Assessing innovation capacity in the European transport sector

Abstract

In May 2017, the European Commission (EC) adopted Strategic Transport Research and Innovation Agenda (STRIA) as part of the "Europe on the Move" policy package (European Commission, 2017a). STRIA highlights main transport research and innovation (R&I) areas and priorities for clean, connected and competitive mobility and complements the 2015 Strategic Energy Technology Plan (European Commission, 2015). A total of seven STRIA Roadmaps have been developed covering various thematic areas, namely: • Cooperative, connected and automated transport; • Transport electrification; • Vehicle design and manufacturing; • Low-emission alternative energy for transport; • Network and traffic management systems; • Smart mobility and services; and • Infrastructure. The Transport Research and Innovation Monitoring and Information System (TRIMIS) is the analytical support tool for the establishment and implementation of the STRIA, and is the EC’s instrument for mapping transport technology trends and research and innovation capacities. The assessment of transport research and development (R&D) is one of the main activities within the TRIMIS project. The objective of this report is to present the methodological framework that will be used to map private and public investment in transport R&I, and to define associated socio-economic aspects. This report examines transport R&D capacity in the European Union (EU) from a macro-level perspective. After providing the background to the analysis, a review of existing literature is presented. The methodology follows an integrated approach: a quantitative and a qualitative assessment that will build on each other. This approach provides a sound quantitative base that will be complemented and integrated with qualitative input from transport stakeholders. The assessment of private and public R&D investments in EU transport benchmarks current transport expenditure and determines future investment needs. Moreover, it identifies socio-economic factors such as organisations engaged in transport R&D, types of innovations and number of active transport researchers. The methodological framework outlined in this report is the starting point for the assessment of EU transport R&D capacity from a financial and socio-economic perspective.