Editorial: Governance for Sustainable Development in the Face of Ambivalence, Uncertainty and Distributed Power: an Introduction

Newig, Jens; Voß, Jan-Peter; Monstadt, Jochen

doi:10.1080/15239080701622832

Cited by 100 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…37 It is therefore insufficient to rely solely upon technically rational criteria for decision-making, in which experts use computer models to determine an 'optimal' transition path which is then implemented by policymakers. Our socio-technical approach to low-carbon transitions highlights at least four important lessons for low-carbon policy.…”

Section: Lessons For Managing Low-carbon Transitionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Socio-Technical Dynamics of Low-Carbon Transitions

Geels

Sovacool

Schwanen

et al. 2017

Joule

420

198

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SummaryEffective mitigation of climate change will require far-reaching transformations of electricity, heat, agricultural, transport and other systems. The energy studies and modelling research that so often dominates academic and policy debates provide valuable insights into these transitions, but remain constrained by their focus on rational decision-making and their neglect of non-linear dynamics and broader social processes. This review paper describes insights from a complementary socio-technical approach that addresses the interdependent social, political, cultural, and technical processes of transitions. Focusing on the 'Multi-Level Perspective' (MLP), transitions are conceptualized as arising from the alignment of processes within and between three analytical levels: niche-innovations, socio-technical regimes and the socio-technical landscape. This analytical framework is illustrated with a case study of the German electricity transition and used to appraise lowcarbon transitions in several other sectors. We end by articulating four lessons for managing lowcarbon transitions.

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Section: Lessons For Managing Low-carbon Transitionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Socio-Technical Dynamics of Low-Carbon Transitions

Geels

Sovacool

Schwanen

et al. 2017

Joule

420

198

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…However, the call for caution with regard to attempts at "engineering" the policy uptake of indicators does not warrant inaction. Instead, it should lead to constant negotiation among the policy actors in the spirit of "reflexive governance" (Beck 2006;Newig et al 2008), which entails the idea that "thinking and acting with respect to an object of steering also affects the subject and its ability to steer" (Voss and Kemp 2006: 4). Enhancing the policy uptake of indicators would imply "politics of policy indicators", that is, doing not only politics with indicators, but explicitly addressing the politics inherent in the processes of indicator development, use, and influence.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Indicators Bridge the Gap between Science and Policy? An Exploration into the (Non)Use and (Non)Influence of Indicators in EU and UK Policy Making

Sébastien¹,

Bauler²,

Lehtonen³

2014

Nature and Culture

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Article (Accepted Version) http://sro.sussex.ac.uk Sébastien, Léa, Bauler, Tom and Lehtonen, Markku (2014) Can indicators fill the gap between science and policy? An exploration of the (non) use and (non) influence of indicators in EU and UK policymaking. Nature and Culture, 9 (3). pp. 316-343. ISSN 1558-6073 This version is available from Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/50679/ This document is made available in accordance with publisher policies and may differ from the published version or from the version of record. If you wish to cite this item you are advised to consult the publisher's version. Please see the URL above for details on accessing the published version. Copyright and reuse:Sussex Research Online is a digital repository of the research output of the University.Copyright and all moral rights to the version of the paper presented here belong to the individual author(s) and/or other copyright owners. To the extent reasonable and practicable, the material made available in SRO has been checked for eligibility before being made available.Copies of full text items generally can be reproduced, displayed or performed and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided that the authors, title and full bibliographic details are credited, a hyperlink and/or URL is given for the original metadata page and the content is not changed in any way. Can Indicators Bridge the Gap between Science and Policy? An Exploration into the (Non)Use and (Non)Influence of Indicators in EU and UK Policy-MakingLéa Sébastien, Tom Bauler, and Markku Lehtonen AbstractThis article examines the various roles that indicators, as boundary objects, can play as a science-based evidence for policy processes. It presents two case studies from the EU-funded POINT project that examined the use and influence of two highly different types of indicators: composite indicators of sustainable development at the EU level and energy indicators in the UK. In both cases indicators failed as direct input to policy making, yet they generated various types of conceptual and political use and influence. The composite sustainable development indicators served as "framework indicators", helping to advocate a specific vision of sustainable development, whereas the energy indicators produced various types of indirect influence, including through the process of indicator elaboration. Our case studies demonstrate the relatively limited importance of the characteristics and quality of indicators in determining the role of indicators, as compared with the crucial importance of "user factors" (characteristics of policy actors) and "policy factors" (policy context).

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“…Zunächst fällt auf, dass der Gestaltung partizipativer Prozesse im Umwelt-und Nachhaltigkeitskontext ein erhebliches Gewicht für den wie auch immer definierten Erfolg beigemessen wird (Beierle & Cayford 2002;Dietz & Stern 2008 Zugleich bleibt die Frage offen, inwieweit partizipative Governance in der Lage ist, bestehende Zielambivalenzen und -konflikte innerhalb komplexer Probleme von Governance für nachhaltige Entwicklung zu lösen (Newig et al 2008) und damit auch zum Ausbalancieren ökologischer, ökonomischer und sozialer Dimensionen beitragen kann.…”

Section: Empirische Forschungsergebnisseunclassified