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Managing multi-actor and multi-level transitions
An important question is whether it is possible to manage or organise multilevel,
multi-actor transition processes (e.g. from unsustainable to sustainable
lifestyles). Transition research gives little hope for active control (Geels 2005).
Two possible approaches have received considerable attention in recent years.
These are top-down transition management strategies and bottom-up strategic
niche management strategies. Both approaches are based on the premise
that change processes on different levels co-evolve, with mutual influences and
each process in turn shaping the other.
The recently started Community Innovation in Sustainable Energy (CISE) research
project 11 explores the diffusion of community energy projects in the UK
and asks how local grassroots innovations can become adopted in mainstream
settings (Grassroots Innovations Research Briefing 3 2010).
Strategic niche management is a powerful tool to analyse radical technological
and social innovations, such as through social entrepreneurship (Witkamp,
Raven and Royakkers 2011). As the name suggest, it is also a “management”
tool that aims to organise projects for desired radical innovations outside of
dominant regimes (Weber et al. 1999). In strategic niche management, project
actors at both the niche and regime level co-create expectations that enable
adoption of their innovative new practice. Project actors work toward creating
Strategic niche
management is a tool to
analyse and organise radical
technological and social
innovation projects.
11 www.grassrootsinnovations.org
“It’s important to make sure that all the stakeholders are
effectively taking part in the invention and the co-production
of the society that we will try to build. Often, the policy level is
above this co-production and we are very keen to engage with
policy makers as a co-producer to change the methods, the
tools and the approach in which policy frameworks are made to
support collaborative policy making designs.”
— François Jégou, Strategic Design Scenarios (SDS), Politecnico
di Milano, SPREAD consortium partner
A framework for change 99