What does the future of life look like in urban areas in Switzerland?

How does the good life work within planetary limits? How can we live in a climate-friendly way in the future? How can we travel affordably, climate-neutrally — privately and professionally? How do we make it possible for everyone to eat as regionally and environmentally friendly as possible? These questions can only be answered together, co-creatively and with a new understanding of innovation.

The Innovation Booster Future Urban Society promotes radically new approaches to catapult the best ideas in the interconnected areas of housing, mobility and nutrition out of their niche. Bring along your solutions and develop them further with other experts and innovators. Help mainstream eco-social innovations and secure yourself and your team for jointly developed ideas methodological and financial support.

More about the basic idea of Innosuisse's Innovation Booster →

Current

Challenge Stage | Phase 2 - Call for Ideas
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With the transition to the second phase, the Call for Ideas is now open. We look forward to receiving new project ideas—and to seeing you at our events in the coming weeks.

The challenges of the past few months remain our starting point. At the same time, it is now becoming clear which approaches are taking shape and where further clarification is needed. There are often several iterations between an idea and a viable project—and it is precisely this space that we want to shape together.

For us, the Call for Ideas is therefore not just an invitation to submit proposals, but also a moment of consolidation: Which ideas do we want to pursue? And with whom?

Call 2026

Events

There are currently no other events scheduled.

Two years of social innovation to explore

We’ve put together a publication covering two years of social innovation in and for Switzerland: teams, learnings, and a wealth of knowledge across almost 80 pages. Enjoy browsing.

Das Magazin Soziale Innovation für die Schweiz von heute ist hübsch auf einem Tisch arrangiert

Open publication

Selected projects

In the first two years, we received over 100 submissions and funded 24 of them.

Discover all ideas

Circulation of things

Zurich shares

Verein Pumpipumpe

FHNW

“Zurich shares” promotes sharing and social interaction among Zurich residents. With a mobile app, residents close to home can be asked for a required item and arrange a handover appointment.

To the project

City of short distances

CO-IMAGINE 5'D

Drees & Sommer

ZHAW – Zurich University of Applied Sciences

The project idea CO-IMAGINE 5'D (jointly enriching the city of short distances) proposes innovative processes and instruments for redesigning public spaces according to the concept of 5-minute districts (5'D). As part of a real-world laboratory methodology, key stakeholder groups are involved co-creatively and participatively in use cases aimed at reducing motorized traffic and CO2 emissions. In particular, open source visualization and planning tools as well as participatory financing platforms are used to not only imagine the city of short distances but also to realize it together. The proposed solutions should not only be based on technical innovations, but also primarily on social innovations.

To the project

Climate-just housing in urban areas

Cleverly stage Housing Construction

Urban Equipe

ZHAW

Where residential buildings are being renovated, 94% of tenants lose their homes, and even more with replacement constructions. Considering the current housing and climate crisis, we urgently need to learn to convert and expand our houses in such a way that their inhabitants can stay. An important strategy here is the division of construction phases. We use good practices to research what is important and disseminate the findings in such a way that planners and owners can find and apply them directly.

To the project

We need systemic approaches

Climate crisis, destruction of biodiversity, energy crisis — we live in a world of multiple crises. Mastering these challenges requires radically new ideas and approaches, both technologically and socially.

Whether it's sharing, repairing, or DIY, many innovative approaches, projects, and ideas for climate-friendly living in urban areas remain small. This isn't because they fundamentally don't work, but because they often touch on various aspects of our lives, making it difficult to change our habits and involve diverse stakeholders in the implementation. The stabilization or distribution of integrative approaches works differently than purely commercial offerings. Therefore, we want to strengthen and scale eco-social innovations in our Innovation Booster to establish them in the mainstream.

“What concerns everyone, only everyone can solve.” Friedrich Dürrenmatt (The Physicists)

The major challenges of our time can only be overcome by working together with people from different sectors of society. That is why the booster uses an open innovation approach. Over the next four years, we will bring together key actors from civil society, science and business with city administrations, currently from Zurich, Basel and Lausanne. Together, systemic problems are researched and radical ideas for sustainable solutions are developed.

Be part of the solution and receive methodological and financial support

To enable and accelerate innovation, we connect cities and administrations with eco-social innovators as well as stakeholders from the private sector and science. We can financially support ideas that arise and/or are developed through the Innovation Booster Program with methodological and financial support, including vouchers for expert advice and coaching. In this way, we make it possible for promising innovations to be further developed and tested in urban areas of Switzerland. In addition, together with our partners, we are working to ensure that further implementation of the innovations after the booster is likely.
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Project ideas can be submitted until May 25, 2025 to secure financial support of up to CHF 22,500 and methodological support as well as valuable contacts for further steps.

Who is behind the project?

Meso Innovation Alliance
‍The Booster Future Urban Society is supported by Meso as a Leading House and is characterized by the expertise of the following organizations:

Team

Björn Müller

Programme Director | Meso Innovation Alliance / Stride the unSchool

Samuel Eberenz

Concept & Stakeholder Engagement | Stiftung Risiko-Dialog / Meso Innovation Alliance

Mirko Fischli

Project Manager Booster | Dezentrum / Meso Innovation Alliance

Nicola Blum

Concept & Research | BFH

Pascal Dey

Research | BFH

Anaïs Sägesser

Anchor Basel | Scaling4Good

Colm Kuonen

Energy Living Lab Association

Laura Minisini

Energy Living Lab Association

Olivier Mächler

Kommunikation | ARC Collective

City Partnerships

Urban innovation is only possible through strong partnerships with cities and municipalities. That is why we are particularly proud of our implementation partnerships: