Strategies for European innovation policy in the transport field : an example of an applied technology monitor

Describes some of the results of the Fourth Framework project FANTASIE. FANTASIE had the objective to develop a method for Technology Assessment on a European scale and to apply the method in order to find the most important technological innovations and to assess their impact. This paper deals with the selection of significant technologies. It describes the typical kinds of barriers to innovation in different innovation phases that need to be overcome to enable the uptake of these innovations. Analyses how governments can choose a role and how that role choice can be made contingent, i.e. fitted to the specific condition of a certain innovation and its environment. Highlights the key policy packages that could be promising at a European level to stimulate innovation in transport technology, based on the results of the FANTASIE project.