Smart governance for networked infrastructures

This proposal for partnership development seeks to identify smart governance arrangements in four important networked infrastructures: energy, telecom, transport and internet. Developments like (1) the decentralization of decision-making, (2) the convergence of these sectors, (3) the internationalization of networks and (4) the role of networked IT have a great effect on innovative potential in these sectors. However, present governance structures and processes hamper unlocking that potential. Decentralisation is one of the driving forces of innovation in these sectors. It mostly means that innovation strongly depends on communities of citizens, which make these innovation processes even more intriguing: they require cooperation between governments, markets and these decentralized communities. However, decentralisation of production might also result in a tension between micro-rationality (the behaviour of decentralized producers) and macro-rationality (the behaviour of the system as a whole). Together with our government and industry partners and citizen groups we will formulate research questions on this innovative potential, governance related barriers and on smart governance arrangements to create an environment conducive to innovation.