Transferability
The ability for the transfer of new technologies and
methods of working must be central to the design
and applicability of an environmental management
project. This aspect of a project was paramount in
the selection of the sixteen demonstration
telematics projects selected for this report.
Generally, the transferability between similar
organisations or end users (public administrations,
local authorities, government ministries, decision
makers) of the systems and services developed has
been a significant factor in the design of the
projects. However, specific components, e.g. those
tailored for local administrative or monitoring tasks
are less transferable.However, beside the issue of technology transferability, which has been well developed by many TAP-EN and ESPRIT projects, other valuable results are also achieved by the transferability process. They consist of:
- facilitating the take-up of results and know-how by a broad spectrum of users
- developing generic applications and basic solutions for common European problems. In this case, the adaptation of telematics solutions and applied models to a e.g. wide range of European climatic conditions (from Scandinavia to Northern Europe, from Mediterranean countries to Eastern Europe, from continental climate to a maritime one) has been a common factor to different projects
- the creation of a wider market opportunities
- the increased relevance of results.
Further transferability issues are described for each project in theVirtual Project Gallery.
| A PRINCIPLE FACTOR FOR MANY PROJECTS IN THEIR SYSTEM DESIGN WAS TO ENSURE THE TRANSFERABILITY OF THE DEVELOPED TECHNOLOGIES AND METHODOLOGIES TO SIMILAR ORGANISATIONS AND END-USERS. |
| KEY LESSONS FOR PROJECT DESIGNERS INCLUDE 1. Ensuring that systems can be applied across a variety of sectors and by users with differing needs and backgrounds. 2. Building new technologies in a modular style within flexible frameworks to allow their use in differing applications with a minimum of redesign.
3. Providing new systems with different entry levels to allow their transfer to new uses despite specific local
management tasks.
KEY LESSONS FOR NEW USERS OF TRANSFERRED TECHNOLOGY INCLUDE
5. The acceptance of new technology and its effective transfer relies on the new technology being an appropriate
solution to customer needs. |
Urban Environmental Management
Systems
The diversity of the three demonstration areas
(Berlin, Athens and Gdansk) shows that the
ECOSIM concept can be transferred and applied in
very different situations and circumstances.
Potential user groups are administrations and
institutions dealing with urban environmental
planning and management. The ECOSIM project
consortium can offer consultancy and support to
other users.
The experience gained within the EFFECT and EMMA partnerships shows that environmental management concepts can be transferable between a variety of meteorological climates cove r i n g Scandinavia,Atlantic Europe and the Mediterranean. There are no special extra costs for transferring the application. Simpler existing infrastructure will involve the acceptance of cruder outputs. No elements appear to be site exclusive to the application and all seems transferable. The experience presented the EUROAQ report was aimed at transferability. One of the key strengths of the project was the degree to which the project report presented the arguments and thinking behind the development of local strategies within the various national frameworks. It is this philosophy which is truly transferable.
The basic concept and systems of IOZIP and HEIS-MUC could be used in or between any city or town in EU and CEE. In addition, it could also be used between cities and European or national and international administrations, and from administrations to scientific fora.
The JAMS project consists in a typical of an easy transferable air quality information system, which comprises measurement, data transmission and interpretation. Potential users will benefit from the previous implementation of the project and in particular, experience on how to solve the integration of different air quality information systems.
SIMTRAP is a tool for integrated transportation and environmental planning that can suit any region or city where traffic contributes significantly to air pollution.The transferability in a broader sense, i.e. technology transfer to other applications was a fundamental to the design of the system. In fact SIMTRAP contains two reusable elements: the design, which matches computational resources to computational needs and the component simulation models.These elements are relevant outside of its current scope of implementation.
The models could be of interest to transportation and environmental planners, even if they do NOT follow an integrated approach. An example is the traffic flow model which can be used as a test bench for future telematics services (without regard for air pollution).
Although the project team currently feels that an in-house solution (end-user owns SIMTRAP server and client) would be pre fe rred by the majority of customers, there may be scope for service providers offering computing time on a remotely accessed server. The potential service providers could form a target group outside authorities and consultants. Re-use of the design pattern and communication technology offers an indirect benefit for customers, lowering the development cost of future dedicated applications.
The application of the WATERNET tools to new sites may be constrained by the existing data collection infrastructure. However when this exists, the problems invo l ved with setting up a new application are confined to linking to the existing database(s) and configuration. The difficulties of dealing with large quantities of process data in real time are common in many large process monitoring applications. For this reason not only the methods and techniques implemented in the tool but the tool itself is largely applicable to other large-scale process monitoring problems.
Regional Environmental
Management Systems
Maximum transferability can be expected from the
Croatia-TNMN project.
The DANIS system is already applied at UNESCO for management of the International Hydrological Programme and FAO AGROCATALOGUE (Slovak input to AGRIS/FAO). DANIS know-how was also successfully applied in the design of the ENWAP and ISKO (International Society of Knowledge Organization) Home Page.
The results of the Danube-AEWS project can be transferred to any potential user groups such as authorities (dealing with water management and pollution control) and water users (waterworks, fish-farms, etc.). Institutes, consultants and experts which have participated in the implementation and operation of the project can, after certain agreements, provide methodological and practical support for the utilisation of outputs.
The E-MAIL applications can be transferred to any European area, facing environmental management problems in river basins (flood prevention), in industrial areas or rural area pressured by tourism. Potential user groups could be any environmental managers handling information, e.g. regional/city environmental planners, civil protection specialists, etc. The transferability costs involved,apart from the product costs, involve consultancy and training.The only bottleneck which can occur when all the elements are transferred to a new site is related strictly to the definition of administrative tasks, administration rules being very different according to different laws/rules existing in EU and CEE countries.
The REMSSBOT concept can be transferred and applied in any case where there is a need for access to information from different and remote databases. Potential user groups are administrations and institutions in Europe dealing with environmental information management. Many organisations (i.e. the National Biodiversity Network in the U.K.) have already expressed their interest to implement the REMSSBOT solution and the EEA/CDS organisation have the intention to apply it to data management and information sharing within the NFP (National Focal Point) Network.
It is recommended that a feasibility study is undertaken before applying REMSSBOT to a new region,in order to identify the specific requirements and needs of the new application. The REMSSBOT consortium is able to offer consultancy and support to other users, interested in using REMSSBOT. No costs are involved for the documentation and software developed during the project.
SNIRH is a general environmental information system, which can be applied in any region. Besides the software the underlying functional analysis and theoretical concepts have a wide application in many environmental projects, water resource and environmental agencies and other groups have a potential interest in the project. Most of the software and principles are easily applicable in water resources or environment agencies. INAG is keen to help other regions and countries to implement SNIRH- like systems. Efforts are under way to implement it in Madeira, the Azores and Mozambique.
The software costs are the only costs for transferring the application and only the data is specific for the application. A number of implementations has already been carried out in consulting companies, which use the system for planning purposes.
The TEMSIS system is of generic use in data modelling for communication platforms. It can be transferred into other languages and uses, supported by the technical group of the TEMSIS project. Specific to each use are the data sources and the client's central server component, both of which can be easily installed.The public version only needs a Web browser with functionalities which are integrated into future browsers. There is a large potential market in the EU and CEE communities for using Info Kiosks to distribute information to their citizens. Enterprises can also utilise the info-kiosks to increase the image of green companies by publishing their results and reaching a wide sector of the public.
The Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe
