The Role of Public-Private Partnerships in Driving Innovation L OUIS WITTERS, R EVITAL MAROM, and K URT STEINERT, Alcatel-Lucent
The Role of Public-Private Partnerships in Driving Innovation
L OUIS WITTERS, R EVITAL MAROM, and K URT STEINERT, Alcatel-Lucent
The role of public-private partnerships in national economies
The use by governments or public authorities of private contributions for public benefit is nearly as old as recorded history.1 For example, in the city-state of Athens in the 4th century BC, prominent citizens made major contributions in order to stage public festivals and religious events and to build public buildings and monuments. Some centuries later, when the Roman army conquered large parts of Europe and the Mediterranean region, civilians worked hand-in-hand with the army to exploit the new territories and build needed infrastructure.
PPPs have a long history in the
United States of America (USA) as well: the principle that government and political leaders should use and support private businesses—in order to develop scientif ic advancement and innovations for the benefit of the society—was well established at the time the country’s constitution was written. One of the first instances of a PPP in the New World occurred in
1742 when Benjamin Franklin established the American Philosophical
Society of Philadelphia, which— together with the Pennsylvania
House of Representatives—sponsored the founding of the University of Pennsylvania, the f irst medical school in the British colonies. The purpose of this collaboration was to make advancements in agriculture, science, and medicine available to all citizens. Another, more recent, renowned project that brought the business world and government together in the public interest was the building of the Paris metro: the tunnels were constructed by the city, while the tracks, energy, signalling, and rolling stock were provided by the operator, a Belgian entrepreneur.
In today’s economic environment, PPPs are defined as contractual agreements between a public agency or
L OUIS WITTERS, R EVITAL MAROM, and K URT STEINERT, Alcatel-Lucent
The role of public-private partnerships in national economies
The use by governments or public authorities of private contributions for public benefit is nearly as old as recorded history.1 For example, in the city-state of Athens in the 4th century BC, prominent citizens made major contributions in order to stage public festivals and religious events and to build public buildings and monuments. Some centuries later, when the Roman army conquered large parts of Europe and the Mediterranean region, civilians worked hand-in-hand with the army to exploit the new territories and build needed infrastructure.
PPPs have a long history in the
United States of America (USA) as well: the principle that government and political leaders should use and support private businesses—in order to develop scientif ic advancement and innovations for the benefit of the society—was well established at the time the country’s constitution was written. One of the first instances of a PPP in the New World occurred in
1742 when Benjamin Franklin established the American Philosophical
Society of Philadelphia, which— together with the Pennsylvania
House of Representatives—sponsored the founding of the University of Pennsylvania, the f irst medical school in the British colonies. The purpose of this collaboration was to make advancements in agriculture, science, and medicine available to all citizens. Another, more recent, renowned project that brought the business world and government together in the public interest was the building of the Paris metro: the tunnels were constructed by the city, while the tracks, energy, signalling, and rolling stock were provided by the operator, a Belgian entrepreneur.
In today’s economic environment, PPPs are defined as contractual agreements between a public agency or
References: Aggarwal, M., and B. Ladda. 2010. ‘PPP in Education: Workshop on PPP in Urban and Social Akkawi, A. 2010. ‘INSEAD—PPPs as Policy Instruments’ Wall. 2001. ‘Public-Private Partnerships in Seattle: A Supplement to the Seattle Voter’. Bhattacharya, D., and M. Rahman. 2010. ‘Delivering Social Infrastructure Through PPP: The Role Cellucci, T. A., ed. 2010. Innovative Public Private Partnerships: A Pathway to Effectively Solving Croplife International. 2009. ‘Advancing Agricultural Innovation through PublicPrivate Partnerships’ Crozier, J. 2010. ‘Smarter Urbanization Requires Innovative Public-Private Partnerships’ de Oliveira, A. 2011. ‘European Perspective on UserDriven Innovation (Living Labs)’. Presentation, Living Labs Seminar, 9 February, Helsinki. ENVIROFI Consortium. 2011. ‘The Environmental Observation Web and Its Service Applications Europa. 2010. ‘Developing Public Private Partnerships’ European Commission. 2011. ‘New PublicPrivate Partnerships for Research in the Manufacturing, Construction and Automotive IFC (International Finance Corporation). 2011. ‘PPP in Transport Sector’ Jazynka, S. 2007. ‘PPP ICT Case Studies’. Presentation given 26 February, Amman, Jordan, at the Koppenjan, J. 2012. ‘Public-Private Partnerships and LCCR-Investments’ Kwan, J. 2005. ‘Public Private Partnerships; Public Private Dialogue’ Oder, M. 2008. ‘OECD/SIGMA, Concessions and Public Private Partnerships’