45,024 research outputs found
A grassroots sustainable energy niche? Reflections on community energy case studies
System changing innovations for sustainability transitions are proposed to emerge in radical innovative niches. âStrategic Niche Managementâ theory predicts that niche level actors and networks will aggregate learning from local projects, distilling and disseminating best practice. This should lower the bar for new projects to form and establish, thereby encouraging the innovation to diffuse through replication. Within this literature, grassroots innovations emerging from civil society are an under researched site of sociotechnical innovation for sustainable energy transitions. We consider the emerging community energy sector in the UK, in order to empirically test this model. Community energy is a diverse grassroots led sector including both demand and supply side initiatives for sustainable energy such as community owned renewable energy generation, village hall refurbishments, behaviour change initiatives and energy efficiency projects. Our analysis draws on in depth qualitative case study research with twelve local projects, and a study of how intermediary organisations aim to support local projects and encourage replication. This rich data allows us to examine the extent and nature of interactions between projects and intermediary actors in order to evaluate the utility of niche theories in the civil society context. In particular, we investigate which types of knowledge, support and resources were needed by our case study projects to become established and thrive, and compare and contrast this with those offered by the emerging community energy niche. Our findings indicate that while networking and intermediary organisations can effectively collate and spread some types of learning and information necessary for replication, this is not sufficient: tacit knowledge, trust and confidence are essential to these projectsâ success, but are more difficult to abstract and translate to new settings. We draw out the implications of our findings for niche theory, for community energy and other grassroots practitioners aiming to build robust influential niches, and for policymakers eager to harness civil societyâs innovative potential for sustainability
A grassroots sustainable energy niche? Reflections on community energy in the UK
System-changing innovations for sustainability transitions are pro- posed to emerge in radical innovative niches. âStrategic Niche Managementâ theory predicts that niche-level actors and networks will aggregate learning from local projects, disseminating best practice, and encouraging innovation diffusion. Grassroots inno- vations emerging from civil society are under-researched, and so we investigate the UK community energy sector to empirically test this model. Our analysis draws on qualitative case study research with local projects, and a study of how intermediary organisa- tions support local projects. We examine the extent and nature of interactions and resource flows between projects and intermediary actors in order to evaluate the utility of niche theories in the civil society context. While networking and intermediary organisations can effectively spread some types of learning necessary for diffu- sion, this is not sufficient: tacit knowledge, trust and confidence are essential to these projectsâ success, but are more difficult to abstract and translate to new settings. We discuss the implications of our findings for niche theory, for community energy and other grass- roots practitioners aiming to build robust influential niches, and for policymakers
Animating and sustaining niche social networks
Within the communicative space online Social Network Sites (SNS) afford, Niche Social Networks Sites (NSNS) have emerged around particular geographic, demographic or topic-based communities to provide what broader SNS do not: specified and targeted content for an engaged and interested community. Drawing on a research project developed at the Queensland University of Technology in conjunction with the Australian Smart Services Cooperative Research Centre that produced an NSNS based around Adventure Travel, this paper outlines the main drivers for community creation and sustainability within NSNS. The paper asks what factors motivate users to join and stay with these sites and what, if any, common patterns can be noted in their formation. It also outlines the main barriers to online participation and content creation in NSNS, and the similarities and differences in SNS and NSNS business models. Having built a community of 100 registered members, the staywild.com.au project was a living laboratory, enabling us to document the steps taken in producing a NSNS and cultivating and retaining active contributors. The paper incorporates observational analysis of user-generated content (UGC) and user profile submissions, statistical analysis of site usage, and findings from a survey of our membership pool in noting areas of success and of failure. In drawing on our project in this way we provide a template for future iterations of NSNS initiation and development across various other social settings: not only niche communities, but also the media and advertising with which they engage and interact. Positioned within the context of online user participation and UGC research, our paper concludes with a discussion of the ways in which the tools afforded by NSNS extend earlier understandings of online âcommunities of interestâ. It also outlines the relevance of our research to larger questions about the diversity of the social media ecology
What Influences the Diffusion of Grassroots Innovations for Sustainability? Investigating Community Currency Niches
Community action for sustainability is a promising site of socio-technical innovation. Here we test the applicability of co-evolutionary niche theories of innovation diffusion (Strategic Niche Management, SNM) to the context of âgrassroots innovationsâ. We present new empirical findings from an international study of 12 community currency niches (such as LETS, time banks, local currencies). These are parallel systems of exchange, designed to operate alongside mainstream money, meeting additional sustainability needs. Our findings confirm SNM predictions that niche-level activity correlates with diffusion success, but we highlight additional or confounding factors, and how niche theories might be adapted to better fit civil-society innovations. In so doing, we develop a model of grassroots innovation niche diffusion which builds on existing work and tailors it to this specific context. The paper concludes with a series of theoretically-informed recommendations for practitioners and policymakers to support the development and potential of grassroots innovations
The diffusion of IP telephony and vendors' commercialisation strategies
This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in the Journal of Information Technology. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available at the link below.The Internet telephony (IP telephony) has been presented as a technology that can replace existing fixed-line services and disrupt the telecommunications industry by offering new low-priced services. This study investigates the diffusion of IP telephony in Denmark by focusing on vendorsâ commercialisation strategies. The theory of disruptive innovation is introduced to investigate vendorsâ perceptions about IP telephony and explore their strategies that affect the diffusion process in the residential market. The analysis is based on interview data collected from the key market players. The study's findings suggest that IP telephony is treated as a sustaining innovation that goes beyond the typical voice transmission and enables provision of advanced services such as video telephony
Making the most of community energies:Three perspectives on grassroots innovation
Grassroots innovations for sustainability are attracting increasing policy attention. Drawing upon a wide range of empirical research into community energy in the UK, and taking recent support from national government as a case study, we apply three distinct analytical perspectives: strategic niche management; niche policy advocacy; and critical niches. Whilst the first and second perspectives appear to explain policy influence in grassroots innovation adequately, each also shuts out more transformational possibilities. We therefore argue that, if grassroots innovation is to realise its full potential, then we need to also pursue a third, critical niches perspective, and open up debate about more socially transformative pathways to sustainability
Explaining Regional and Local Differences in Organic Farming in England and Wales: A Comparison of South West Wales and South East England
Explaining regional and local differences in organic farming in England and Wales: a comparison of South West Wales and South East England, Regional Studies, Few studies explain the concentration of organic farming in specific regions of England and Wales. This paper compares the development of organic farming in South West Wales and South East England. While the focus in the former is on the use of mainly national marketing channels and the movement of organic produce more than 60â
min from the farm, in the latter greater use is made of local and direct marketing channels to distribute organic food within 30â
min of the farm. The overriding importance of demand appears to provide a key explanation for regional differentiation in organic farming.
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Expliquer les disparités régionales dans l'agriculture biologique en Angleterre et au pays de Galles: une comparaison du sud-ouest du pays de Galles et du sud-est de l'Angleterre, Regional Studies. Rares sont les études qui expliquent la concentration de l'agriculture biologique dans des zones spécifiques de l'Angleterre et du pays de Galles. Cet article cherche à comparer le développement de l'agriculture biologique du sud-ouest du pays de Galles à celle du sud-est de l'Angleterre. Tandis que celle-là met l'accent sur l'emploi des circuits commerciaux principalement nationaux et sur la distribution de la production agricole biologique à plus de 60 minutes de la ferme, celle-ci exploite davantage les circuits commerciaux locaux et directs pour distribuer les denrées alimentaires organiques dans un rayon de 30 minutes de la ferme. Il semble que l'importance primordiale de la demande constitue un facteur déterminant de la différenciation régionale de l'agriculture biologique.
ErklĂ€rung der regionalen und lokalen Unterschiede bei der ökologischen Landwirtschaft in England und Wales: ein Vergleich zwischen SĂŒdwestwales und SĂŒdostengland, Regional Studies. Die Konzentration der ökologischen Landwirtschaft in bestimmten Regionen von England und Wales wird nur in wenigen Studien erklĂ€rt. In diesem Beitrag vergleichen wir die Entwicklung der ökologischen Landwirtschaft in SĂŒdwestwales mit der von SĂŒdostengland. WĂ€hrend in SĂŒdwestwales der Schwerpunkt auf den gröĂtenteils landesweiten AbsatzkanĂ€len und dem Transport von ökologischen Lebensmitteln an mehr als 60 Minuten vom landwirtschaftlichen Betrieb entfernte Orte liegt, werden in SĂŒdostengland öfter lokale und direkte AbsatzkanĂ€le genutzt und die ökologischen Lebensmittel an bis zu 30 Minuten vom landwirtschaftlichen Betrieb entfernte Orte transportiert. Die wichtigste ErklĂ€rung fĂŒr die regionalen Unterschiede bei der ökologischen Landwirtschaft scheinen in der vorrangigen Bedeutung der Nachfrage zu liegen.
ExplicaciĂłn de las diferencias regionales y locales en la agricultura biolĂłgica de Inglaterra y Gales: comparaciĂłn entre el suroeste de Gales y el sureste de Inglaterra, Regional Studies. En pocos estudios se explica la concentraciĂłn de la agricultura biolĂłgica en regiones especĂficas de Inglaterra y Gales. En este artĂculo comparamos el desarrollo de la agricultura biolĂłgica en el suroeste de Gales y el sureste de Inglaterra. Mientras que en el suroeste de Gales se hace hincapiĂ© en el uso de canales mercantiles principalmente nacionales y el movimiento de productos biolĂłgicos a una distancia de mĂĄs de 60 minutos de la explotaciĂłn agrĂcola, en el sureste de Inglaterra se utilizan mĂĄs los canales mercantiles locales y directos para distribuir alimentos biolĂłgicos a no mĂĄs de 30 minutos de la explotaciĂłn agrĂcola. Parece ser que la demanda es el motivo mĂĄs importante para explicar las diferencias regionales en la agricultura biolĂłgica
Bottom-up radio: creating a new media format using living lab research
This study resulted in the creation of a new media format for urban youth, adopting a living lab-approach, as current studies have shown that this group is currently not reached with the contemporary media offer. Living lab research is a state-of-the art methodology that aims at involving end-users in the innovation process over a longer time span, combining both quantitative and qualitative research techniques and tools. In a first phase, a panel of urban youngsters was created using an intake survey (N=290). These data were analyzed resulting in three distinct types of urban youngsters. In a second phase, a qualitative research trajectory was organized in order to refine the three profiles and get an insight in their media use, digital skills, media preferences and needs with regards to the current media offer. Research methods during this phase included diary studies, participatory observation during workshops and probe research. In a third phase, co-creation sessions were organized with youngsters from the urban panel in order to get feedback on a concept that was iteratively developed during the first two phases of the project. Results show that mobile devices and social media are important for these urban youngsters and that most of these youngsters have quite some creative skills. Radio seems to be a less popular medium, although they spend a significant amount of time listening to music. Further, results show that these youngsters are in need of a platform which stimulates community building and offers a space to express their creativity. A third requirement for the development of a new media format that would meet the needs of these youngers is a format that provides space for local elements and niche markets. This all resulted in the launch of Chase, an urban, crowdsourced radio station
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Analysing road pricing implementation processes in the UK and Norway
Traditional transport policies of road expansion entail a relatively simple system of actors and processes around which expertise, knowledge, and skills which has built up over many decades. Some of the more radical Travel Demand Management measures, including urban road pricing, involve a complicated set of institutions, processes, people and procedures. Road pricing schemes often get delayed or abandoned due to controversy, disagreements, unanticipated problems and a whole host of other delaying factors. If they are implemented, they tend to be diluted and consequently become less effective.
Strategic Niche Management (SNM) has previously been used to provide guidelines on the implementation of innovative transport technologies through setting up protected experimental settings (niches) in which actors learn about the design, user needs, social and political acceptability, and other aspects. Here SNM is modified to cover a policy approach through the analysis of road user charging case studies in the UK and Norway. A detailed analysis of the road user charging schemes in Bergen, Oslo, Durham and London is presented. Key factors identified include the role of stakeholder and user networks, the existence of a project champion, understanding the motivations and expectations of stakeholders and users, learning with regards to the regional context, and the change in perceptions associated with acceptance. Comparison between the four cases shows different approaches emerging from each country in implementing and âmarketingâ of the policies.
The paper concentrates on approaches such as: the purpose for introducing the policies, the involvement of users in the planning process and, the use of revenues for either providing alternative transport modes or financing road infrastructure. Key factors identified using the SNM framework include the role of stakeholder and user networks, the existence of a project champion, understanding the motivations and expectations of stakeholders and users, learning with regards to the regional context, and the change in perceptions associated with acceptance. This type of analysis could prove useful for transport planners envisaging the implementation of road pricing projects
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