Public Private Innovation Partnerships: Creating Public Value & Scaling Up Sustainable City Solutions

This PhD dissertation studies Public Private Innovation Partnerships (PPI). In particular, I study the use of PPIs in an urban context, where partnerships between municipalities, the private sector, universities and other stakeholders are responsible for developing the supposedly Smart City. Smart City Projects are PPIs that aim to create sustainability through the use of technology and data-based innovative solutions for the public sector. Specifically, this study is focused on outcomes of PPIs, and is guided by the research question (RQ) ‘What outcomes do Public Private Innovation Partnerships lead to?’. The answer to this RQ is structured around three research articles and this introductory synopsis. Each article answers a sub-RQ related to the main RQ, which takes the reader on a journey through concepts such as scale up and public value.
The current literature on Public Private Innovation Partnerships has focused on the complex processes of PPIs and has identified a number of factors impacting this process. However, there is an important gap in the literature regarding the eventual outcomes of such processes. This dissertation attempts to fill that gap by studying different types of outcomes in order to clarify what impact solutions provide. By studying outcomes in an urban context, I address an arena where sustainable solutions are a growing necessity if cities are to deal with the challenges posed by global warming, rapid urbanization, growing inequality and austerity policies.