Appendix 3.0 Literature Review

Grassroot Innovations

(Hargreaves, 2013)

Team member

Concept interpretation

Lesson(s) learned

Graciela

Innovations that go beyond mainstream initiatives; they try to achieve changes at a socio-technical system level and they explore alternative organizational forms, resource bases, contexts and motivations.

A sustainability transition in Texel needs to go beyond a mainstream innovation. It needs to re-shape socio-technical systems and not only specific projects.

Katja

Can be defined as being different from mainstream innovations due to their difference in organizational form, resource bases, contextual situations, driving motivations and the pursuit of different kinds of sustainable development. Grassroots innovations can be seen as ‘radical’ when they challenge and attempt to replace existing and unsustainable sociotechnical systems

For Texel, due to its’ different characteristics, grassroots innovations could be an added value to enable change in the socio-technical system or boost the current transition towards a self-sufficient (sub)system.

Marlien

A grass-root innovation is radical and causes a radical change in the socio-technical system, rather than changing a product or element from that system.

For grass-root innovations, a very innovative mind-set is required in which people make very few assumptions about the future. It is important to let go of the current set of regulations (rules, habits, assumptions), before a grassroots innovation can evolve. On Texel, this could be facilitated in work groups where people brainstorm about the future.

Rafael

Is an innovation, that differently from the mainstream market-based ones, is initiated by common people or activists. It is mostly developed within informal groups and based on commitment and/or volunteering.

In the Texel context I believe that we should create a system that allows and creates incentives for this type of innovation. This gives the inhabitants of the island the possibility to develop ideas to face the sustainable challenges they think are important to be overcome.

Intermediaries

(Hargreaves, 2013)

Team member

Concept interpretation

Lesson(s) learned

Graciela

Actors that play key roles in strategic niche management and accelerate innovation processes.

Texel has many innovation projects; however, the island might still need intermediaries to achieve grassroots innovations.

Katja

Intermediaries are organizations engaging in interaction to connect and bridge between different actors in a system. This can be done in different ways (eg. facilitating dialogue, providing guidance, bridging gaps, advocating reform, or pioneering novel forms of interaction.

For Texel, adding (more) intermediaries to the sub-system might help to improve the system to one in which more actors are connected to and working with each other, on Texel but ideally, in the wider world as well. The role of brokering and managing partnerships could be seen as one of their most important ones within our system.

Marlien

Intermediaries are the ‘glue’ between willingness, actions and goals. Small scale actions need to be linked to the ‘whole’. An intermediary has the overview and can hence create and strengthen this link. If needed, he steers actions such that they keep contributing to the goal.

So far, few intermediaries have been active on Texel. Together with the notion that Texelaars work very individualistically, we see a huge opportunity. Intermediaries can enhance the communication and collaboration between existing initiatives and thereby fasten the transition towards a self-sufficient Texel.

Rafael

Intermediaries are people or organizations that facilitate and help (grassroot) innovations to overcome challenges and to be able to survive or even grow.

I believe that in Texel there is a lack of intermediaries’ actors. Besides stimulating sustainable innovation initiatives, we should also focus on the creation of intermediaries in the island; so they can help the innovators to get over challenges and thrive.