This first phase consists in gathering and analysing different ports’ needs in relation to a specific challenge. This phase is connected to the early engagement of innovation actors, and for this reason, it is the most sensitive phase of the overall innovation process, since its success strongly relies on the effective interest that promoters are able to mobilize, from the beginning, in relation to specific challenges. Therefore, it is of crucial relevance that the Innovation Supply Chains actors agree to take part to the mapping activities, by sharing information needed for nurturing the successive phases.

Data gathering shall be carried out in order to achieve a clear view of the initial situation of the port area with respect to the chosen challenge and to identify critical points, opportunities and, most of all, needs. Data shall be gathered through questionnaires, interviews, workshops and, if needed, on-the-spot checks in the case-study area. It is warmly suggested, whenever possible, to have surveys prepared and interviews/workshops carried out by local researchers/professionals and students.

PoWER process promoters shall to select and cluster the information collected during the data gathering in order to define the local thematic Needs.

First, emerged needs shall be described in detail in a dedicated fiche, structured by process promoters according to the topic investigated (see Example 4 - Local Need). Afterwards, the single needs shall be processed in order to re-order them in local thematic Needs according to a specific template developed (see Template 1 - Format to describe local thematic Needs). This activity does not foresee a structured feedback on collected data, but the construction of a Needs check list, directly expressed by interviews or by inferable collected data themselves. As described in the next step, the collection of the local Needs is a fundamental intermediary step, necessary to define the final G-local thematic Needs list.

The clustering is necessary in order to transform the local thematic needs into thematic horizontal needs shared by multiple ports in the ADRION area. The local thematic needs emerged in each ADRION Port participating in the process, shall be compared, clustered and harmonized to the extent possible in order to achieve a shared “g-local” list of needs (see Example 5 – G-local Needs list). This new list does not include geographical information on the ports where the related local needs were detected since, at this stage, the collected needs represent horizontally relevant thematic issues, which are peculiar to different port contexts thanks to the shared features of the ADRION port areas, not to their geographical location.

Each g-local need shall be transferred in a geo-referenced database which will be available online (see PoWER Platform’s dedicated section) in order to allow interested stakeholders and, in general, the wider public to access them online.

The second phase aims at finding innovative solutions and ideas addressing the detected needs and at matching them in order to activate the first operational framework of the Innovation Supply Chain; it foresees three different and integrated activities: Call for Solutions (C4S), Gaming Sessions (GS) and Matchmaking (MM).

The Call for Solutions (C4S) targets entrepreneurs and researchers and aims at individuating new solutions/patents for answering to the thematic needs emerged during the first phase. The C4S shall be launched by all ADRION ports participating in the process (possibly simultaneously) and be open at least one month up to two months tops.

Gaming Sessions (GS) are conceived as a "fertilizer" of business culture in secondary schools and universities; it consists in a simulation game in which students take on the role of entrepreneurs and – with technical/ organisational support of business experts, e.g. local stakeholders engaged in the needs mapping phase - design a business idea aimed at addressing at least one of the g-local needs emerged from phase 1.

Matchmaking is the core activity for building thematic Innovation Supply Chains (ISCs) since it represents the chance for supply and demand to finally meet in person. Within the PoWER framework, the matchmaking is made of structured networking sessions organized during PoWER public events, following two main purposes: to consolidate and widen the thematic Innovation Supply Chain, and to fine-tune the local thematic Scenarios (by finding new ad-hoc solutions to solve local Needs).

Foresight is a trans-disciplinary activity belonging to the so-called Future Studies, i.e. studies based on the prediction and analysis of future horizons, able to examine the long-term impact of policies and technologies and to anticipate emerging social challenges (Di Pasquale et al., 2015). The scenarios foresight method adopted by PoWER as the third step of its methodology aims at preparing the ground for future actions to be taken in order to renovate the port areas according to their needs, thus turning them into Innovation Hubs.

This foresight step aims at carrying out a benchmark analysis on the key-topic feeding the next phases of the foresight activity. It overlaps what the PoWER Methodology carries out in its 1st and 2nd phases - Needs Mapping and Ideas and Solutions Scouting.

A SWOT analysis of each port area involved in the study shall be performed and then cross-referenced with the horizon questionnaires gathered from C4S and GS participants – and, possibly, as many local stakeholders as possible – in order to deliver a preliminary analysis providing a description of a possibly undisturbed evolution of the port areas (10-20 years’ time-span) according to current trends emerged.

This step is aimed at developing preliminary visions on the potential scenarios on port’s future and at assessing them through a ranking method. To this purpose, a panel of experts - PoWER foresight panel – shall be set-up in each port area implementing the Methodology in order to participate in off-fields discussions.

This step capitalizes all previous methodology activities in order to elaborate short-mid-term scenarios related to the expected evolution of involved port areas into Innovation Hubs. First, a Local Thematic Committee (LSC) shall be set-up in each port area involved.

Local Thematic Committees are flexible entities, to be built in a variable geometry fashion basing on the topic-related interests of the stakeholders involved. Generally speaking, the Committee is set-up by extending the Foresight Panel (see previous point) to the local stakeholders’ community members willing to cooperate in the definition of a specific thematic scenario to be pursued, basing on the work done by the Foresight panel (see previous point).

The last phase of the PoWER foresight aims at producing a long-term scenario in which all the thematic visions (Local Strategic Outlooks) are addressed and that may contribute to the evolution of ports into Innovation Hubs. The strategic perspective of the long term scenario provides guidance to stakeholders and policy makers involved in the ports transition process. Strategy co-design is entrusted to Local Strategic Committees (LSCs), which shall physical meet in co-design workshops, organized and facilitated by local coordinators of the Methodology implementation. A small editorial board shall be set-up by 2-3 appointed LSC members which shall take care of transforming the outputs of this phase’s LSCs discussion into organic and homogeneous strategic documents.