For many of the partnerships analysed in this study, these issues do not seem to be
a priority yet. In our discussions with some of these partnerships, they argued that
their innovations are not “profit-based”, implying that once established they would
be in the public domain. This was particularly the case when innovation partners
considered themselves to be social enterprises. However, in other partnerships, lead
innovators (e.g. Upande Ltd in Kenya) were thinking of securing intellectual property rights (IPR) for their innovation – although many were actually ignorant of how
the acquisition of IPR works and how they should proceed. Thus, they had not
anticipated any contractual arrangement to answer the key question often raised in
open innovations projects, namely, who of the partnering organisations owns the
property right for the innovation being developed [87]. Legally binding agreements
are equally important for managing potential risks. We argue that when the VIA
Water ICT-WIPs will start upscaling their innovations, the risks incurred will be
extremely high – which justifies the design of risk-related agreements. Such agreements are useful notably to handle situations as when one partner goes bankrupt and
is no longer able to deliver what he promised or decides to terminate the cooperation
early in the execution of the partnership. Upfront agreements about all these issues
will be a must for ICT-WIPs that are “for profit”.
7 Conclusions
In this section, we consider the major lessons that can be extracted from the
explorative analysis conducted in this study. On the one hand, we reflect on the
potential of innovation partnerships as an approach to boost the smart water systems
agenda in the context of developing countries. On the other, we discuss the practical
implications of the study results and formulate some recommendations.
7.1 Innovation Partnerships and Smart Water Systems
in Developing Countries
The results of this study reinforce the argument made in the literature that smart
water systems can be effectively promoted through a partnership approach, based on
open innovation [7, 10, 14]. This is particularly true in the developing countries
context where the capabilities to innovate are far less developed. As exemplified by
the 24 ICT-focused water innovation projects analysed in this study, innovation
partnerships can play an important role in enhancing capabilities of developing
countries to implement the smart water systems agenda. To start with, in many of
these countries, the adoption of smart water systems approach is slowed down by a
lack of awareness and consciousness about the positive impact these systems can
have if implemented on a large scale. This study has shown that ICT-WIPs allow a
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a priority yet. In our discussions with some of these partnerships, they argued that
their innovations are not “profit-based”, implying that once established they would
be in the public domain. This was particularly the case when innovation partners
considered themselves to be social enterprises. However, in other partnerships, lead
innovators (e.g. Upande Ltd in Kenya) were thinking of securing intellectual property rights (IPR) for their innovation – although many were actually ignorant of how
the acquisition of IPR works and how they should proceed. Thus, they had not
anticipated any contractual arrangement to answer the key question often raised in
open innovations projects, namely, who of the partnering organisations owns the
property right for the innovation being developed [87]. Legally binding agreements
are equally important for managing potential risks. We argue that when the VIA
Water ICT-WIPs will start upscaling their innovations, the risks incurred will be
extremely high – which justifies the design of risk-related agreements. Such agreements are useful notably to handle situations as when one partner goes bankrupt and
is no longer able to deliver what he promised or decides to terminate the cooperation
early in the execution of the partnership. Upfront agreements about all these issues
will be a must for ICT-WIPs that are “for profit”.
7 Conclusions
In this section, we consider the major lessons that can be extracted from the
explorative analysis conducted in this study. On the one hand, we reflect on the
potential of innovation partnerships as an approach to boost the smart water systems
agenda in the context of developing countries. On the other, we discuss the practical
implications of the study results and formulate some recommendations.
7.1 Innovation Partnerships and Smart Water Systems
in Developing Countries
The results of this study reinforce the argument made in the literature that smart
water systems can be effectively promoted through a partnership approach, based on
open innovation [7, 10, 14]. This is particularly true in the developing countries
context where the capabilities to innovate are far less developed. As exemplified by
the 24 ICT-focused water innovation projects analysed in this study, innovation
partnerships can play an important role in enhancing capabilities of developing
countries to implement the smart water systems agenda. To start with, in many of
these countries, the adoption of smart water systems approach is slowed down by a
lack of awareness and consciousness about the positive impact these systems can
have if implemented on a large scale. This study has shown that ICT-WIPs allow a
198
S. Mvulirwenande and U. Wehn