General

What is Leap?

Leap is a leading Swiss platform for multi-stakeholder innovation and the brand behind collaborative innovation. Leap enables the ecosystem to digitally solve transversal challenges shared by multiple stakeholders. Our team plays a supportive role by mirroring the efforts invested and thereby supporting the respective projects’ developments.

Who can join Leap?

Anyone who is employed by a digitalswitzerland member organisation and is interested in collaborating with other stakeholders across organisations to work towards a common transversal goal. If you are not a member of digitalswitzerland, you are still able to join a project led by a digitalswitzerland member organisation. Not sure, if your employer is a digitalswitzerland member? Check it out here.

Who chooses the topics of the Leap workshops?

There are two ways that lead to a Leap workshop: First, we encourage all digitalswitzerland members to approach us if they would like to introduce their collaborative project or topic ideas. Second, workshops might be conducted as part of the existing Expert Studios by digitalswitzerland.

How can I create my own project?

If you have a project idea, please reach out to the Leap team. We are happy to hear your idea and see how we can support you and your team in turning the idea into a project and pushing it to execution. 

Who will lead a project?

Leap is a neutral platform to try out collaborative projects whilst our team constantly mirrors the efforts of the engaged members. It is important that the leading stakeholder is a digitalswitzerland member organisation. The involved member who is ready to have an active role ideally becomes the project lead.

What are characteristics of a Leap project?

The team of a Leap project has to consist of at least one digitalswitzerland member organisation and of at least two organisations in total. Furthermore, the project leader has to be a digitalswitzerland member organisation. The project topic needs to be transversal and should aim to be digitally solutinised with a multi-stakeholder approach.

What are the benefits of launching a project with the support of Leap by digitalswitzerland?

The Leap team supports the projects in various ways. First, we take care of your overhead costs by taking care of the tedious coordination tasks. Second, we enable you to easily connect with other digitalswitzerland members and ecosystem stakeholders to leverage the broad digitalswitzerland network. Third, you benefit from the knowledge and expertise of other digitalswitzerland member organisations and, fourth, we can support you with communications activities such as featuring your project in one of our newsletters.

What happens if a project is not successful?

Innovation is an iterative process and therefore requires constant pivoting. If a project doesn’t progress as planned, our team steps in and supports the exploration of new roadmaps and business models. In certain cases, this could result in a project being paused or being stopped fully. Failure is and will keep being part of any innovation process. Nevertheless, such a project will still be displayed on archived projects on the Leap website.

What is the role of the collaborative innovation committee?

Leap is the brand behind collaborative innovation projects. The collaborative innovation committee represents the whole programme and shapes its strategy. In regards to the projects, the committee actively supports in getting C-level management buy-in.

Who finances the projects?

There are different possibilities to finance a collaborative innovation project. The options often vary and/or complement each other depending on the project’s maturity.

• In-kind investment: The organisations that collaborate for a multi-stakeholder project usually dedicate their time, expertise and infrastructure. 
• Cash contributions: A project may receive financial contributions through project partners.
• Additionally, digitalswitzerland can help connect to other funding sources upon request.