Successful implementation of radical innovations is rare in infrastructure markets. Many regard this as a lost opportunity. After all, innovations usually lead to technological improvements and economic development. But why is it that some innovations are successful while others aren’t? Some speculate that it is government regulations that keep private parties from innovating. Or are there other barriers?
“It fascinates me that many of the most brilliant ideas never get past the drawing table,” says researcher Martin Schulz at Berenschot. “Innovations that everyone would benefit from, often never happen.”
Schulz is wondering why that is. It often seems, as he points out, as though innovation happens as a result of random processes, through coincidental interactions between the government, companies and the technology sector. “But usually there are in fact underlying factors that create the right opportunities for innovation,” he says. “Government regulation seems to play only a minor role. Much more important is the strategic ‘game’ that is played by all actors. Our challenge is to understand that process.”
To that end, Schulz is looking at past innovations that shaped our modern society. He is especially interested in the role that public values play in this regard. Public values and innovation are closely interrelated, as he indicates. Sometimes innovation creates new public values. The development of Internet, for instance, led to a need to address issues such as safety, access and protection of personal data. “But the opposite happens as well,” Schulz emphasizes. “The need to protect people from the sea led to the development of the Delta Works: one of the greatest technological innovations of our time.”
Ideally, he notes, innovation takes place in anticipation of public values that may become important in the future. This can be done by bringing together actors with various perspectives to work together to analyze trends and respond to them well in advance. “The most interesting challenge in this process is balancing conflicting public values,” Schulz argues, “such as safety and affordability, or safety and environmental sustainability. It is that subtle game of trade-offs that leads to the most valuable innovations."
