IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v10y2018i11p4154-d182217.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Fostering Cross-Sector Collaboration to Promote Innovation in the Water Sector

Author

Listed:
  • Lorenzo Compagnucci

    (Department of Law, University of Macerata, Piaggia della Libertà, 2, 62100 Macerata, Italy)

  • Francesca Spigarelli

    (Department of Law, University of Macerata, Piaggia della Libertà, 2, 62100 Macerata, Italy)

Abstract

Ongoing global climate change, growing population and the intensification of economic activities, increase pressure on water resources, a situation many see as a water governance crisis. Water-related issues are becoming a limiting factor for sustainable economic growth and require a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach, to foster innovative solutions. This paper provides an evidence-based contribution to understanding Triple Helix Model (THM) relations and the path to innovation policy in the water sector. The analysis focuses on the interaction between university–industry–government, with specific reference to the Murcia region in Southeast Spain. This region combines a chronic shortage of water and a leading role for agriculture. Starting from the experience of a researcher, working for the General Water Council of the Murcia Region, this paper is based on both desk research and in-depth personal interviews with representatives of THM actors. In addition, a questionnaire was forwarded to all those companies in charge of providing water services in the Murcia region. The study has found that stakeholders are not fully cooperative in seeking innovation. The main challenges are the renewal of water-related facilities and the improvement of remote control systems, denitrification and desalination technologies and achieving better energy efficiency. To this aim, THM approach is suggested as a source of local innovation policies, identifying a series of tools to foster a collaborative approach.

Suggested Citation

  • Lorenzo Compagnucci & Francesca Spigarelli, 2018. "Fostering Cross-Sector Collaboration to Promote Innovation in the Water Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-24, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:11:p:4154-:d:182217
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/11/4154/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/11/4154/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Carlos Rodrigues & Ana Melo, 2012. "The Triple Helix Model as an Instrument of Local Response to the Economic Crisis," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(9), pages 1483-1496, July.
    2. Anna Alberini & Paolo Rosato & Alberto Longo & Valentina Zanatta, 2005. "Information and Willingness to Pay in a Contingent Valuation Study: The Value of S. Erasmo in the Lagoon of Venice," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(2), pages 155-175.
    3. Robert Huggins & Andrew Johnston & Rebecca Steffenson, 2008. "Universities, knowledge networks and regional policy," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 1(2), pages 321-340.
    4. Conti, Annamaria & Gaule, Patrick, 2011. "Is the US outperforming Europe in university technology licensing? A new perspective on the European Paradox," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 123-135, February.
    5. Carlos Rodrigues & Ana I. Melo, 2013. "The Triple Helix Model as Inspiration for Local Development Policies: An Experience-Based Perspective," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(5), pages 1675-1687, September.
    6. Tomasz Mroczkowski & Miroslaw Miller, 2017. "Envisioning Smart Development in Poland from a Triple Helix Systems Perspective: a Critical Assessment of the Morawiecki Plan," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 8(2), pages 513-535, June.
    7. Elisa BARBIERI & Lauretta RUBINI & Alessandra MICOZZI, 2013. "Evaluating policies for innovation and university-firm relations. An investigation on the attitude of Italian academic entrepreneurs towards collaborations with firms," Economia Marche / Journal of Applied Economics, Universita' Politecnica delle Marche (I) / Fondazione Aristide Merloni (I), vol. 0(2), pages 17-45, December.
    8. John Fawell & Kristell Le Corre & Paul Jeffrey, 2016. "Common or independent? The debate over regulations and standards for water reuse in Europe," International Journal of Water Resources Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(4), pages 559-572, July.
    9. Jari Kolehmainen & Joe Irvine & Linda Stewart & Zoltan Karacsonyi & Tünde Szabó & Juha Alarinta & Anders Norberg, 2016. "Quadruple Helix, Innovation and the Knowledge-Based Development: Lessons from Remote, Rural and Less-Favoured Regions," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 7(1), pages 23-42, March.
    10. Larsen, Maria Theresa, 2011. "The implications of academic enterprise for public science: An overview of the empirical evidence," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 6-19, February.
    11. Etzkowitz, Henry & Leydesdorff, Loet, 2000. "The dynamics of innovation: from National Systems and "Mode 2" to a Triple Helix of university-industry-government relations," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 109-123, February.
    12. Dinar, Ariel, 2012. "Economy-wide implications of direct and indirect policy interventions in the water sector: lessons from recent work and future research needs," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6068, The World Bank.
    13. Etzkowitz, Henry & Webster, Andrew & Gebhardt, Christiane & Terra, Branca Regina Cantisano, 2000. "The future of the university and the university of the future: evolution of ivory tower to entrepreneurial paradigm," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 313-330, February.
    14. Riccardo Viale, 2010. "Knowledge-driven Capitalization of Knowledge," Chapters, in: Riccardo Viale & Henry Etzkowitz (ed.), The Capitalization of Knowledge, chapter 1, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    15. Loet Leydesdorff, 2012. "The Triple Helix, Quadruple Helix, …, and an N-Tuple of Helices: Explanatory Models for Analyzing the Knowledge-Based Economy?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 3(1), pages 25-35, March.
    16. Henry Etzkowitz, 2006. "The new visible hand: An assisted linear model of science and innovation policy," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 33(5), pages 310-320, June.
    17. Birkner Zoltán & Máhr Tivadar & Berkes Nora Rodek, 2017. "Changes in Responsibilities and Tasks of Universities in Regional Innovation Ecosystems," Naše gospodarstvo/Our economy, Sciendo, vol. 63(2), pages 15-21, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Luthra, Sunil & Sharma, Manu & Kumar, Anil & Joshi, Sudhanshu & Collins, Eva & Mangla, Sachin, 2022. "Overcoming barriers to cross-sector collaboration in circular supply chain management: a multi-method approach," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    2. Riikka P. Rajala & Tapio S. Katko & Gunta Springe, 2019. "Students’ Perceived Priorities on Water as a Human Right, Natural Resource, and Multiple Goods," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-17, November.
    3. María-Jesús Luengo-Valderrey & Julián Pando-García & Iñaki Periáñez-Cañadillas & Amparo Cervera-Taulet, 2020. "Analysis of the Impact of the Triple Helix on Sustainable Innovation Targets in Spanish Technology Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-20, April.
    4. Qidong Huang & Jiajun Xu, 2019. "Rethinking Environmental Bureaucracies in River Chiefs System (RCS) in China: A Critical Literature Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-13, March.
    5. Benoît Desmarchelier & Faridah Djellal & Faïz Gallouj, 2018. "Public Service Innovation Networks (PSINs): Collaborating for Innovation and Value Creation," Working Papers halshs-01934275, HAL.
    6. Benoît Desmarchelier & Faridah Djellal & Faïz Gallouj, 2020. "Towards a servitization of innovation networks: a mapping," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(9), pages 1368-1397, July.
    7. Benoît Desmarchelier & Faridah Djellal & Faïz Gallouj, 2019. "Towards a servitization of innovation networks: from traditional innovation networks to public service innovation networks for social innovation," Post-Print halshs-03177975, HAL.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Francesco Campanella & Maria Rosaria Della Peruta & Stefano Bresciani & Luca Dezi, 2017. "Quadruple Helix and firms’ performance: an empirical verification in Europe," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 42(2), pages 267-284, April.
    2. Noriko Yoda & Kenichi Kuwashima, 2020. "Triple Helix of University–Industry–Government Relations in Japan: Transitions of Collaborations and Interactions," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 11(3), pages 1120-1144, September.
    3. Alberto Gherardini & Alberto Nucciotti, 2017. "Yesterday’s giants and invisible colleges of today. A study on the ‘knowledge transfer’ scientific domain," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 112(1), pages 255-271, July.
    4. Chai, Sen & Shih, Willy, 2016. "Bridging science and technology through academic–industry partnerships," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 148-158.
    5. Milica Jovanović & Gordana Savić & Yuzhuo Cai & Maja Levi-Jakšić, 2022. "Towards a Triple Helix based efficiency index of innovation systems," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(5), pages 2577-2609, May.
    6. Mêgnigbêto, Eustache, 2018. "Modelling the Triple Helix of university-industry-government relationships with game theory: Core, Shapley value and nucleolus as indicators of synergy within an innovation system," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 1118-1132.
    7. Jessica García-Terán & Annika Skoglund, 2019. "A Processual Approach for the Quadruple Helix Model: the Case of a Regional Project in Uppsala," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 10(3), pages 1272-1296, September.
    8. Compagnucci, Lorenzo & Spigarelli, Francesca, 2020. "The Third Mission of the university: A systematic literature review on potentials and constraints," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    9. Roberto Iorio & Sandrine Labory & Francesco Rentocchini, 2014. "Academics’ Motivations and Depth and Breadth of Knowledge Transfer Activities," Working Papers 1401, c.MET-05 - Centro Interuniversitario di Economia Applicata alle Politiche per L'industria, lo Sviluppo locale e l'Internazionalizzazione.
    10. Wipo, 2011. "World Intellectual Property Report 2011- The Changing Face of Innovation," WIPO Economics & Statistics Series, World Intellectual Property Organization - Economics and Statistics Division, number 2011:944, April.
    11. Serrano García, Jakeline & Acevedo Álvarez, Carlos Alberto & Castelblanco Gómez, Johnatan Mauricio & Arbeláez Toro, Juan José, 2017. "Measuring organizational capabilities for technological innovation through a fuzzy inference system," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 93-109.
    12. Xiaoran Zheng & Yuzhuo Cai, 2022. "Transforming Innovation Systems into Innovation Ecosystems: The Role of Public Policy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-26, June.
    13. Fabrizio Cesaroni & Andrea Piccaluga, 2016. "The activities of university knowledge transfer offices: towards the third mission in Italy," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 41(4), pages 753-777, August.
    14. König, Jonas & Suwala, Lech & Delargy, Colin, 2020. "Helix Models of Innovation and Sustainable Development Goals," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, pages 1-15.
    15. Kim, Younghwan & Kim, Wonjoon & Yang, Taeyong, 2012. "The effect of the triple helix system and habitat on regional entrepreneurship: Empirical evidence from the U.S," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 154-166.
    16. Erwan Lamy & Nadine Levratto, 2004. "L’hypothèse de la triple hélice dans le dispositif français d’innovation : L’hypothèse de la triple hélice dans le dispositif français d’innovation : le cas de l'Auvergne," Industrial Organization 0406009, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Lyudmila Nikolaevna Perepechko & Galina Yakovlevna Belyakova, 2018. "The Interconnection among Science, Industry, State, and Society in Russia," Journal of Developing Societies, , vol. 34(4), pages 425-443, December.
    18. Devrim Goktepe, 2003. "The Triple Helix as a model to analyze Israeli Magnet Program and lessons for late-developing countries like Turkey," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 58(2), pages 219-239, October.
    19. Elias G. Carayannis & David F. J. Campbell, 2021. "Democracy of Climate and Climate for Democracy: the Evolution of Quadruple and Quintuple Helix Innovation Systems," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 12(4), pages 2050-2082, December.
    20. Per Blenker & Poul Dreisler & John Kjeldsen, 2006. "Entrepreneurship Education at University Level ? Contextual Challenges," Working Papers 151, Tallinn School of Economics and Business Administration, Tallinn University of Technology.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:11:p:4154-:d:182217. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.