TRANSUMO

Yesterday and today I studied the plans of TRANSUMO, the Knowledge Investment Programme for sustainable mobility in the Netherlands. The main question is how the Netherlands remain at the same time mobile and livable. TRANSUMO wants to improve the sustainability of persons - and goods mobility. Transumo is subdivided in five research fields.

I have among other things taken notice of the proposal for the BSIK-programma, version January, 16th, 2004 and the Procedure Decision Making for Projects, version May, 25th, 2004. The first document describes the context, objectives, contents, organisation and finance of TRANSUMO. The second document gives a point by point enumeration of the procedure along which decisions will be taken concerning a project proposal. This second document also contains a standard format for a project plan.

There are a couple financial aspects which in attracted my attention:
- Research Field Management and Consortium Partners have a pre-emptive right if it concerns submitting projects. A tender will be written out just at a later stage;
- Research Field Management must pursue for projects with a budget of 1,000,000 euro or more;
- A maximum hour tariff of 65 euro (based on a cost model) applies for contracting additional reseach capacity.

Think big and act small? Penny wise, pound foolish? I'll have my fingers crossed. Let's hope the beautiful substantive striving isn't frustrated by accountants and bureaucrats.

Furthermore an interesting new abbreviation has been invented: K2P. This stands for Knowledge Institutes, Public Authorities and Private Companies. It won’t last long before this abbreviation also will be used outside TRANSUMO. It’s sounds great and reflects the nature of well-known existing forms of partnerships.