ÔThe recent renaissance in the use of prizes to spur innovation and extraordinary novel performance warrants close attention. Luciano Kay does so through a series of compelling case studies which shows the potential of prizes, the range of factors that influence their performance and the importance of understanding their non-pecuniary dimensions, even when there is a substantial purse. This is an important contribution to the innovation literature.Õ Ð David J. Teece, University of California, Berkeley, US ÔIn the last decade innovation prizes have caught the imagination of policy makers and rich donors alike; those who actually care about the process and outcome of prizes and not only the hype, would do well to read LucianoÕs new book.Õ Ð Dan (Danny) Breznitz, Georgia Institute of Technology, US Inducement prizes Ð in which cash rewards are offered to motivate the attainment of specific targets Ð have long been used to stimulate scientific discovery and technology research and development. This volume presents an empirical investigation of the effect of these prizes on innovation. In this in-depth study, Luciano Kay focuses on three recent cases of prize competitions in the aerospace industry: the Google Lunar X Prize, the Ansari X Prize and the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge. Using a combination of real-time and historical analysis based on personal interviews, workplace visits and questionnaire and document data analysis, the author examines the particular dynamics of the prize phenomenon and offers a comprehensive discussion of the potential of prizes to induce innovation. This fascinating volume also sets out a systematic method to studying prize incentives, offering a concrete innovation model and case study design approach that will prove highly useful to further research efforts in the field. Scholars, policymakers and corporate officials interested in incentives for innovation and the practical implementation of prize competitions will find this an invaluable resource. Potential prize sponsors and entrepreneurs, professionals and other individuals or organizations interested in participating in such competitions will also find much of interest in this groundbreaking book.

What determines why some countries succeed and others fall behind? Economists have long debated the sources of economic growth, resulting in conflicting and often inaccurate claims about the role of the state, knowledge, patented ideas, monopolies, grand innovation prizes, and the nature of disruptive technologies. B. Zorina Khan's Inventing Ideas overturns conventional thinking and meticulously demonstrates how and why the mechanism design of institutions propels advances in the knowledge economy and ultimately shapes the fate of nations. Drawing on the experiences of over 100,000 inventors and innovations from Britain, France, and the United States during the first and second industrial revolutions (1750-1930), Khan's comprehensive empirical analysis provides a definitive micro-foundation for endogenous macroeconomic growth models. This groundbreaking study uses comparative analysis across time and place to show how different institutions affect technological innovation and growth. Khan demonstrates how top-down innovation systems, in which elites, state administrators, or panels make key economic decisions about prizes, rewards and the allocation of resources, prove to be ineffective and unproductive. By contrast, open-access markets in patented ideas increase the scale and scope of creativity, foster diversity and inclusiveness, generate greater knowledge spillovers, and enhance social welfare in the wider population. When institutions are associated with rewards that are misaligned with economic value and productivity, the negative consequences can accumulate and reduce comparative advantage at the level of individuals and nations alike. So who will arise as the global leader of the twenty-first century? The answer depends on the extent to which we learn and implement the lessons from the history of innovation and enterprise.

Innovation underpins competitiveness, is crucial to addressing societal challenges, and its support has become a major public policy goal. But what really works in innovation policy, and why? This Handbook, compiled by leading experts in the field, is the first comprehensive guide to understanding the logic and effects of innovation polices. The Handbook develops a conceptualisation and typology of innovation policies, presents meta-evaluations for 16 key innovation policy instruments and analyses evidence on policy-mix. For each policy instrument, underlying rationales and examples are presented, along with a critical analysis of the available impact evidence. Providing access to primary sources of impact analysis, the book offers an insightful assessment of innovation policy practice and its evaluation.

Following a congressional directive in its FY 2006 Appropriations Act, the National Science Foundation asked the STEP Board to "propose a plan for administering prizes to individuals or teams that achieve novel solutions to specified social or research needs or capitalize on recognized research opportunities." A committee under the STEP Board concluded that an ambitious program of innovation inducement prize contests would be a sound investment in strengthening the infrastructure for U.S. innovation and that NSF, although inexperienced, is well suited to designing an experimental program that could add substantially to understanding regarding the appropriate goals of such contests, the motivations of participants and sponsors, and the rules and conditions that contribute to successful contests. The committee recommends that NSF start off with a series of small-scale prizes ($200K - $2M) in diverse areas while beginning to plan for much more ambitious contests ($3M-$30M) that would address significant economic or social challenges and be conducted over several years. The report addresses many of the generic issues that arise in administering innovation prize contests (types of contests, eligibility to participate, disposition of intellectual property rights, and decisions regarding awards) and explores 7 research and technology fields that might lend themselves to prize contests.

This timely Handbook provides an excellent overview of our knowledge on the drivers, influencing factors and outcomes of energy entrepreneurship. As the world grapples with global resource crunches and fights to reap the rewards of new energy technologies, a wide space for entrepreneurialopportunity has emerged. The Handbook of Research on Energy Entrepreneurship offers critical insight on how nations the world over can make full use of those opportunities.

This book explores policy actions for the deployment of new technologies and innovations as they emerge: investment in research and development, support for commercialisation, strengthening markets and fostering technology diffusion.

As population growth accelerates, researchers and professionals face challenges as they attempt to plan for the future. E-planning is a significant component in addressing the key concerns as the world population moves towards urban environments. E-Planning and Collaboration: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications contains a compendium of the latest academic material on the emerging interdisciplinary areas of e-planning and collaboration. Including innovative studies on data management, urban development, and crowdsourcing, this multi-volume book is an ideal source for planners, policymakers, researchers, and graduate students interested in how recent technological advancements are enhancing the traditional practices in e-planning.

As populations have continued to grow and expand, many people have made their homes in cities around the globe. With this increase in city living, it is becoming vital to create intelligent urban environments that efficiently support this growth and simultaneously provide friendly and progressive environments to both businesses and citizens alike. Smart Cities and Smart Spaces: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications is an innovative reference source that discusses social, economic, and environmental issues surrounding the evolution of smart cities. Highlighting a range of topics such as smart destinations, urban planning, and intelligent communities, this multi-volume book is designed for engineers, architects, facility managers, policymakers, academicians, and researchers interested in expanding their knowledge on the emerging trends and topics involving smart cities.

This book explores emerging topics in innovation policy for more inclusive and sustainable growth, building on concrete examples, and develops the notion of experimental innovation policy.