Science is without doubt a fundamental ingredient for innovation. However, it is not always easy to apply it in an efficient way and adapt it to specific environments and societies. So how can we efficiently translate science and innovation into rules and best practice? This was the topic of ‘Science meets Parliaments’, a two-day event organised by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) and STOA, where ERTICO was present to discuss its role in the policy making process.
ERTICO’s expert Monica Giannini was invited to participate in the roundtable discussion ‘Shaping the future of transport: living labs and smart regulation to address its complexity”, to discuss the expected contributions of new technologies that improve transport and mobility, as well to identify possible threats and the potential need for regulatory actions.
Together with important names in the mobility sector, such as Ismail Ertug, MEP; Maria Iglesias, Maive Rute and Biagio Ciuffo from the JRC; Jaak Aaviksoo, Rector of Tallinn University of Technology and Peter Janevik from AstaZero living lab, Monica described the role of ERTICO in transforming science into efficient policy support thanks to public-private and cross-sectoral collaboration.
“I’m really a fan of cooperation, especially international. I believe it is the ingredient that should be in every project and every development, especially for ITS and for complex solutions. One cannot deploy something alone: you can be an expert in technology, but in order to apply this to solve specific issues, you must also understand the impact of your innovation on a social, economic and business level. That is why we need a combination of stakeholders who work in both public and private sectors and who have multiple backgrounds,” she said.
“It is important to have an association like ERTICO that can put together different stakeholders working in the field of ITS and create a neutral place where ITS deployment and the development of related policies can take place”, she added.
These discussions highlighted the importance of ERTICO’s role of bringing together stakeholders from different sectors to work on common regulations and solutions for a prosperous future in the mobility sector.
