Smart Innovation Policy: The Role of Policy Entrepreneur

In setting a new policy in smart city innovation, the role of Policy Entrepreneurs are critical from agenda-setting through the implementation of the policy. In the case study of Automated Vehicle (AV) in the Netherland, Gironés et al. (2020) described the process of how AV was first proposed in 2010 until being implemented starting 2018. Policy Entrepreneurs are actor who invest their resource in the development of a policy through coupling problems and solutions to convince policymakers in adopting and implementing their solutions. During the process Policy Entrepreneurs use facts to persuade a certain view and frame the problem to the policymakers. 

In the Netherland case, the Policy Entrepreneurs from automotive industry, mobility sector, and automotive education worked together to champion the AV interest to policy circles as a potential transformative technology in cities.  They also worked together in the activities of legislation, human behaviour, business partnership, standardisation and so on. Policymakers accepted the ideas that are believed to minimise traffic, allows more space for public transport, reduce greenhouse emission, and have significant economic impact. Thus, by 2015 the idea of AV transformed into a flagship project on the smart mobility agenda in Netherland. 

Reference:

Gironés, E. S., van Est, R., & Verbong, G. (2020). The role of policy entrepreneurs in defining directions of innovation policy: A case study of automated driving in the Netherlands. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 161, 120243.

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