Open Innovation Center, when communities generate winning co-intelligences

The Crocetta district in Turin is known for its strong innovative spirit attracting companies and professionals to the heart of an area rich with excellence, potential, and international connections facing the challenges brought by technological evolution and its effects on the economy.
Located in Corso Galileo Ferraris, in a building redesigned by Carlo Ratti, Director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Senseable City Lab, Sella has opened its new Open Innovation Center. The hub is open to the city, the territory, the innovation ecosystem, and to anyone wishing to have insights, exchanges, meetings and develop impactful business opportunities.

'Openness,' explained Pietro Sella, CEO of the Group on the opening day, 'is indispensable. Today, innovation has nothing to do with the traditional closed model, in which companies solely relied on their internal resources. There's a need for collaboration, cross-contamination, and co-creation. The above explains why this latest addition to the network of Open Innovation Center is conceived as a melting pot open to cooperation among all the 
specialized advisory skills of the Sella Group in various fields of activity, with customers, entrepreneurs, investors, startuppers, freelancers, young talents, suppliers, universities, research centers and incubators: a pole, where relations and advisory meet innovation to create a positive impact on the territory.

Unity is strength, so they say. However, just consider the potential this strength has to multiply and become exponential when several professionals from different fields work together for the community in the same space - under one roof -. One thing is certain: in a world of continuous technological evolution, physical spaces draw us in like magnets calling us and fostering ongoing and valuable relationships between people helping to enhance co-intelligence, as discussed in our longform dedicated to this topic.

The Skills offered by customized and technology-accelerated consulting services now operate in a pluralistic environment becoming an open hub. This represents the new Open Innovation Center in Turin.

At the origin of the idea

But let's take a step back, or if you like a step forward. Perhaps even a ten-year leap back in time. The concept of the Open Innovation Center is not new and is firmly embedded in a culture that ties persistent and transversal innovation, in a constant link with the community and the ability to foster relationships beyond physical boundaries.

On the other hand, Turin embodies a lesson learned in point on the  establishment of SellaLab in Turin, back in 2013, followed by the first Open Innovation Center at the Lanificio Maurizio Sella in Biella. We find ourselves in an iconic place, nestled in the greenery, along the left bank of the Cervo torrent. Wool has been processed here through spinning, weaving, and dyeing since the 1700s. The transition from the artisanal to industrial route, where the spark of the industrial revolution in Italy was ignited, still retains many souls. A place where innovation meets tradition.   

You may discover this groundbreaking project by reading the longform article published a few months ago, which specifically covers the inception of of SellaLab. In it, you will discover that innovation - that is the ability to continuously serve customers over time thus remaining competitive by anticipating developments and trends - has always been a distinctive hallmark of the Sella Group. The two Open Innovation Centers in Biella and Turin, represent the Group's bond with the territory in a commitment to regeneration. 

Both centers reflect Sella's goal of creating environments fostering the synergy between technological innovation and human skills, supporting not only business development but also having a positive impact on their respective territories. Innovation over time has more easily and rapidly thrived in open environments, where there is a genuine capacity for exchange and interdisciplinary cross-contamination of experience. Those who succeed and actively participate in the new innovation ecosystems are more likely to be competitive and effectively innovate in the right direction (or to quickly rectify any mistakes that inevitably may arise during the innovation process). 
When these changes occur in an area, the entire economic system accelerates under the impetus of the open innovation process resulting in a positive impact on employment, attractiveness, international relations, visibility and many other factors. The grafting of skills is what makes all of this possible.

Geography of the OICs

Not only Biella and Turin are significant. Milan has its role in the geography of the OICs, of the Sella's Open Innovation Centers. This thematic, vertical space is entirely dedicated to the fintech ecosystem. If you haven't seen it yet, check out one of the many initiatives that took place on the terrace on the thirteenth floor, involving the entire fintech community for one of the episodes of our #CosaCambia series. There are so many initiatives happening in this space.

Banks have always played a role in supporting the local economy, families and businesses, through credit, corporate finance, consultancy and asset management, helping to create value and foster development. Innovation in general and particularly in finance, allows us to enhance our efforts to continue our path to the best of our ability. And in such a rapidly changing world, this need paves the way for new opportunities and possibilities. Introducing the Open Innovation Centers adds to this traditional DNA a new concept, to address challenges ahead.

Turin

Biella, Milan and Turin. We began our journey here, and now we are returning. Sella, after all, has a deep and historical bond with the capital of Piedmont, and this link is now enriched by the new pole that will tie the Banca Patrimoni Sella headquarters in Palazzo Bricherasio and the historic Banca Sella branches.  

The Open Innovation Center, as seen, is designed to foster cross-contamination, collaboration, and interaction among ideas and skills. Within the building all the natures of the Sella group (including Banca Sella, with a branch on the ground floor as well as dedicated spaces for consultancy and Wealth & Business Advisory services, and the technology companies Fabrick and Centrico, along with the fintech Hype, equally held in a joint venture with illimity). The Center brings the best expertise to the service of entrepreneurs, businesses, professionals, start-ups and talent. It features the SellaLab Impact and brokerage platforms (Technology, Banking and Open Finance). Sella Group specialists, technicians and consultants occupy one-third of the available spaces and workstations. The hub therefore integrates all consulting services to drive innovation that creates positive social, economic, environmental and territorial impact.

In addition, there is a bistro cafeteria open to the public and an area for events designed to host approximately 200 meetings each year, focused on training, knowledge, the sharing of ideas and facilitating interactions among economic and innovation players. 
Human and artificial intelligence 

The Open Innovation Center serves not only as a technology hub but also as a leading reference point for the future of interactions between humans and artificial intelligence. It functions as a laboratory where the new principles of co-intelligence applied to business and regional development are established. Here the concept of synergistic collaboration takes shape, not only through the adoption of cutting-edge technologies but also through the creation of environments where human and artificial intelligence work side by side to address complex challenges. Sella's AI Competence Center perfectly exemplifies this vision. It is a place where many experts work to offer advice based on intelligent technologies, providing advanced skills to accelerate business innovation. 

Positive impact on the territory

A positive impact on the Crocetta district, we said earlier. But let's consider the city and the broader region. Let's reflect on the years gone by. The bond between Sella and the Piedmont region is deep-seated and historical, rooted back to 1886 when the bank opened its first operating branch in Biella. Over the decades, Banca Sella has supported the economic and social development of Piedmont, expanding steadily. Following a beginning initially focused on the Biella area, with few openings until 1965, the number of branches increased exponentially since the 1980s, peaking in the 1990s and 2000s, accounting for 141 branches in 2010. This expansion has enabled Banca Sella to consolidate its position as one of the leading financial institutions in the area, consistently maintaining a careful approach to the needs of local communities and demonstrating a strong ability to adapt to changing times.  
 

This represents growth over time. A responsible, plural, and shared growth. A growth involving an entire community, evolving over time, thanks to advanced technologies while preserving its values, experience, and roots. After all, this is also the winning recipe for writing new pages in the future.