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In
order to attain the declared objectives of the ENACT project, the work will
be organized in six scientific Work packages (WP) and one Management Work package
(designated as WP 0). This organization is aimed at ensuring that clear
partial objectives are met and that a coherent research output is produced.
Each WP will result in a Deliverable (which is also valid for WP 5.1). A
brief description of the work packages follows: WP
0 – Project Management WP
0 encompasses all activities related to the day-to-day management of the
project. It includes articulation between all project management structures, articulation
with the European Commission’s services, organization of all meetings and
periodic activity reporting to the EC. This WP also includes all
dissemination activities. WP
1 – Detailed ENACT Methodology WP
1 will lay the groundwork for the rest of the project and, as such, it
assumes a particularly relevant role within the workflow structure of the
project. It is in this WP that a detailed methodology will be devised for the
remainder of the project, bearing in mind, not only the main objectives of
the ENACT project, but also the fact that all theoretical development must be
done in order to allow a smooth and effective ‘transposition’ to the Case
Studies and Simulations (WP 5.1). The results of the work undertaken in this
WP will be reported in Deliverable # 1.This deliverable will constitute an
inception report of the project. Each of the WP2 to 6 will provide a detailed
methodological plan, expected achievements and its articulation (inputs
received and outputs provided) with the other WPs. This is a fundamental WP
in the project since it is here that the consistency between methodologies
will be ensured and the overall research flow set up. The first brainstorming
and confrontation of methods will start at the kick-off meeting that will be
held at the end of month 1. In this meeting a first draft of the work plans
and methodologies of all WP will be presented by the respective work package
leader and discussed by all members of the consortium. Out of this discussion
adjustments will be made in the different work plans. WP
2 - Social Marginal Cost Pricing and Second-Best Alternatives This
WP will develop, taking into consideration prior research, all pertinent
issues relating to Social Marginal Cost (SMC) pricing and to second-best
pricing alternatives, namely related to optimal determination of mark-ups for
cost recovery. Particular emphasis will be given to the evolution, over time,
of the determinant cost components of SMC. This WP will provide also a review
of previous projects in particular in what concerns estimations of social
marginal costs under various conditions. The task will conclude providing
agreed data set to be used in the rest of the project ensuring consistency
across case studies. In addition this WP should also conclude on cost
variability and comparison between marginal and average cost. The results of
the work undertaken in WP 2 will be reported in Deliverable # 2. WP
3 – Incentive and Contract Theory WP
3 will develop all issues related to Incentive and Contract Theory. It aims
to understand, with recourse to this powerful tool of economic theory, how
rational agents behave in an environment of asymmetric information. This is
particularly relevant for the purposes of understanding how the structure of
the contracts establishing Public-Private Partnerships ( WP
4 – Financing Structures and Costs This
WP will analyze the role that financing has on the establishment of PPPs and
the impact that SMC pricing has (or not) on the terms of private financing in
the transport sector. WP
5 – Integrated Theoretical Framework WP
5 has two objectives. The first one is to integrate, in a theoretically
consistent document, all research performed in the previous Work packages.
The second one is to devise strict guidelines for the elaboration of the Case
Studies and Simulations of WP 5.1. It is thus one of the major milestones of
the project. It will allow, in an integrated way, to have a clear perception
of what is at stake, at a theoretical level, when SMC pricing in PPPs is
considered, (i) from the perspective of the incentives generated (created) by
each The
design of contractual relations is about the creation of the right incentives
for all the actors involved, so that set objectives get realized. Contractual
relationships entail a myriad of incentives, which work in different
directions with different force. The work in Work Packages 2, 3 and 4
describes which incentives result from different contract design choices,
such as ownership structures, risk allocation, institutional setups,
financial arrangements, procurement, pricing, etc. Since design choice create
incentives that interfere with each other, WP5 addresses the question how
these choices interrelate in determining desired outcomes, such as with
regard to efficiency, price, costs, etc. Hence, the simulation model of WP5
has a threefold objective: 1. Analysis of the
sensitivity of output variables to choice variables. This allows to see how
outcomes of contractual relationships change in accordance to changes in
design choices. This creates understanding of interferences between design
elements. 2. Analysis of the
factors that affect this sensitivity. This allows for the determination of
those design elements that have a large influence on outcomes, no matter the
choice of other design elements. The resulting design elements are most
important in designing correctly in order to achieve objectives. The
necessary understanding of these elements will focus the case-studies. 3. After the case studies
are carried out, the simulation model will be 'trained' by plugging in the
data of the different cases. This allows us to analyze the impact of design
changes and to consider potential improvements to the design of contractual
relations in the case studies at hand. In addition, it will also allow
drawing policy recommendations for the design of contractual relations beyond
the specifics of the analyzed case studies. The
results of the work of this Work package will be reported in Deliverable # 5. WP
5.1 – Case Studies and Simulations In
this Work package, Case Studies and Simulations will be performed in order to
assess, in a real-world situation, the impacts of SMC pricing on the
viability prospects of WP
6 – Impacts and feasibility of SMC pricing in PPPs This
Work package will constitute the final WP of the project. The expected output
is an integrated, real-life tested conclusion of the research work performed
and, at the same time, a set of policy/regulatory guidelines from a Common
European Approach to SMC pricing in |
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Project no. TREN / 07 / FP6TR /
S07.68526 / 038558 Instrument: SPECIFIC TARGETED RESEARCH OR INNOVATION PROJECT Thematic Priority: 6.2 - SUSTAINABLE SURFACE TRANSPORTS |
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