Exploring the role of servitization to overcome barriers for innovative energy efficiency technologies – the case of public LED street lighting in German municipalities

In this paper we analyse the case for public application of LED street lighting. Drawing from the energy services literature and transaction cost economics, we compare modes of lighting governance for modernisation. We argue that servitization can accelerate the commercialisation and diffusion of end-use energy demand reduction (EUED) technologies in the public sector if third party energy service companies (ESCo) overcome technological, institutional and economic barriers that accompany the introduction of such technologies resulting in transaction costs. This can only succeed with a supportive policy framework and an environment conducive towards the dissemination of specific technological and commercial knowledge required for the diffusion process

ERAWATCH country reports 2011 : Malta

Acknowledgement: The University of Malta would like to acknowledge its gratitude to the European Commission, Joint Research Centre for their permission to upload this work on OAR@UoM. Further reuse of this document can be made, provided the source is acknowledged. This work was made available with the help of the Publications Office of the European Union, Copyright and Legal Issues Section.The main objective of the ERAWATCH Annual Country Reports is to characterise and assess the performance of national research systems and related policies in a structured manner that is comparable across countries. EW Country Reports 2011 identify the structural challenges faced by national innovation systems. They further analyse and assess the ability of the policy mix in place to consistently and efficiently tackle these challenges. The annex of the reports gives an overview of the latest national policy efforts towards the enhancement of European Research Area and further assess their efficiency to achieve the targets. These reports were originally produced in November - December 2011, focusing on policy developments over the previous twelve months. The reports were produced by the ERAWATCH Network under contract to JRC-IPTS. The analytical framework and the structure of the reports have been developed by the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies of the Joint Research Centre (JRC-IPTS) and Directorate General for Research and Innovation with contributions from ERAWATCH Network Asblpeer-reviewe

Managing at the Speed of Light: Improving Mission-Support Performance

The House and Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittees requested this study to help DOE's three major mission-support organizations improve their operations to better meet the current and future needs of the department. The passage of the Recovery Act only increased the importance of having DOE's mission-support offices working in the most effective, efficient, and timely manner as possible. While following rules and regulations is essential, the foremost task of the mission-support offices is to support the department's mission, i.e., the programs that DOE is implementing, whether in Washington D.C. or in the field. As a result, the Panel offered specific recommendations to strengthen the mission-focus and improve the management of each of the following support functions based on five "management mandates":- Strategic Vision- Leadership- Mission and Customer Service Orientation- Tactical Implementation- Agility/AdaptabilityKey FindingsThe Panel made several recommendations in each of the functional areas examined and some overarching recommendations for the corporate management of the mission-support offices that they believed would result in significant improvements to DOE's mission-support operations. The Panel believed that adopting these recommendations will not only make DOE a better functioning organization, but that most of them are essential if DOE is to put its very large allocation of Recovery Act funding to its intended uses as quickly as possible

PPPs in the EU: a critical appraisal

The full critical overview report on PPPs in Europe, as presented at the ASPE conference in St Petersburg November 2008. This report examines the experience with PPPs in Europe. It is presented in six sections: - Concept and definitions of PPPs - Overview of development of PPPs in Europe - EU laws and policies in relation to PPPs - Myths about PPPs - Evaluating PPPs – a framework covering cost of capital, construction costs, operating costs, transaction costs, and uncertainty - The lessons of the Metronet failure in the U

Innovation and Collective Entrepreneurship

This paper examines different forms of innovation including social innovation, and why innovation and social innovation have become important themes in public policy in a context of the increasing and diverse demands on welfare regimes, and in an era of constrained budgets. It will review different perspectives on innovation and social innovation and the dynamic interaction through collective entrepreneurship in the social and solidarity economy; bringing out process and outcome dimensions of innovation. And it will develop an understanding of the drivers and barriers to innovation, including the role of the institutional and policy framework. It will set this analysis within the context of public policy, demonstrating their role in enabling such innovations in the social and solidarity economy

Policy Issues in U.S. Transportation Public-Private Partnerships: Lessons from Australia, Research Report 09-15

In this report, the authors examine Australia’s experience with transportation public-private partnerships (PPPs) and the lessons that experience holds for the use of PPPs in the United States. Australia now has decades of experience in PPP use in transportation, and has used the approach to deliver billions of dollars in project value. Although this report explores a range of issues, the authors focus on four policy issues that have been salient in the United States: (1) how the risks inherent in PPP contracts should be distributed across public and private sector partners; (2) when and how to use non-compete (or compensation) clauses in PPP contracts; (3) how concerns about monopoly power are best addressed; and (4) the role and importance of concession length. The study examines those and other questions by surveying the relevant literature on PPP international use. The authors also interviewed 23 Australian PPP experts from the academic, public and private sectors, and distilled lessons from those interviews

The innovative capacity of a territory in behavioral assessments of its population

The paper provides a rationale for substantive and formalized definition of a territory’s capacity, outlines its innovative component in the unity of «subject/process/object-oriented» approach to its substantive content and performance assessment. It elaborates a system of mechanisms and institutions to build the innovative capacity of regions and territories, outlines the most effective areas of its use for spatial socioeconomic development. The paper also defines priority problems that require solutions and can ensure the increasing performance of a territory. These problems and variants of their solutions featured in the discussions held at the Gaidar International Economic Forum in Moscow (2015) and the 12th Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum, as demonstrated in this paper by the analysis of some presentations made at the forums. The paper shows the change in priorities of global innovative development in the second half of the 20th and early 21st century. It examines and provides the summary of research and practices in the area of using the innovative solutions for developing individual teams and territories, making a spatial arrangement of regions and the Russian Federation as a whole. The development of a territory and its capacity depends on many factors; however, elevating the role of knowledge, intellectual resources and involving the population in the governance process by developing and implementing various programs and projects play an increasing role in the current environment. The paper analyzes positive aspects of using the business projects as the primary mechanism for implementing the programs and plans involving the market institutions and public-private partnership (PPP). It assesses the role of teams and population in boosting the innovative activities and systemic development of territories.This paper was prepared with the funds of Subprogram No. 14 "Fundamental Problems of Regional Economy," the Project No. 15-14-7-13 "Scenario Approaches to the Implementation of the Ural Vector in the Reclamation and Development of the Russian Arctic Amid the Global Instability.

Flat-plate solar array project. Volume 1: Executive summary

In 1975, the U.S. Government contracted the Jet Propulsion Lab. to develop, by 1985, in conjunction with industry, the photovoltaics (PV) module and array technology required for widespread use of photovoltaics as a significant terrestrial energy source. As a result, a project that eventually became known as the Flat Plate Solar Array (FSA) Project was formed to manage an industry, university, and Government team to perform the necessary research and development. The original goals were to achieve widespread commercial use of PV modules and arrays through the development of technology that would allow them to be profitably sold for $1.07/peak watts (1985 dollars). A 10% module conversion efficiency and a 20 year lifetime were also goals. It is intended that the executive summary provide the means by which one can gain a perspective on 11 years of terrestrial photovoltaic research and development conducted by the FSA Project