Social Innovation and the Energy Transition

Hoppe, Thomas; Vries, G. de

doi:10.3390/su11010141

Cited by 92 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…'Policy mixes' retrieved in the cases revealed a comprehensive picture, but also showed the need for particular instruments like Green Deals and covenants to deal with the innovative and comprehensive nature of regional energy project covering cross-jurisdictional boundaries in complex multi-actor settings (e.g., in the A16 and Amernet cases). Perhaps, it is fair to state that comprehensive 'policy mixes' were required to deal with the lack of systemic innovation structures regarding energy transition in the WB region, arguably as new governance arrangements, social innovations [15,80], or even 'proto-innovation systems' [21].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Governance Approach to Regional Energy Transition: Meaning, Conceptualization and Practice

Hoppe

Miedema

2020

Sustainability

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Energy transition requires action from different levels of government. While the national and local level have received ample scholarly attention, thus far little attention has been paid to the regional level. This is remarkable because policy makers across Europe are wondering what governance of regional transition actually is and how to shape and implement it. In the present paper, this concern is addressed. The research questions are, “What does regional governance of energy transition entail? How can it be conceptualized? And what does it mean in practice?” The questions are answered by presenting the results of a multi-disciplinary literature study, presenting a conceptual framework on governance of regional energy transition, using insights from innovation and transition studies as well as from the regional and network governance literature, and applying this to the illustrative case of the West-Brabant region in The Netherlands. West-Brabant is a relatively large region and was home to a pilot that involved the development of a regional energy strategy. Data collection involved twenty expert interviews, text documents and participative observation in workshops. Results highlight the relevance of each of the key elements of the conceptual governance framework. However, some are particularly relevant like structural characteristics of the regional actor network, actor characteristics, and regional governance arrangements used. The results reveal commonalities with regional governance in other policy domains. This paper contributes to the literature on polycentric governance of energy transition and climate change mitigation, and concludes with the presentation of a research agenda.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Governance Approach to Regional Energy Transition: Meaning, Conceptualization and Practice

Hoppe

Miedema

2020

Sustainability

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“…The first goal of bridging disciplines to tackle climate change lies in scaling up low-carbon innovation, from individual to community and then to wider society, and developing characteristics of user profiles based on various economic, political, and socio-cultural backgrounds. This helps to acquire a more disaggregated understanding of the diffusion of technological innovation, including product and services [55] , and social innovation [56] . Understanding individual behaviours and preferences, and how these aggregate up to group and society levels leading to fundamental change across the entire economy and society [57] , is vitally important, as it allows an understanding of the acceptance and viability of different policies and measures.…”

Section: Disaggregated Understanding Of the Diffusion Of Social Innovmentioning

confidence: 99%

The desirability of transitions in demand: Incorporating behavioural and societal transformations into energy modelling

Νίκας

Lieu

Şorman

et al. 2020

Energy Research & Social Science

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Quantitative systems modelling in support of climate policy has tended to focus more on the supply side in assessing interactions among technology, economy, environment, policy and society. By contrast, the demand side is usually underrepresented, often emphasising technological options for energy efficiency improvements. In this perspective, we argue that scientific support to climate action is not only about exploring capacity of “what”, in terms of policy and outcome, but also about assessing feasibility and desirability, in terms of “when”, “where” and especially for “whom”. Without the necessary behavioural and societal transformations, the world faces an inadequate response to the climate crisis challenge. This could result from poor uptake of low-carbon technologies, continued high-carbon intensive lifestyles, or economy-wide rebound effects. For this reason, we propose a framing for a holistic and transdisciplinary perspective on the role of human choices and behaviours in influencing the low-carbon transition, starting from the desires of individuals and communities, and analysing how these interact with the energy and economic landscape, leading to systemic change at the macro-level. In making a case for a political ecology agenda, we expand our scope, from comprehending the role of societal acceptance and uptake of end-use technologies, to co-developing knowledge with citizens from non-mainstream and marginalised communities, and to defining the modelling requirements to assess the decarbonisation potential of shifting lifestyle patterns in climate change and action.

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“…CECs create the opportunity for grassroots innovation by having an alternative vision and develop solutions that are either overlooked or considered non-profitable by conventional innovation systems (Smith, 2016). In their actions to create innovations, CECs collaborate with other business ecosystem actors (Hoppe & De Vries, 2019). Like other European countries, the UK's community-led initiatives are anchored in grassroots innovation; such innovations occur in areas of technology, infrastructures, organizational forms, and markets to challenge current regimes (Smith et al, 2016).…”

Section: Grassroots Innovations and Shared Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

Analyzing Community Initiatives in UK’s Energy Transition through the Lens of Sustainable Entrepreneurship

Acharya¹,

Cave²

2020

EER

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The low-carbon energy transition framed as a social-technical system can enable researchers to gain insight into the complex interaction between niche actors and the dominant regime under the current energy policy landscape. This paper aims to analyze community-led energy initiatives through the lens of sustainable entrepreneurship and discern business practices that these niche actors use in the social-technical setting of the energy transition. Niche actors such as Community Energy Cooperatives (CECs) develop bottom-up solutions and overcome social-cognitive norms through citizen engagement. Especially in the UK, such community initiatives face resistance from the dominant regime due to the unfavorable policies and centralized institutional arrangements. The business practices based on sustainable entrepreneurship can enable community groups to create social, economic, and environmental values for the local communities. In our analysis, we observed that CECs exhibit traits of a sustainable entrepreneur in their efforts to support energy transition. We discerned following business practices based on sustainable entrepreneurship that CECs employ in the UK: (1) mission-driven and locally focused, (2) commercial venturing and collaboration, and (3) grassroots innovations and shared knowledge. In this paper, we observed a strong connection between the CEC business practices and sustainable entrepreneurship that provides a foundation for future academic interests. Further, we noted that intermediary organizations, as part of the business ecosystem, play a crucial role in supporting the UK’s community energy sector.

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Social Innovation and the Energy Transition

Cited by 92 publications

References 60 publications

A Governance Approach to Regional Energy Transition: Meaning, Conceptualization and Practice

A Governance Approach to Regional Energy Transition: Meaning, Conceptualization and Practice

The desirability of transitions in demand: Incorporating behavioural and societal transformations into energy modelling

Analyzing Community Initiatives in UK’s Energy Transition through the Lens of Sustainable Entrepreneurship

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