An experience and innovation network - why is it valuable?
A qualitative study on the experience and innovation network The Digital Underground
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54337/ojs.perspektiv.v25i50.10163Abstract
Over the past few years, a group of representatives from the Danish utility and construction industry, together with academia, have worked to solve problems related to documentation and exchange of 3D scanning data of underground infrastructure. The project is called The Digital Underground, and from this project an experience and innovation network has emerged. A network in which participating parties can learn, innovate and co-create in a “safe-to-fail” environment and exchange ideas and experiences regarding the work with The Digital Underground.
But is it even worth participating in such a network? And why is it valuable? This article answers this question using a qualitative interview study combined with knowledge from already published scientific literature.
The study showed that there are several reasons to participate in the network for The Digital Underground, especially if you are already working with the technologies that are focused on in the network - currently SmartSurvey™ and PointView®. But there is also value to be gained if you want to start documenting 3D pipeline data and learn from the experiences of others, as well as if you want to contribute to shaping practice in the utility and construction industry both now and in the future.
References
Barrett, T. (2010). The problem-based learning process as finding and being in flow, Innovations in Education and Teaching International, Vol. 47 No. 2, pp. 165–174, https://doi.org/10.1080/14703291003718901
Braun, V. and Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology, Qualitative Research in Psychology, Vol. 3 No. 2, pp. 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Brinkmann, S. and Kvale, S. (2015). Interviews: Learning the Craft of Qualitative Research Inter-viewing, 3rd., SAGE Publications, Inc.
Carayannis, E.G., Grigoroudis, E., Campbell, D.F.J., Meissner, D. and Stamati, D. (2018). “Mode 3’ universities and academic firms: Thinking beyond the box trans-disciplinarity and nonlinear in-novation dynamics within coopetitive entrepreneurial ecosystems, International Journal of Technology Management, Vol. 77 No. 1–3, pp. 145–185. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJTM.2018.091714
Dixon, T., Montgomery, J., Horton-Baker, N. and Farrelly, L. (2018). Using urban foresight tech-niques in city visioning: Lessons from the Reading 2050 vision, Local Economy, Vol. 33 No. 8, pp. 777–799. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269094218800677
Etzkowitz, H. (2003). Innovation in Innovation: The Triple Helix of University-Industry-Government Relations, Social Science Information, Vol. 42 No. 3, pp. 293–337. https://doi.org/10.1177/05390184030423002
Etzkowitz, H. and Leydesdorff, L. (2000). The Dynamics of Innovation: From National Systems and “‘Mode 2’” to a Triple Helix of University-Industry-Government Relations, Research Policy, Vol. 29. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-7333(99)00055-4
Flyvbjerg, B. (2006). Five Misunderstandings About Case-Study Research, Qualitative Inquiry, Vol. 12 No. 2, pp. 219–245, https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800405284363
Hansen, L.H., Wyke, S. and Bodum, L. (2025). Using augmented reality to avoid excavation damage in Denmark: a qualitative evaluation, Innovative Infrastructure Solutions, Vol. 10 No. 12, p. 575. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41062-025-02372-5
Klima- Energi- og Forsyningsministeriet (2016), Nyt værktøj minimerer gravearbejdet på din vej, available at: https://www.kefm.dk/aktuelt/nyheder/2016/maj/nyt-vaerktoej-minimerer-gravearbejdet-paa-din-vej (accessed 21 November 2024).
Klima- Energi- og Forsyningsministeriet (2018). Færre gravearbejder på vej, available at: https://www.kefm.dk/aktuelt/nyheder/2018/jan/faerre-gravearbejder-paa-vej (accessed 21 No-vember 2024).
Klima- Energi- og Forsyningsministeriet (2022). LER-Loven, Retsinformation, Denmark.
Klimadatastyrelsen (2025). Overgravede kabler og ledninger koster samfundet 1,24 mia. kroner år-ligt, 5 February, available at: https://www.klimadatastyrelsen.dk/om-klimadatastyrelsen/nyheder/nyhedsarkiv/2025/feb/overgravede-kabler-og-ledninger-koster-samfundet-124-mia-kroner-aarligt (accessed 13 March 2025).
Makana, L.O., Metje, N., Jefferson, I., Sackey, M. and Rogers, C.D.F. (2020). Cost estimation of utility strikes: towards proactive management of street works, Infrastructure Asset Manage-ment, Vol. 7 No. 2, pp. 64–76. https://doi.org/10.1680/jinam.17.00033
Neuhoff, R., Simeone, L. and Laursen, L.H. (2023). Forms of participatory futuring for urban sustain-ability: A systematic review, Futures, Elsevier Ltd, Vol. 154 No. October, p. 103268. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2023.103268
Nicolaides, A. and Poell, R.F. (2020). The Only Option Is Failure: Growing Safe to Fail Workplaces for Critical Reflection, Advances in Developing Human Resources, Vol. 22 No. 3, pp. 264–277. https://doi.org/10.1177/1523422320927296
Popa, E.O., Blok, V. and Wesselink, R. (2020). A processual approach to friction in quadruple helix collaborations, Science and Public Policy, Vol. 47 No. 6, pp. 876–889. https://doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scaa054
Römgens, I., Scoupe, R. and Beausaert, S. (2020). Unraveling the concept of employability, bringing together research on employability in higher education and the workplace, Studies in Higher Education, Taylor & Francis, Vol. 45 No. 12, pp. 2588–2603. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1623770
Wesselink, R. and Popa, E. (2024). Responsible learning organizations: a framework to embed re-sponsible innovation within organizations, Learning Organization, No. September 2023. https://doi.org/10.1108/TLO-11-2021-0136
Wyke, S., Jensen, A.A., Krogh, L., Ravn, O. and Svidt, K. (2022). Employability competences through short-term intensive PBL-events in higher education, Frontiers in Education, Vol. 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.959355
Wyke, S., Kunnerup, F., Dalbjerg, Hansen, L., Hedegaard, and Bodum, L. (2024). Den Digitale Un-dergrund - Værdigenerering gennem registrering og deling af data om underjordisk infrastruk-tur, Aalborg, 2 April.
Wyke, S., Lindhard, S.M., Mincheva, K., Georgieva, M. and Svidt, K. (2025). Factors influencing design productivity in Denmark: implications for enhanced design management, Architectural Engineering and Design Management, pp. 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/17452007.2025.2561754
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Simon Wyke, Tine Kyndi, Lars Bodum
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors publishing on Geoforum Perspektiv retain full but non-exclusive rights in their articles, and are required to use the Creative Commons license CC by-nc 4.0 when submitting their work.
