K. Matthias Weber

Strategies for European innovation policy in the transport field

Abstract Technology offers opportunities to realise policy goals. The FANTASIE project, executed for the European Commission, has done a search for promising technological innovations in transport and has assessed their possible impacts on the goals of the Common Transport Policy. Individual policy measures that could foster these promising technological innovations have been identified. Beyond individual measures, robust and adaptive strategies need to be developed that can be adjusted to changing circumstances in order to cope with the complexity and high level of uncertainty involved. In addition, the balance between national and European policy measures deserves particular attention. This leads us to suggest a number of policy packages that reflect the aforementioned principles of transport innovation policy design, as well as the specific constraints of the European policy context.

Adaptive foresight in the creative content industries: anticipating value chain transformations and need for policy action

This paper discusses the approach adopted to carry out a techno-economic foresight on the creative content industries, within the European Perspectives on the Information Society project. The novelty of the methodology lies in the mix of tools used, the embedding in an adaptive foresight framework and the implementation of a real-time Delphi which lead to interesting methodological lessons. The project succeeded in defining scenarios for the creative content industries, offering distinct trajectories and raising different policy challenges. The impact of the foresight on policy was limited, as it did not lead to direct policy measures, nevertheless, it confirmed some issues of major importance to the various stakeholders. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

Trade-offs between policy impacts of future-oriented analysis: experiences from the innovation policy foresight and strategy process of the City of Vienna

In 2006 the City of Vienna launched a foresight and strategy process to revisit its urban research and innovation policy. This process undoubtedly had a major impact on policy; in fact, several of the recommendations of the process were immediately translated into policy decisions, others are planned to be implemented in the years to come. In spite of this apparent success, a more critical and systematic assessment of the process shows that the apparent short-term success of the process seems to come at the cost of limited medium- to long-term impact, associated with a low degree of novelty and the avoidance of controversy. The impact assessment is based on a framework that focuses on three key functions of foresight in relation to policy making: informing, counselling, and facilitating policy making at short-, medium- and long-term. Obviously, only the short-term impact assessment can rely on empirical observations, but there are also several indications of likely shortcomings with respect to the medium- and long-term impacts. Moreover, evidence can be given of process mechanisms that have been conducive to the generation of rather conservative outcomes. After introducing the impact assessment framework and the general process design, objectives and results of the Viennese innovation policy foresight and strategy process and the different impact dimensions will be analysed and assessed for different time horizons. The reasons for success in terms of short-term policy impacts will be highlighted, but also the factors that seem to hamper medium- and long-term impacts from arising. Finally, some generic lessons learned from the Viennese experience will be discussed.

European Union enlargement: economic restructuring in candidate countries and the roles of technological change and education

The envisaged European Union (EU) enlargement will widen the spread of economic structures and wealth levels across the EU. However, experience with previous rounds of accessions has shown that the transition to stable growth matters more for the acceptance and development of the Union than does cohesion among its members. Building new innovation systems is the key to growth, while institution building and implementation of the legal acts of European policy are the main framing issues. After outlining some perspectives, hopes and fears, the paper analyses economic restructuring in candidate countries and addresses technological change, training and education as pivotal factors in the transition to a European knowledge-based society. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

ServPPINs as instruments for realizing system innovations: two case studies in passenger transport in Austria

This book is devoted to the study of public–private innovation networks in services (ServPPINs). These are a new type of innovation network which have rapidly developed in service economies. ServPPINs are collaborations between public and private service organisations, their objective being the development of new and improved services which encompass both technological and non-technological innovations.

Policy developments and measures for enhancing ServPPINs dynamics

This book is devoted to the study of public–private innovation networks in services (ServPPINs). These are a new type of innovation network which have rapidly developed in service economies. ServPPINs are collaborations between public and private service organisations, their objective being the development of new and improved services which encompass both technological and non-technological innovations.