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Transition management & the multi-level perspective
- 1. Transition management and themulti-level perspective Dr Gary Kerr
- 2. Transition Management • Thecontinuous process of transformation of socio-political landscapes, socio-technical practices and the structural character of society from one equilibrium to another • Seeks to: – Reduce uncertainty – Produce desirable social outcomes – Enhance resilience during transformation of socio- technical systems • Engages a wide range of stakeholders (actors) over the multiple levels to create shared visions and goals • Tested for practicality through the use of experimentation, learning and adaptation at the niche level.
- 3. Key principles oftransition management • Seeks to widen participation by taking a multi-actor approach in order to encompass societal values and beliefs • Takes a long term perspective creating visions in which short term objectives can be identified • Focused on learning at the niche level, experiments are used to identify how successful a particular pathway could be and uses the concept of “Learn by doing, doing by learning” • A systems thinking approach which identifies that problems will span multiple domains, levels and actors
- 4. Levels of transitionmanagement Niches Regimes Landscape
- 5. Technological niche • Level(or area) in which space is provided for radical innovation & experimentation • New, hopeful, technologies emerge at ‘niche’ level • Initially unstable, expensive with low performance • Incubation rooms: protection from market competition and regulation • Developed by network of dedicated actors that support product innovation • Niche is a safe environment that promotes innovation and allows breakthrough developments to grow • These new innovations may challenge the status-quo • Military as a niche: supporting development of radio, computers, internet, aircraft
- 6. Socio-technical regime • Dominantpractices, rules and technologies that provide stability and reinforcement to the prevailing socio-technical systems • Set of rules embedded in institutions & infrastructure that shape technological innovations • Actors include engineers, policy makers, financiers and suppliers • Regime has ‘set rules’: an established practice or system • Selection and retention mechanism – filters out the unsuccessful whilst incorporates worthy innovations into the existing regime • Any radical change is potentially threatening to the vested interests of the established regime
- 7. Socio-technical landscape • Overallsocio-technical setting that encompasses: – Intangible aspects of social values, political beliefs and world views and – Tangible aspects of the built environment including institutions and the functions of the market place such as prices, costs, trade patterns and incomes • These processes occur within the wider political, cultural and economic background termed the socio-technical landscape. • The landscape is an external backdrop to the actors at the regime and niche level. • Changes can occur in the landscape but much more slowly than regime level. • One such change is the increase in environmental awareness • This socio-cultural process is leading to pressure on numerous regimes (aviation, agriculture etc.) whilst providing openings for new technologies to establish themselves
- 8. The multi-level perspective •Transitions come about through interactions between processes at the three levels • Niche-innovations build up momentum – Learning processes – Price & performance improvements – Support from powerful groups • Changes at landscape level create pressure on the regime • De-stablisation of regime creates a window of opportunity for niche innovations • The alignment of these processes allows a breakthrough of novelties in mainstream markets when they compete with the existing regime
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- 10. Transition paths • Thenature of transitions varies, resulting in multiple pathways • Reproduction: ongoing change occurring in the regime level • Transformation: a socio-technical regime that changes without the emergence of a monopolising technology • Technological substitution: an incumbent technology is replaced by a radical innovation resulting in a new socio- technical regime. (e.g. the car replacing the horse as the primary means of land transport) • De-alignment and Re-alignment: weaknesses in the regime sees the advent of competing new technologies leading to a dominant model • Re-configuration: When multiple, interlinked technologies are replaced by a similarly linked alternative set
- 11. Criticisms of themulti-level perspective • Empirical research on technological transitions occurring now has been limited; focus has been on historic transitions. • Depending on perspective on transition case studies they could be presented as having occurred on a different transition path to what was shown • E.g. the bicycle could be considered an intermediate transport technology between the horse and the car. Judged by a shorter different time-frame this could appear a transition in its own right • Determining the nature of a transition is problematic; when it started and ended, or whether one occurred in the sense of a radical innovation displacing an existing socio-technical regime. • The perception of time casts doubt on whether a transition has occurred.
- 12. Conclusion • Continuous processof transformation of socio-political landscapes, socio-technical practices and the structural character of society from one equilibrium to another • Transition management & multi-level perspective is a useful tool for studying & understanding technological change (and reducing risk of undesirable outcomes) • Can be used to inform policy e.g. Dutch Government used it as a practical tool to radically transform their energy systems • UK & Scottish Governments could incorporate this as a framework to produce better policy around areas of renewable energy technologies