Building the Future of Innovation on millions of years of Natural Intelligence

Despite endless change and disruption, massive upheaval and cosmic collisions, nature has survived the worst of times and thrived in the best of them for 3.8 billion years. She knows what works, what lasts and what contributes to the future of life on Earth. She is the undisputed master of continuous innovation, adaptation and, ultimately, regeneration. What if we humans could tap into the power of the Natural Intelligence that stood the test of time and model our businesses after the proven success stories of nature? What if we could fast track innovation and develop responsible products and agile organisations? We might learn to become life-friendly and self-renewing right where we are and transform our current degenerative value system into a regenerative one. This may sound like science fiction, but is already happening.

In this book, Leen Gorissen, PhD in Biology, covers breakthrough insights from the life sciences and how these change the way we look at change and innovation. She shares some of the most advanced thinking and novelties in bio-inspired innovation - covering disciplines like biomimicry, biophilia, permaculture, living systems thinking, nature-based solutions and regenerative design - and clusters these nature-inspired disciplines under the umbrella of NI. Because nature is the largest R&D project in history. Millions of years of field tests have led to designs that outclass any man-made design in terms of efficiency, effectiveness, adaptability, resiliency and endurance. By tapping into the potential of NI, the business world can become an important engine of planetary regeneration and a beacon of creativity and meaningful work spreading hope and ingenuity, not despair and burn-out.

Leen Gorissen, Ph.D. in Biology, is specialized in ecology, transition science, regenerative design and bio-inspired innovation. She is the founder of Studio Transitio, a catalyst that helps organizations and businesses to innovate like nature. She is a frequently asked evaluator of innovation projects by the European Commission, a thought leader on innovation-beyond-the-usual, a strategist and process facilitator. She has worked for a broad range of clients, including Philips, Triodos, EDFLuminus, nexxworks, Port of Antwerp, Business Leaders, Portuguese Business Council for Sustainable Development, Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, European Environment Agency and the International Wheat and Maize Improvement Center and organized bio-inspired innovation sessions in cities across the world including San Francisco, Oakland, Mexico-City, Perth, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Lisbon, Barcelona, Athens, Helsinki, Utrecht and Brussels. From 2009 to 2017, she worked for the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO Belgium) where she was a Transition Research Coordinator and where she headed projects on sustainable forest management, circular economy and urban sustainability transitions. She is a life-long student of regenerative design, working with nature to regenerate landscapes, restore soils and promote biodiversity.