Kajan Kort
In this week the following literature has been used in order to learn more about designing pathways: Exploring sustainability transitions in the electricity sector with socio-technical pathways (2010) by G.P.J. Verbong and F.W. Geels and Innovation politics post-Rio +20: hybrid pathways to sustainability? (2013) by A. Ely, A. Smith & A. Stirling. Two kinds of pathways for sustainability are being introduced: the global green industrialisation and the local grassroots innovations. Both can be combined but it has to deal with some challenges that can be overcome by intermediaries that link global and local initiatives together.
Pathways to sustainability
Judith: Pathways are a means of forecasting, exploring what is going to happen.
Two pathways can be distinguished that focus on social and economic issues:
1. Green industrialisation: Global pathway, led by large firms of Public-Private partnerships. This is a top-down approach.
2. Grassroots innovations: Local pathway, which is central in civil society. This is a bottom-up approach, which is particpatory, responds to local situations, is driven by citizens and thecommunity and looks for alternatives.
Hanna: Pathways give indications of infrastructures in socio-technical system. These can be separated in 3 types:
- Transformation Pathway: characterized by hybridization of infrastructure
- Reformation Pathway: characterized by globalization of infrastructures
- Re-alignment Pathway: more focussed on local infrastructures
Hybrid innovations
Judith: Grassroots and industrial pathways are combined. This generates alternative solutions. Actors and mechanisms from both local and global pathways work together. This can be done by creating networks and open source platforms. A new kind of politics emerges. Those are more dynamic, complex and unpredictable. Tensions are created by these new politics. There are seven important aspects:
Appropriation: new models are applied, which the old actors of the green industrialisation are not familiar with.
Commodification: demand and supply are important, which result in a business like character of the cooperation.
Risk governance: new risks and uncertainties that have to be dealt with.
Market and non-market mechanisms: new economic and market instruments and more focus on the social factors than only on the economic ones.
Investment challenges: by new economic instruments investors are not sure when and how they will get their money back.
Diverse settings: new, unfamiliar arenas have to be worked in.
Distributed knowledge: knowledge is distributed in the network.
Hanna: In the transformation pathway towards hybrid grids existing regime actors adjust to outside pressure and internal regime tensions by modifying the direction of the development. Hybrid innovations involve actors from both non-profit as private sectors. Many hybrids embody uneasy combinations of values that can be described as ‘not just for profit’, which is a link to both business and motivations for a green and social enterprise.
Aspects which affect hibrid innovations are:
- Appropriation : combining of different orriented models
- Commodification : contrast and interaction between between business and eco regime
- Risk governance : regime responsible for negative impacts on innovation
- Market and non-market mechanisms:new innovations for sustainability are struggling in already existing business structures.
- Investment challenges: innovations wary on opportunity costs
- Diverse settings : innovations are depended on political alliance building
- Distributed knowledge : knowledge is distributed over technical, business and social directions.
Green economy
Judith: Green economy results in human well-being and social equity; at the same time reducing environmental risks and scarceties.
Hanna: A green economy can be seen as an economic environment that achieves low carbon emissions, resource efficiency and at the same time socially inclusive.
Rio 1992
Judith: Climate conference in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. There was a divison between formal discussions of the politics and discussion of the subpolitics of NGO’s etc. Still, the focus was on global technological development but also a focus turning into the local actions and practice. There became more attention for the potential of grassroots innovations.
Hanna: During Rio 1992 the focus was on the Limit of Growth, biodiversity and climate changes issues. The final report main subject was ‘The future we want’. A report that focussed on the practical goals for a sustainable world, instead of focussing innovations how to get there. Besides the paper focuessed on closing the gap between developed and undeveloped countries.
3D political agenda
Judith: The 3 D’s consist of direction, distribution and diversity. Directions of social, technological and environmental change. This will narrow the options for future pathways. Distribution of costs, benefits and risks, dependent on the chosen pathway. Diversify in knowledge, actors, technologies etc.
Hanna: 3D policitcs of hybrid innovation describe complex, dynamic and un-predictable approaches than the green industrialisation approaches of Rio 1992. These politics deal with more varied and unstable relations between actors, mechanisms and knowledges. These novel politics involve relate to power and control over innovation pathways, processes and results. The politics focus on and integrate social, technical and business aspects.
Rio +20
Judith: Not only alliances with governments are made but also with organisations and civil society. This allowed space for hybrids. Virtual networks were important to let civil society participate. There was actually little space for nations to be involved and there was little time for reflection.
Hanna: Alliance between regimes and organisations were made. Hybrids between different actors in the socio-technical system were a new focus point. 3D policitcs of hybrid innovation describe complex, dynamic and un-predictable approaches were used rather than the green industrialisation approaches of Rio 1992.
Later on (because of activists of Stockholm) innovations started focussing more on grassroot innovation. Innovations that are developing from buttom-up. The innovations were separeted deeper and wider.
Electricity network
Judith: In the last two decades a shift has taken place from a system led by engineers to a market based system. A shift in this system towards a sustainable one is hard because the system and infrastructure are fixed. Discussed pathways are a local electricity network (smart grid), a global electricity network (super smart grid) and one that combines both of them Most of the time, when working out pathways, the whole social-technical system is not being considered.
Multi-level perspective and transitions
Judith: The multi-level perspective is the outcome of multi-dimensional interactions between innovations within a niche, the regime and the landscape. Transitions are changes in the socio-technical regime in materials, network of actors and rules within the system. In the niches the small innovations take place. The landscape influences the niches and the regime. To create a transition innovations have to work together on all the three levels.
Four pathways
Judith: There are four types of pathways (to sustainability)
Transformation: gradual change of the old regime into the new regime by external pressure. Not a radical change; the same regime actors will stay. Increased pressure on existing regime.
Reconfiguration: Interaction between niche actors and regime actors, whereby new niches result in changes in the whole regime. This is a political direction. Both increased pressure on existing regime and new innovations in niches.
Technological substitution: Newcomers (actors) and new technologies compete with the old regime, till finally taking over the old regime.
De-alignment and re-alignment: Problems within the regime exist by pressure from the landscape. This comes together with a lot of uncertainty within the regime. The transition is community and locally based. This is the most radical shift. Innovations in niches are stimulated.
Hanna: Pathways give indications of infrastructures in socio-technical system. These can be separated in 3 types:
- Transformation Pathway: characterized by hybridization of infrastructure
- Reformation Pathway: characterized by globalization of infrastructures
- Re-alignment Pathway: more focussed on local infrastructures