CAPOEIRA - Co-ordination Action of Ports for Integration of Efficient Innovations and Development of Adequate Research, Development and Innovation Activities
Overview
Background & policy context:
Ports are key elements of the European Transport System. Over 90% of Europe's trade with the rest of the world (and almost half of intra-European trade) is shipped through ports and expected figures are much more impressive for the future: the European Sea Ports Organisation estimates that traffic in European ports will double from 2006 to 2015. At the same time, constraints (in terms of ships' size, ships' calls, available space, etc.) and requirements (in terms of environmental protection, security, safety, profitability, etc.) will have severely increased.
Such a future scenario emphasises the needs of European ports for further developments and innovations. Therefore, investments in research, development and innovation (RDI) for ports represent several billions of Euros each year. However, various RDI projects have been realised in the past which never passed the commercialisation threshold. As ports are nodal points for the repartition of goods through inland transport networks, failure in one port has consequences for the entire supply chain. Issues of RDI activities and associated investments in ports are therefore of major importance for the future development of a sustainable transport system.
CAPOEIRA concentrates on maximising the opportunities for successful RDI in the field of freight transport activities in ports.
Objectives:
The objectives of CAPOEIRA were:
- To improve the chances of success of applied research in the field of freight transport in ports (terminal and intermodal aspects).
- To identify critical factors for success and determine recommendations concerning future RDI projects.
- To help to define a research roadmap at short, medium and long terms (until 2020) with all actors (ports, operators, industrial manufacturer, state administrations, trades unions, technological platform and advisory councils).
In such a context, CAPOEIRA aimed at minimising the risks of public or private investments in RDI activities in ports, i.e. to contribute to a better commercial success rate of future projects and products. CAPOEIRA concentrated on RDI in the field of freight transport activities in ports (handling, ICT, inland networks' access etc.).
Methodology:
The project was divided into six work packages (WPs):
WP 1 - Project management
WP 2 - Assessment of past research projects
WP 3 - Diagnosis of the present situation
WP 4 - Assumptions on the future
WP 5 - Conclusions and recommendations and
WP 6 - Dissemination.
CAPOEIRA began by identifying critical factors for RDI success through the analysis of failures and successes of previous projects, and of RDI activities in three representative European ports over the last ten years. Based on the analysis of the present situation and of the visions for the future of the relevant actors, guidelines for current and future RDI projects were then produced, and common port research topics were issued for short, medium and long terms.
It was a question, at any given time within the lifespan of this Coordination Action, of combining 'who' (the society), 'with what' (techniques) and 'where' (the territory) and thus ensuring that the 'offer' (the innovation) is actually a response to a 'demand' and minimise the risks of research and associated investments (public and private). This approach is called the 'Techniques - society - territory' (TST) approach. The TST process was structured around the following activities:
- Data collection;
- Data processing;
- Assessment and validation by concerned actors and experts.
The approach was divided into separate stages of action, namely:
- Stage 1: reading of documents;
- Stage 2: TST model design;
- Stage 3: interviews of actors;
- Stage 4: TST model development;
- Stage 5: analysis and reporting;
- Stage 6: workshop realisation.
A TST model was specifically designed and developed so as to address the implementation stage of an innovation. The TST sub-systems contained the necessary elements to form an adequate model.
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