vub director, bsi - chair... · multidisciplinary+aspects •...
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Prof. Michael DoomsVUB
Joost Vaesen, Ph.D.Director, BSI
Sustainable Enterprise Mobility:The company car debate and beyond
A Research Chair initiative
Prof. dr. Michaël Dooms (VUB)Prof. dr. Joost Vaesen (VUB – BSI)
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Context (1)• Controversial public debate on tax shift generates open conflict between stakeholders, played out in the press• “File shift: zet voordelen bedrijfswagens om in dalinglasten op arbeid” (De Tijd, 26/11/2014)
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Context (2)• Add: every stakeholder employs own definitions and impact numbers!
Against? In Favour?“€ 4 billion of subsidies for company cars (or was it € 2 billion?)” “1 out 2 cars in Brussels traffic jams is a company car”“More company cars = more pollution + more congestion”“Beneficiaries of company cars significantly drive more for private use”“Are more polluting due to bigger engines and thus cause more cancer”
Etc.
“15% of all cars registered in Belgium (or was is 20%)”?“Vehicles with lower emission rates than privately owned cars (80% under Euro 4 versus 95% under Euro 5)”“Do not significantly drive more distance for private use”“€ 15 billion as contribution to the Treasury”
Etc.
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Context (3)
• Add: outright “war” rhetoric!• “Stakeholder X smelled blood and started…”• “Numbers (note: formerly bullets) whistle us around the ears…”
• Add: questionable causal linkages playing on emotions of the public opinion!• Suggest linkages of company cars with e.g. cancer impact
• This is not new: cfr. night flight debate (“causes X amount of dead persons per year”).
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What next?
• Towards the next “independent” study financed by one or other stakeholder?• Towards the next partial approach to the phenomenon?• Continue opinion based and/or contested facts debate?• Deepen the trenches (ongoing since previous decade)?
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Concept of research chair• NOT:• Contract research by (a) university(-‐ies) financed by one or more external parties with specific scope, objectives and predefined outputs
• RATHER:• Research fund managed by a chair holder at the university to provide new, independent insights into a relevant and complex societal phenomenon • Co-‐creation of a research agenda by the various stakeholders, followed by implementation, debate and monitoring (no predefined plan, but rather a vision)
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Some examples @ VUB
• PPP Chair (Deloitte, Laga, Grontmij, Triodos and KBC)• Ethical finance (6 insurance majors)• Corelio chair media and society• BNP Paribas Chair• Career Moves Chair (Adecco, Atlas Copco, Securitas, De Morgen)
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Main principles
• Multi-‐disciplinary• Stakeholder inclusion through appropriate governance mechanisms• Joint Fact Finding between academic, industrial and policy stakeholders• Important emphasis on dissemination of knowledge obtained by the chair’s activity• Symposia, Roundtables,…
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Multidisciplinary aspects• Macro-‐economic (impact on tax policy, competitiveness)• Micro-‐economic (impact on individual income and choices, and purchasing power)• Industrial policy (impact on automotive industry and related activities)• Technology/ecology (impact of technological advances cfr. electric, self-‐driving vehicles, big data,… )• Spatial dimensions (large urban zone planning)• Social and demographic factors (personal time usage, transport/mobility flow patterns)• Political sensitivities: large amount of stakeholders• …
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Brussels Studies Institute (BSI)
• Cross-‐disciplinary en cross-‐community approach• Through structural support and collaboration with Brussels Studies Institute (BSI) http://www.bsi-‐brussels.be (ULB, VUB, USL-‐B) • Guarantees involvement of different scientific disciplines of both communities (FR / NL) • Dissemination through BSI channels
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Brussels Studies Institute = ?
BSI Members
• 24 research centres + individual members
• Affiliated to 6 universities• Critical mass of 200+ researchers in # fields of research on Brussels / urban studies
• Close collaboration with e-‐journal Brussels Studies & Brussels Academy
Mission
• To build interuniversity & multidisciplinary teams in research on Brussels & Big Cities
• To produce integrated multi-‐actor knowledge on Brussels/Big Cities
• To disseminate & valorise knowledge • In (co-‐constructive) dialoguewith actors in the field
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Operationalization of the main strategic goals in 2012-‐2014
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Range of (non)academics involved in BSI activities
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BSI supported research (tools) so far
• BSI only builds & sustains “multi-‐actor” (interuniversity/multi-‐disciplinary) projects on Brussels/Big Cities
• Partnership regarding dissemination (articles Brussels Studies) & training (seminars & lectures Brussels Academy)
• Funding from public, semi-‐public & private actors (multi-‐funding)
• # types of output
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Higher Education & RDI System Student Housing
Housing World War I
BSI – BruS Meta-‐Syntheses (4) – e.g. Mobility
Museums
Youth & Youngsters Innovation/ mentalhealth /…
BSI Organizational Chart
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Mission statement chair• Through cross-‐disciplinary, independent scientific research, develop and validate basic hypotheses on definitions and quantified impactsof the current phenomenon• Strong, open and transparent collaboration between stakeholders to build a scientifically valid knowledge base on the topic of mobility and its fiscal aspects, including jointly validated policy scenarios • Assess various policy scenarios on their contribution to sustainable development (triple bottom line), and impact on various stakeholders• From a risk driven approach to an opportunity driven context
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Financing partners
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Principles (1)
• Research fund of approx. 450k€ that will fund multidisciplinary teams on several subprojects in line with the vision• Vision text to be developed before end of 2015 through collaboration between academics, industry, interest groups and policy experts (workshop in November)• First subproject(s) to start Q1 2016
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Principles (2)
• Duration of 4 years, 6-‐monthly public events (stakeholder advisory board) where results are discussed and disseminated• 3 years for research and dissemination• 1 year for valorization (towards elections 2019) – larger conference and book
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Governance • Independent chair and academic coordinators:
• Chair observed by Brussels Studies Institute (BSI)• Coordinators: Prof. dr. Michaël Dooms (VUB) – expert stakeholder management en industry/science collaboration and Prof. dr. Joost Vaesen (managing director BSI)
• Executive board and steering committee (12 members, 1/3 financing parties, 1/3 stakeholders and independent experts, 1/3 BSI)• Responsible for implementation of the vision and monitoring of the research progress
• Advisory board (stakeholders, no limit to participation)• Sounding board, provide ideas and advice on research, validation of research results, policy implications discussions, …
• Scientific committee (high-‐level independent scientific experts)• Assess both proposals and research on methodological soundness, provide advice to steering committee
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Conclusion • Join us!• Share your ideas, needs, data, information, insights• A Chair = To Share• Come out of the trenches, but not to attack…• A joint stakeholder effort potentially leads to better policy (instead of ill-‐informed top-‐down government decisions)
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www.bsi-‐brussels.be
https://www.facebook.com/BrusselsStudiesInstitute