Interesting fact
EMPOWER’s four stage process helps organizations to establish robust inter-organizational collaborations to succeed with sustainable transportation.
The objective of EMPOWER is to substantially reduce the use of conventionally fueled vehicles in cities by fundamentally changing the mobility behavior of their drivers and users. To achieve this objective, EMPOWER provides an approach, including a set of software tools, for travelers, operators and public and private organizations. The approach empowers them to understand, help choose and successfully implement positive policy interventions to change mobility behavior.
The EMPOWER approach is developed for urban areas. Through a set of software tools, travelers are rewarded for changing their behavior, from using cars to use more sustainable modes of traveling, see figure 1. Incentives, such as points and discounts, for changing behavior are provided by incentive providers. Lead beneficiaries monitor travel behavior and develop interventions, such as challenges and competitions, to encourage travelers to change behavior. A service operator provides the software tools.
Implementation of the EMPOWER approach requires involvement of several organizations. To succeed, these organizations need to develop a robust foundation for inter-organizational collaboration. Based on the experiences from the EMPOWER project a four-stage approach is recommended:
Strategic alignment
At the first stage, a coalition of organizations who share a vision for sustainable transport is built. There are many ways to do this, depending on the circumstances in the urban area. The outcome of this stage is an agreement between the organizations for a vision for sustainable transportation where the premier mean is to reward change through incentive schemes.
Governing principles
When there is an agreement between the organizations to create a coalition for sustainable transport, there is a need to develop governing principles for how to implement and operate the incentive-based scheme. There is a need to appoint a coordinator and to supply the necessary funds. The outcome of this stage is an agreement, between the coalition members, for how to coordinate and fund the initiative.
Business modeling
At this stage, the coalition develops a business model for implementing the incentive-based scheme. It can be implemented using different business models. Primarily, the business models vary depending on the type of lead beneficiary. For example, lead beneficiary can be a transport operator, a city, a local trade organization, a private company or a public organization. The outcome of this stage is a business model accepted by the coalition members.
Implementation and operation
At this stage, the coalition implements and operates the business model. The digital service is configured, the operational budget is funded, the rewards and incentives are provided. Also, campaigns are created to raise awareness among travelers and behavior changes are monitored and analyzed to design new interventions. In addition, new members may enter the coalition which in turn could lead to changes in the business model.