Transitions, Innovation en Governance

Transitions, Innovation and Governance

TRIG provides an overview of frameworks and methods to study and guide sustainable innovation, sustainability transitions, in particular socio-technical transitions and their governance, as these are all important to bring about sustainability and transitions to sustainability. Increasing the understanding of the underlying societal mechanisms and processes of sustainable innovation and sustainability transitions is important in the course. Students also acquire knowledge on how to govern sustainability transitions and how to ensure that transitions are just. Innovation is considered as both a technical and non-technical novelty that can be brought successfully to the market, which can improve business practices, or can lead to major changes in user practices in society. Sustainable innovation is related to concepts like social innovation, eco-innovation and responsible innovation. Participatory visioning methods, governance strategies and policy instruments are illustrated to facilitate sustainable innovation and sustainability transitions. The course content is organised in several topics:

1. Sustainable Innovation and Transitions

2. Governance for Sustainable Innovation & Transitions

3. Intervention Instruments: Backcasting and Transition Management

4. Policy instruments, Politics and Power in Transitions

5. Business Model Innovation and Transitions

6. Justice and just transitions

Cases and illustrative examples are taken from both (i) energy innovation & renewable energy transitions, and (ii) circular economy innovation and the transition to a circular economy.

This course is part of the joint degree MSc Industrial Ecology, offered by Leiden University and Delft University of Technology. More information about the course is published in the online study guide of Leiden University