Obiettivi formativi
The Law & Policy of Innovation & Sustainability (LPIS) course will discuss and analyze the most relevant public law and policy aspects related to innovation and sustainability.
Students will learn the legal and policy fundamentals of the digital and ecological transition, and understand their relationship with the opportunities and threats posed by the ongoing disruptive technological transformation, as well as the environmental, social, and economic impacts of climate change that will affect the current public law system and the future of humankind.
The LPIS course will focus on the analysis of case studies relevant in the sectors that are the most impacted sectors by innovation and sustainability concerns. This list includes energy, mobility & transportation, healthcare, finance. The course will stimulate in-class discussion concerning innovative public law and policy solutions such as research and innovation frameworks, strategic public procurement, and investment.
Prerequisiti
No specific knowledge is required outside a basic understanding of public law & policy basic notions. By basic knowledge we mean the command of the notions offered in courses like public policy, constitutional law, public law, public economics, introduction to economics or micro/macroeconomics in undergraduate degrees as well as basic knowledge of the EU institutional system and principles.
Risultati di apprendimento attesi
(A) Knowledge and understanding:
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
• identify and explain the most important public law & policy legal institutions involved in innovation and sustainability policies;
distinguish the different rule-making processes that are involved in the advancement of innovation policies;
• explain how different public law & policy institutions change over time and understand the challenges of anticipatory regulation ;
• assess the impact of technological and digital innovation on the public sector and propose solutions for the orientation of social and environmental policy.
(B) Application of knowledge:
Upon completing the study program, students will be able to:
• apply different regulatory perspectives and approaches to innovation and sustainable development subjects;
• discuss the functioning mechanisms of the administrative and institutional ecosystem for digital and ecological transition;
• effectively communicate and work with experts in public law and policy of innovation and sustainability;
• build projects aimed at securing EU, national or local funds tailored for an inclusive digital and ecological transition.
(C) Develop evaluative judgments:
Upon completing the study program, students will be able to:
• explain the different technical, economic and social aspects that characterize the public law and policy of innovation and sustainability and design decision-making frameworks on these grounds;
• identify and gauge the different outcomes that can derive from a correct implementation of the main technological issues in the public sector;
• design experimental clauses and innovative policies enabling just and democratic digital transitions and suitable for the promotion of sustainable policies.
(D) Communication skills
Upon completing the study program, students will be able to:
• communicate their ideas about innovation and sustainability in written form through assignments, and in oral form through presentations and class debate;
• communicate professionally and in different registers with representatives of public, private, social institutions;
• foster the development of human interaction, negotiation, relational skills in an international and multicultural setting.
(E) Learning skills
Upon completing the study program, students will be able to:
• assess real life projects or cases to gain greater awareness of the innovative techniques and tools of law and policy in the field of new technologies, sustainable development and innovation in general;
• develop problem-solving and problem-framing approaches through interactive workshops, coworking sessions, negotiation labs, legal design thinking sessions and development of a collaborative project work alongside traditional teaching;
• analyze dynamic, complex settings through empirical analysis skills;
• develop operational, netiquette, time and crisis management, teamwork, networking and relational skills.
Contenuti Del Corso
The course is divided into two fundamental parts. The first part aims to provide a basic framework on public law & policy categories. The second part of the course develops further the concepts introduced in part I. The second part explores interrelationships with the new technologies of the digital era and with the new perspectives of economic, social and environmental sustainability.
Testi Di Riferimento
The analysis of very recent or current issues in the discourse on the law and policy of digital and ecological transition makes it is impossible to refer to a specific textbook. Reading materials, handouts and slides, referring to any given lesson will be made available to students in advance.
However, in order to have a general and analytical view on the regulatory innovations in the EU area, students are advised to read:
- Mariana Mazzucato, The Entrepreneurial State: debunking public vs. private sector myths (Anthem, 2013);
- Sofia Ranchordas and Mattis van't Schip. "Future-Proofing Legislation for the Digital Age." Time, Law, and Change (Hart, 2020); [also available here]
- Christian Iaione, Elena De Nictolis, and Anna Berti Suman. "The internet of humans (IoH): Human rights and co-governance to achieve tech justice in the city." Law & Ethics of Human Rights 13, no. 2 (2019): 263-299;
- Kathleen Garnett, Geert Van Calster & Leonie Reins (2018) Towards an innovation principle: an industry trump or shortening the odds on environmental protection?, Law, Innovation and Technology, 10:1, 1-14;
- Peter Lee, Social Innovation, Washington University Law Review, Vol. 92, No. 1, 2014, UC Davis Legal Studies Research Paper No. 407;
- P.D. Aligica and V. Tarko, Polycentricity, Governance: An International Journal of Policy, Administration, and Institutions, Vol. 25, No. 2, April 2012 (pp. 237–262);
- Emilie C. Schwarz, Human vs. Machine: A Framework of Responsibilities and Duties of Transnational Corporations for Respecting Human Rights in the Use of Artificial Intelligence, 58 Colum. J. Transnat'l L. 232 (2019);
- Dacian C. Dragos; Bianca Racolta, Comparing Legal Instruments for R&D&I: State Aid and Public Procurement, 12 Eur. Procurement & Pub. Private Partnership L. Rev. 408 (2017);
- Beatriz Martinez Romera; Roberto Caranta, EU Public Procurement Law: Purchasing beyond Price in the Age of Climate Change, 12 Eur. Procurement & Pub. Private Partnership L. Rev. 281 (2017);
- van Winden, W., & de Carvalho, L. (2018). Can startups solve urban problems? An analysis of Amsterdam's "Startup in Residence" programme. Amsterdam: Hogeschool van Amsterdam;
- Fabrizio Clermont; Francesco Fionda, A Modern Approach for Procuring Research and Innovation: The Pre-Commercial Public Procurement, 11 Eur. Procurement & Pub. Private Partnership L. Rev. 88
(2016);
- Johan Wolswinkel, Concession Meets Authorization: New Demarcation Lines under the Concessions Directive, 12 Eur. Procurement & Pub. Private Partnership L. Rev. 396 (2017);
- Adam J. Kolber, Not-So-Smart Blockchain Contracts and Artificial Responsibility, 21 Stan. Tech. L. Rev. 198 (2018);
- Claire Henly; Sam Hartnett; Buck Endemann; Ben Tejblum; Daniel S. Cohen, Energizing the Future with Blockchain, 39 Energy L.J. 197 (2018);
- European Green Deal COM(2019) 640;
- EU Taxonomy Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2020 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment);
- Regulation (EU) 2021/695 - adopted by the co-legislators on 28 April 2021 - establishing the Horizon Europe programme for the duration of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2027
Metodologie Didattiche
Reading materials, handouts and slides will be available before each class covering each of the specific topics addressed during the course. Hence, the traditional presentation of the analytical problems can be concise and leave room to Q&A and discussions.
Guests will give a lecture on future-proofing public law, new investment opportunities and career paths based on research and innovation, new business models to combat climate change, digital transformation for social good (names to be announced).
Modalità di verifica dell'apprendimento
Students will be evaluated upon the following indicators:
60% of evaluation:
(a) class attendance percentage, respect of social norms during class such as punctuality, video presence, no use of social media during class hours, proactive participation to the lectures and lab sessions (20%);
(b) presentations (20%) and reactions/feedbacks (20%) in the peer-to-peer student-led conversations;
40% of evaluation:
(a) a group project such as the drafting of a project proposal that will be developed during the labs and will be based on an individual contribution trough an empirical analysis exercise (e.g. a case study analysis or a policy brief) (30%); and
(b) a collective output such as a video blog (10%).
Criteri per l’assegnazione dell’elaborato finale
Deep interest in the subject, inclination towards research and innovation.
Il syllabus affronta temi collegati alla sostenibilità?
yes
Settimana 1
Class 1 - Law and Policy of Research & Innovation + LPIS Lab #1
Introduction to the course methodology, timeline, deliverables and evaluation methods
Lecture: Law and Policy of Research & Innovation. The first on campus session will be aimed at introducing students to the general principles of Law and Innovation of Research and Innovation and to the applied part of the course.
I. Notions of Innovation in law and policy.
II. The relationships between Science and Technology
III. Law and Policy of Research & Innovation
During the first class of the Law and policy of Innovation lab #1, the course instructor will introduce the students to the concept of innovation, from social to digital and technological innovation, to the relationships between science and technology and to law and policy of R&I and to the timeline, methodology and tools of the lab. Then the students will be introduced to the EU Green Deal Call, to the Horizon2020 Framework and the Horizon Europe Framework, to the characteristics of the MFF 2021-2027. They will be asked to start studying the 10 areas and 20 call that are part of the Eu Green Deal related round of call.
Class 2 - Law and innovation
The initial part of the course will focus on the main interconnections between scientific and technological discoveries and the world of law. It will also analyze the impact of technological innovations in the world of classic straight theories, as well as the evidence of this phenomenon in the decisions of national and international courts. In the first week of the course, reference will be made to the main technological innovations affecting law in recent years, such as blockchain, the world of the network, social networks, bioethics and, in general, all that new technologies.
Settimana 2
Class 3 - The general principle of Innovation + LPIS Lab #2
The general principle of innovation. Is there a general principle of innovation in legal theory and in policy science?
During this class, students will be introduced to the general principle of innovation and to the main features of the 10 areas and 20 calls of the EU Green Deal. The students will start to analyse the 20 calls and to form the working groups that will work to the 8 grant proposals. During this session the students will be asked to start selecting their interests on the basis of the 8 clusters/work areas.
Class 4 - State and innovation
This part of the course will focus on the policy tools that the European Union makes available to the PAs to implement technological advancement and environmental sustainability, from a regulatory point of view. The goal of the analysis will not be to enhance the principles of innovation reward but rather to identify the public entity as a substantial innovation vector capable of developing and facilitating research, improvement and marketing of new products in the innovation cycle, such as technologies which affect efficiently the public matrix.
Settimana 3
Class 5 + LPIS Lab #3
During this Lab students, that will be already divided into 8 groups, will start working to the selection of the call. Each group will have 4 calls. The whole class will have a single challenge. In this Lab the groups will select the best call to address the challenge and will start to work on canvas to analyse in the details the selected call. This first phase can be defined of call extraction and analysis.
Class 6 - Innovation and Law: Approaches and Regulatory Instruments
This will be the final part of the course's approach to innovation and will aim to identify the possible implications - in the field of technological, digital innovation and that of economic sustainability - that experimentation may have in the near future. This lecture will be devoted to different approaches to regulation (rule-based v. principle-based). At the level of regulatory instruments, we will discuss policy cycles, how to break path-dependence that limits the adoption of novel solutions for regulation and governance, and temporary and experimental regulatory instruments (i.e. free -zones, sunset and sunrise clauses, future-proofing law).
Settimana 4
Class 7 - The general principle of sustainable development + LPIS Lab #4
This lab session will introduce students to the general principle of sustainable innovation (by analysing the principle from a policy and a legal perspective and by examining the Strategic Use of Public Procurement for Sustainable Development and Smart Technological Innovation.
Class 8 - Cities as spaces of innovation: Introduction
In this part of the course, technological innovations and environmental sustainability will be analyzed in the rooms of social coexistence in which fundamental human rights have the greatest chance of manifesting themselves: cities. Students will be introduced to the following key concepts: smart cities, sustainable smart cities; urban law and policy, and human rights cities.
Settimana 5
Class 9 - Tech Justice and Policentricity + LPIS Lab #5
The general principle of social justice. Is there a general principle of tech justice?
The general principle of decentralization. Is there a general principle of polycentric innovation?
Class 10 - Smart cities and urban co-creation (the right to challenge)
In this online session we will delve into urban innovations and the role of cities therein with greater detail. The analysis will be focused on (i) the concepts of co-creation and its legal equivalent: the right to challenge; (ii) smart cities
Settimana 6
Class 11 - The experimentalist State and Law + LPIS Lab #6
The experimentalist State and law. This Session will analyze the role of the State in experimenting and in promoting experimentation, that means the presence of an adaptive, place based and iterative approach to design legal and policy innovations (that can enable innovation).
Law and policy of Innovation lab. #6
Students will continue to develop the grant application exercise, by entering in the phase 3 of the project generation and grant application. They will start selecting and engaging possible partners for their Consortium. Students will work with canvas through digital tools, such as Mural or Miro.
Class 12 - Public Contracts and Innovation
Public procurement and innovation. The rethinking of the welfare state in the logic of social innovations has so far led private companies to a technological innovation based, among others, on the environmental sustainability. Similarly, the future of public procurement will have the fundamental role of creating innovative schemes that, through technological improvement, will be able to give a practical and positive reflection on social interaction.
Settimana 7
Class 13 - R&I in the world. Open innovation and technology transfer. State Aids for innovation and sustainability + LPIS Lab #7
Students will first listen to the lecture on R&I in the world with examples of how the State can support Research and Innovation through direct grants/funding as well as using the public demand for innovation to leverage the market towards developing technological innovations that pursue social goods. The class will touch examples such as DARPA, the NSF, China and its five funding pillars for science, technology and innovation, and the Israeli Innovation Authority. It will then move to the perspectives of open innovation and social and responsible public procurement.
Law and policy of innovation and sustainability lab #7.
The class will be introduced to key documents for their exercise. These documents show the directions that EU is taking as regards to the new R&I framework (Commission staff working document guidance to member states recovery and resilience plans; Shaping Europe Digital Future; Commission Communication on Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2021; EU Commission Communication on Green Deal)
During the Lab session the students will present their results in a mid-term review and will receive feedbacks from the course instructor and the teaching team. They will be then introduced to phase 4 of their path. They will start to structure and negotiate the Working Packages.
Class 14 - Social Innovation and Innovation through Sustainability
In this lecture, we will address non-economic sides of innovation by discussing in depth some examples of social innovation and new strategies adopted by companies to compete by innovating in a sustainable way (e.g., startups developing sustainable fashion).
Settimana 8
Class 15 + LPIS Lab #8
Law and policy of Innovation lab #8
Students will continue to structure and negotiate the Working Packages and will present the results of the negotiation.
Class 16 - Sustainability, regulation and green deals
In this lecture we will talk about how sustainability influences different industrial policies and how green deals are being set up to stimulate them.
Settimana 9
Class 17 - The impact of innovation on public services + LPIS Lab #9
EU Taxonomy Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2020 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment)
Law and policy of Innovation lab #9.
During this Lab the students will enter in phase 5 of their grant drafting. They will structure and negotiate with the consortium partners the project budget.
Class 18 - The impact of innovation on public services.
In this part of the course, the innovations that have characterized the transport system (i.e. mass, hyperloop, autonomous driving, e-highway) and sustainable mobility will be taken into consideration. In particular, attention will be paid to new technologies that will allow development in this area, also featuring environmental improvement and a reduction in energy consumption and pollution. The legal framework of smart mobility will be discussed in detail.
Settimana 10
Class 19 + LPIS Lab #10
Lpis secret formula' ingredients:
New technologies (including blockchain, AI, IoT, edge computing and other emerging technologies)
Ethical/Human rights approach
Experimentalism
Ostrom-oriented approach (multi-stakeholder governance)
Sustainable finance/governance
Embed advanced finance/business model
Use the academic skills you are acquiring: knowing how to extract data/information from scientific databases; monitor public policies and best practices; know how to interact with stakeholders/partners (that goes from a good property of the technical language, to know how to set up a meeting, being punctual...)
Law and policy of Innovation lab #10.
During the class, students will work towards the finalization of the course output: the grant application.
Class 20 - Fintech, Crowdfunding and Green Finance.
In this part of the course will be analyzed the transition process that will conduct, through technological innovations, to sustainable finance and will lead to a sustainable financial system able to promote the well-being of an inclusive economy in the long run, with particular attention to fintech, which merges technology and finance.
Settimana 11
Class 21 + LPIS Lab #11
Horizon 2020 Programme Model Grant Agreement
Class 22 - AI: Risks and opportunities. Automated driving
In this lecture we will introduce the students to the challenges of regulating AI. AI makes many innovations possible but it is also challenging as such. As a case study of these challenges, we shall discuss the case of automated driving.
In this lecture we will discuss the application of AI to administrative decision making and the risks that come with (e.g., algorithmic discrimination). Solutions to address the risks of algorithms will be discussed.