Dortmund is an innovation capital that thrives on many large and small ideas – developed at eye level by all participants in an open and creative environment. A unique innovation ecosystem that the city has built up in recent years makes it possible: diverse networks and a broad-based culture of communication bring people from civil society, science, business, culture and politics together to address the big questions of our time. The result: highly innovative projects and approaches with which we entered the race in Brussels for the title of European Innovation Capital 2021.