Jerusalem · Greater Givat Ram
An urban and strategic initiative connecting research, academia, medicine, industry and entrepreneurship, turning an exceptional concentration of knowledge and capabilities into a platform for research, development and growth.
What is an innovation district
An innovation district is a focused urban area in which leading research institutions, advanced industry, companies of different sizes, entrepreneurs and supporting organisations work in close proximity and collaborate. Proximity enables knowledge to move more quickly from research to application, creates sustained encounters across disciplines, and supports the emergence of new initiatives and solutions.
An innovation district is part of the city. It combines research and employment with housing, commerce, public institutions, culture and leisure. Walkability, public transport, active public spaces and uses throughout the day and evening form part of the infrastructure that allows professional and civic communities to meet and grow.
How the district creates value
The starting point
The district rests on a distinctive concentration of research, medical and engineering institutions. Connecting them makes it possible to combine knowledge, laboratories and infrastructure around complex questions and create a shared capability not found within any institution alone.
The connecting mechanism
Physical proximity, professional networks and links to companies, entrepreneurs and investors make it possible to assemble teams around shared problems and opportunities.
The outcome
Connecting research, industry and talent contributes to strengthening existing companies, broadening skilled employment opportunities and building an active community connected to the city.
Community, industry and talent
Activity in the district seeks to create an ongoing connection among the research community, companies and partners operating in Jerusalem. This connection enables researchers to become familiar with needs and challenges from practice, while giving companies access to knowledge, research infrastructure and high-quality talent.
Within this framework, FourWard works to strengthen the cross-institutional research community and connect it with local industry. Over time, these relationships can broaden professional opportunities in the city, help retain high-quality talent in Jerusalem and strengthen the companies operating there.
Explore the FourWard research communityWhere it began
The initiative grew from a national approach adopted in the previous decade, recognising that metropolitan centres outside Tel Aviv could serve as regional growth engines through advanced employment hubs. As the innovation district model expanded globally, strategic programmes were advanced for Beersheba, Haifa and Jerusalem.
In 2018, the Jerusalem Municipality, through its Strategy Division and the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research, submitted a proposal to establish an innovation district in the Givat Ram area. The location was chosen for its concentration of some of Israel’s largest and most diverse academic, research and applied institutions, significant planning and development processes, and developing transport accessibility.
The district strategy seeks to connect the institutions, knowledge, people and infrastructure already present in the area as one shared system. It connects research and development, high-quality employment, entrepreneurship, public space and residential neighbourhoods, while creating a framework for sustained collaboration among the institutions and between academia and industry. The ambition is to create a new urban narrative for Greater Givat Ram with an impact on Jerusalem and its position in Israel and internationally.
Initiative, responsibility and leadership
The Jerusalem Innovation District is a broad programme initiated by the Jerusalem Municipality and backed by Government Decisions 1830 and 1367. Its work is advanced through a defined division of responsibility among the programme partners.
Municipal initiative
The Jerusalem Municipality initiated the programme and in 2018 submitted the proposal to establish an innovation district in the Givat Ram area, through its Strategy Division and the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research.
Overall responsibility
The Jerusalem Development Authority is responsible for advancing the Jerusalem Innovation District as a whole and coordinating work with government, the municipality, the anchor institutions and additional partners.
Planning and strategy
Ran Wolf Urban Planning and Project Management Ltd. leads the planning and strategy of the Jerusalem Innovation District, including its vision, spatial model, implementation mechanisms and priority projects.
Government framework
Government Decision 1367 of 10 April 2022 called for a strategic programme for innovation districts in western and eastern Jerusalem.
Government Decision 1830 of 5 June 2024 advanced planning and preparation for the district, defined its Greater Givat Ram area and identified the four anchor institutions on which it is based.
Anchor institutions
The district strategy places collaboration between the institutions at the centre of the initiative.
Connecting the institutions’ fields of expertise makes it possible to assemble an integrated response to each challenge.
Strategic principles
The district creates value by turning distinct institutional strengths into shared infrastructure for knowledge, research and implementation.
Strengthening fields of research and development in which Jerusalem and its institutions hold a clear local and international advantage.
Connecting sectors and disciplines to create knowledge and solutions that cannot emerge within a single institution or field.
Concentrating researchers, infrastructure, companies, entrepreneurs and resources to enable sustained, high-impact activity.
Creating employment, training and participation opportunities for diverse communities in Jerusalem and its surroundings.
A vibrant, transit-connected, walkable and welcoming urban environment active throughout the day and evening.
Cultivating ongoing ties among research, medicine, industry, investment, entrepreneurship, design and civil society.
Building shared governance, funding and decision-making mechanisms that turn vision into a programme of action.
International experience
International experience shows that innovation districts succeed when investment in knowledge and industry advances together with place and community development.
Kendall Square · Cambridge
The concentration of leading research institutions, companies and startups in life sciences and pharmacology turned the area into an international innovation hub. Housing, employment, public space and connectivity were advanced alongside it, transforming a former industrial area into a sought-after urban neighbourhood.
Cortex · St. Louis
Two universities, a medical centre and a botanical garden created a shared organisation to revive an area, create jobs and broaden opportunity. The district combines research and academic infrastructure with offices, commerce, leisure, parkland, public transport and cycling routes.
The district as a place
The Greater Givat Ram district is intended to connect anchor institutions, research and employment hubs, and nearby residential neighbourhoods. The goal is continuity that is not only geographic but also conceptual and functional: researchers, medical teams, engineers, entrepreneurs, companies and residents operate in an environment where it is easier to meet, share infrastructure and develop joint initiatives.
The strategy therefore also addresses connections among the institutions, public transport and walkability, public spaces, culture and leisure. The quality of place is not merely a wrapper around research and innovation. It is one of the conditions that enables them to thrive, attract people and influence the city.
The district in the media
Jerusalem Economy and Business Conference
In this video, FourWard board members, representing the four anchor institutions, present the shared vision that led to the company’s establishment and underpins its work.
Watch the video Video source: Jerusalemnews | Jerusalem Economy and Business Conference JEBC 2026
Innovation District overview
This video presents the Jerusalem Innovation District and the connection among its anchor institutions, research activity and the urban environment in which they operate.
Watch the video Footage: Ran Wolf | Video source: Kol HaIr Jerusalem
The article covers a panel at the Jerusalem Economy and Business Conference, where Ran Wolf and the leaders of the anchor institutions presented the district vision, the connection between academia, medicine and engineering, and its expected impact on employment and the urban environment.
These figures describe the Jerusalem environment in which FourWard operates. They are not company activity data.
offer degrees in science, engineering or science education in Jerusalem.
in science, engineering and science education in the 2022/23 academic year.
of new Jerusalem startups between 2018 and 2022 operated in this field.
Data source: Samuel Neaman Institute, Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa and Be’er Sheva, 2024. Read the full report
FourWard
FourWard was established by the four anchor institutions to turn a central strategic principle into an operational capability: strong applied research that leverages the combined strengths of the institutions. Rather than each institution operating only within its own boundaries, the company identifies relevant capabilities across them and assembles an integrated team around each challenge.
This gives companies, public bodies and other partners a single point of access to a broad range of knowledge, research infrastructure and professional expertise. This is FourWard’s contribution to the district vision: enabling cross-institutional and cross-disciplinary connections, advancing partnerships with industry and moving knowledge from research into application.
This page provides information about the district and its development. FourWard does not represent all public bodies involved in planning the district.
View the strategic source document