The composite indicators used in assessing innovation at national level

The purpose of present paper is to present some recent developments in constructing composite innovation (or even, science and technology S&T) indicators on a national level. Measuring innovation at the national level is crucial in developing appropriate long term strategies for economic growth, because it is widely believed technological innovation is one of the main drivers of sustained economic-social welfare, if not the single most important driver of economic growth. Our purpose is to present a mapping exercise of metrics – based on composite indicators - found in the STI literature, pointing out those used in practice, with a view to corresponding values in the case of Romania. It has become standard practice to combine several indicators for science, technology, and innovation to form composite numbers. Composite indicators are increasingly being used to make cross-national comparisons of country performance in specified areas such as competitiveness, globalisation, innovation, etc.Innovation, innovation metrics, Science and Technology indicators, composite indicators, National Innovation Systems, Scoreboards.

Key Factors Which Contribute to the Participation of Consumers in Demand Response Programs and Enable the Proliferation of Renewable Energy Sources

Consumer behaviour in the energy field is playing a more important role in the new approach dominated by the proliferation of renewable energy sources. In this new context, the grid has to balance the intermittent and uncertain renewable energy generated, and find solutions, also, on the consumer side for increasing the stability and reliability of the energy system. The main de-mand response solutions are price and incentive based, but there is a need to identify the main factors which can influence their efficiency due to the fact that there is a lack of knowledge about the preferences of consumers. The main goal of this article is to identify the main demand response solutions and the related key factors which influence the participation of consumers in demand response programs and may contribute to the spread of renewable energy sources. For this research, semi-structured interviews were organised with experts in energy from Romania, Hungary and Serbia, as well as workshops with experts in energy, and an online survey with customers for electricity. This article reduces the gap between the results of technical studies, related in demand response programs, and their practical implementations, where the consumer behaviour and its social dimensions are neglected even though, in reality, they are playing the main role. The results suggest that the consumer’s participation in demand response programs is highly influenced by different aspects related to the promotion of the renewable energy and the reduction of CO2 emissions and the global warming impact

Key Factors Which Contribute to the Participation of Consumers in Demand Response Programs and Enable the Proliferation of Renewable Energy Sources

Consumer behaviour in the energy field is playing a more important role in the new approach dominated by the proliferation of renewable energy sources. In this new context, the grid has to balance the intermittent and uncertain renewable energy generated, and find solutions, also, on the consumer side for increasing the stability and reliability of the energy system. The main de-mand response solutions are price and incentive based, but there is a need to identify the main factors which can influence their efficiency due to the fact that there is a lack of knowledge about the preferences of consumers. The main goal of this article is to identify the main demand response solutions and the related key factors which influence the participation of consumers in demand response programs and may contribute to the spread of renewable energy sources. For this research, semi-structured interviews were organised with experts in energy from Romania, Hungary and Serbia, as well as workshops with experts in energy, and an online survey with customers for electricity. This article reduces the gap between the results of technical studies, related in demand response programs, and their practical implementations, where the consumer behaviour and its social dimensions are neglected even though, in reality, they are playing the main role. The results suggest that the consumer’s participation in demand response programs is highly influenced by different aspects related to the promotion of the renewable energy and the reduction of CO2 emissions and the global warming impact