needs that you think. I think I will say three important words that are the coordination, the communication and education and sustainable mobility.
[00:28:13] Cristina Requena: Yes, I think our. I'm really related with that. Nuria has said our biggest challenge is building trust and credibility. Just now citizens need to feel that we are doing a good job with the company and that innovation improved their lives. La Rosa Sinoba is only four years old and has already achieved so much. It's become Spanish most innovative medium sized city. But now we need to turn to our citizens and show.
Show them how innovation is making a real difference in all the sectors that we touch.
It's not a question of doing small little innovations that are touching the citizens, of course, but in a long term that the city really improve and their lives are. Has better quality of life with the. With this innovation. So be.
Be useful for the citizens and. And be real and credible and credible. Not incredible and because we are incredible.
[00:29:18] Gretel Schaj: But I love that approach. I love that approach because I think at the end it's not just doing business as usual and it needs to be something that's attractive and interesting for people. And that extra touch being incredible, that may be the secret sauce on this. Yeah, the recipe for success.
I would ask you one last question on this subject and I was just thinking back on what you shared at the beginning on your professional journeys and the different journeys you actually had.
What advice would you give to someone stepping into your role in another city?
And what's the one thing they should definitely do and the one thing that they should definitely avoid?
[00:30:05] Nuria Blanco: Well, I think in my case is that working for local administration gives you the opportunity to see things in file in a short period of time. And I think this is something very interesting and stimulated but sometimes the administrative process makes difficult to see it.
So the first advice is that keep always the focus on the results.
And the second advice that I will give to them is that have always in mind the Real need of the citizens, because your work is for them. So please don't forget them.
[00:30:41] Cristina Requena: Nuria is a really near person.
Yeah, this is. This is a very personal thinking, but I'd say that without passion, very little get accomplished in life.
When you pass, when you put passion in your work, everything becomes easier, no matter what it is. And life is better in general. My advice, believe in the project that you are involved in. But it's a question in life, not only in work, but I really believe in this idea.
We need to passionate that we do in the things that we do in life. That belief will guide you, keep you on track and help you enjoy the journey. Because it's a question of enjoy life and innovation. So sustainability, energy, technology.
I cannot say other more passionate things or it's really very passionate things that we love in La Rota, Sinova and me in my personal case. So be passionate of that. Make the real difference in the work.
[00:31:54] Gretel Schaj: I can see that.
I think you're a living example of passion and I think that's also maybe influencing how the organization operates and how everything is working. So great advice for anyone out there listening to us.
With that I would like to pass into our segment, which is trial and Error and I would like to hear, you know, when testing new solutions, what's your approach to failure? Can you share an example of something that didn't work out, expected and what you learned?
[00:32:29] Nuria Blanco: Well, I think I have one that is not something that we have tested by now, but it's related to the challenge that we face with. I think, for example, is the project related to Transport on Demand.
This is something that we want to test in Las Rosas, but we cannot done by now because it's very complicated. This coordination between different administrations for test this kind of solution.
Same thing. One of the most important thing that I learned about this, this project during this year here is that the. You must involve the. The relevant actors at for sure, those that have the possibility of making the decisions involved in the project from the beginning. Because if not, it's very complicated to do anything.
[00:33:21] Gretel Schaj: Cristina, what are your thoughts on that?
[00:33:27] Cristina Requena: No thoughts on that.
[00:33:30] Gretel Schaj: We got that.
Great, thank you. Thank you, Nuria, for that. I think it's so interesting to hear that on how.
I think how it reflects the situation of the city and the difference between the challenges that you have, the structure, the geography, you said, with the highways and the competencies that the city has, but not all of them.
And it's reality and it's the reality you face.
So let us just Go to our very last question. It's the question we ask every guest to you. What is a smart city?
[00:34:10] Nuria Blanco: Well, I will take something that I have heard today many times. It's very aligned with what I thought about that. The smart city is not about technology, it's about people.
I think that the smart city is made possible when those in which the decision makers put their citizens and their real needs at the center of their decisions.
[00:34:33] Gretel Schaj: Do you agree, Christine?
[00:34:34] Cristina Requena: Yes, I agree. It's the same idea, but it's the truth. I am really, I really think that it's like that. I'd say cities themselves aren't smart. It's the citizens living in them who are smart. And smart projects and smart ideas leads to the cities in which you can run a smart life.
But the city is streets, the lights, the cars. No, no, no. The important is the people. The smart people that lives in the city and that leads the important projects for them.
[00:35:08] Gretel Schaj: I love that. And thank you so much for your time for hosting us here in Las Rosas S at Iberia annual event. Thank you also for sharing your insights, your experience. It has been a pleasure to have you here.
[00:35:24] Cristina Requena: Thank you to you because it's really a pleasure. I am hoping. I am waiting for the third time to be involved in the podcast. Please come back soon and you will.
[00:35:35] Gretel Schaj: Share many other results. So I look forward to that conversation.
[00:35:38] Cristina Requena: I am pressed to have results for the third time.
[00:35:43] Gretel Schaj: A little bit of pressure. Yes, I know that, I know that. And to all our listeners, don't forget you can always create a free account on BABLE SmartCities EU to find out more about smart city projects, solutions and implementations. Thank you very much.
