Media Plaza, Jaarbeursplein 6, 3503RM Utrecht
From ideas to working agreements, so collaboration can move forward faster
You work with partners you need to advance innovation. Alignment takes time, and without clear frameworks, initiatives often remain at the level of plans or pilots.
During the Ecosystem Summit 2026, you will explore with speakers and participants from the Dutch innovation landscape what truly works in building and organising innovation ecosystems. You will discuss governance models, forms of collaboration and enabling conditions such as financing, talent and culture, and translate these into concrete choices for your own partnerships.
Programme Ecosystem Summit 2026
We start at 12:00 with a networking lunch and a keynote by Tom van der Horst of TNO on organising innovation. This is followed by three session rounds in which ecosystems are examined from the perspectives of regional development, technology-driven scaling, and market and value chain alignment, including supply chain coordination and shared roadmaps.
We conclude with a joint Q&A session, followed by networking drinks. Participation is free of charge, registration is required and places are limited.
Speakers
Moderator Irene Rompa will guide the discussion and help translate insights into the practical questions organisations face.
Tom van der Horst of TNO will open the summit with his perspective on organising innovation and the governance implications involved. André Harmens of NOM and Peter Stolk of Holland High Tech will share experience with regional ecosystems and technology-driven clusters. Max van den Broek and Peter van Arkel of PhotonDelta and Eindhoven University of Technology will illustrate how scaling is organised within a technology cluster. Joost A. van den Berg of CompositesNL and Jasper Boomker of the Dutch Kidney Foundation will provide perspectives on value chain collaboration and mission-driven programmes.
Why you should not miss Ecosystem Summit 2026
You will gain concrete examples of governance models and collaboration structures and assess which enabling conditions may still be missing for your own ecosystem to grow further. You will also explore the role of key organisations such as ministries, regional development agencies and national innovation agendas in shaping and financing ecosystems.
This will clarify which agreements, partners and next steps make the most sense in your specific situation.
Who is Ecosystem Summit 2026 for
The Ecosystem Summit is designed for professionals responsible for organising collaboration within innovation ecosystems and making decisions about it. This includes programme managers, consortium leads and those responsible for public private partnerships within companies, knowledge institutions and government bodies.
Organisations that support ecosystems, such as investors, industry associations and regional development agencies, will also find recognisable and practical examples here.
NXTGEN Hightech helps you move from insight to action
NXTGEN Hightech organises the Ecosystem Summit as a working session for partners who drive innovation through collaboration. We bring together experiences from different domains so you can compare governance models, roles and ways of working with your own situation. This comparison makes it easier to determine the most logical next steps and identify the partners you need.
Costs for Ecosystem Summit 2026
Participation is free of charge. Registration is required and places are limited, so make sure to register in time.
More information and registration Ecosystem Summit 2026
Would you like to sharpen how you organise ecosystems and reflect on practical examples from different domains? Register your place via the event page.