At 4th and 5th of November, the Alicante Science Park (PCA) hosted representatives from the Italian agency ART-ER and the Tecnopolo di Bologna for a peer-learning mission organised within the framework of the European project CO-VALUE, aimed at exchanging methods and experiences on innovation and value co-creation. 

The visit, coordinated by the PCA as host partner, brought together participating CO-VALUE companies —FYCH Technologies, Solublion, InferIA and AMAEM— alongside public and private stakeholders from Alicante’s innovation ecosystem. Its main objective was to gain first-hand insight into how Alicante is implementing a model that integrates the public into business innovation processes and evidence-based decision-making. 

The mission began with an introductory meeting to establish a common working framework. The programme continued with a visit to La Marjal Park, managed by Aguas de Alicante (AMAEM), where participants shared experiences on citizen-centred innovation applied to water management and urban services. 

At the PCA, FYCH Technologies and Solublion presented their progress, challenges and key takeaways from their involvement in CO-VALUE’s experimentation phase. Later, InferIA showcased its work related to personal data and artificial intelligence, prompting a technical exchange on how to embed public perspectives in data-driven innovation models. 

The mission also included a visit to ImpulsAlicante and its citizen innovation laboratory, Ci.Lab, which demonstrated a consolidated model for involving the community in the design of urban solutions. The Italian delegation highlighted the strong connection between public-sector innovation, citizen participation and business activity that characterises the Alicante ecosystem. 

The visit concluded with a joint reflection session in which participants identified replicable good practices, reinforced collaboration between regions and outlined next steps to advance CO-VALUE’s value co-creation methodology. 

With this mission, the Alicante Science Park strengthens its position as a European reference point in participatory innovation and knowledge transfer, while deepening cooperation between Spain and Italy within the wider CO-VALUE framework.