Constructing & contesting spaces for low-carbon energy innovation Welcome & introduction

Welcome on behalf of the organising team! / School of Innovation Sciences 11-1-2019

Content Background Aims of the workshop Agenda of the workshop Round of introductions / School of Innovation Sciences 11-1-2019

Background ‘The politics of low carbon innovations: towards a theory of niche protection’ NWO-ESRC funded research program ‘Bilateral agreements’ call Science and Technology Policy Research (SPRU, Sussex University) School of Innovation Sciences (TU/e) Oct 2010 – May 2014 / School of Innovation Sciences 11-1-2019

Argument Niche is key concept in transition analysis and governance, but concept is underdeveloped Established literature argues niche = protective space Functional/instrumental understanding We know little of how protective space is constructed, maintained, reconfigured or abolished Actor-oriented/politically-informed understanding / School of Innovation Sciences 11-1-2019

Low-carbon energy innovation Energy systems are facing major pressures to transform (climate, resource depletion, energy, security, affordability, accessibility) Many low-carbon innovations exist; some have reached mature status, others struggle to survive High-carbon incumbent systems continue to innovate too (cf. CCS, hydraulic fracturing)… / School of Innovation Sciences 11-1-2019

Low-carbon energy innovation Many low-carbon innovations require substantial systemic changes for wide-scale deployment All energy options are controversial (including ‘sustainable’ innovations) Competition among technology advocates for social, political and industrial attention Disputes within technological fields over which development pathways to prioritise / School of Innovation Sciences 11-1-2019

Research questions What constitutes protective spaces? Who creates, maintains, transforms or abolishes protective spaces, and how? What are the power- and political relations involved, and with which kind of consequences? Who is excluded from protective spaces? / School of Innovation Sciences 11-1-2019

Research questions What role do policies play in the dynamics of protective spaces? How do dynamics in protective space influence innovation and visa versa? Which methodologies are appropriate for analysis of protective spaces? Which practical lessons for lobbyists, practitioners and policy–actors? / School of Innovation Sciences 11-1-2019

Different ontologies and perspectives to address these questions Evolutionary perspectives Protective space shields radical innovation against selection pressures from incumbent regime context Protective space allows nurturing of alternative socio-technical configuration, followed by breakthrough Relational perspectives Protective space is constituted by dynamic relationships and flows between heterogeneous actors No context, only the practice of contexting. / School of Innovation Sciences 11-1-2019

Different ontologies and perspectives to address these questions Institutional perspectives Space is constituted by formal and informal institutions in organisational fields Institutional entrepreneurs engage in collective action to advocate institutional reforms Geographical perspectives Space as ‘territorial container’ or ‘relational concept’ Spatial roots of protective space (niches do not emerge out of nowhere and not everywhere) Space as ‘multi-scalar’ concept (interactions between spatially differentiated networks) / School of Innovation Sciences 11-1-2019

Aims of the workshop To bring together leading scholars with different scholarly backgrounds to enhance our understanding of ‘spaces’ thinking in relation to low-carbon energy innovation To explore ways in which ‘spaces’ thinking can contribute to the governance of low-carbon energy innovation / School of Innovation Sciences 11-1-2019

Agenda of the workshop 7 sessions with plenary paper presentations and discussions 2-3 papers in each session 3 interactive/break-out sessions What have we learned today Explore theoretical and governance implications / School of Innovation Sciences 11-1-2019

Agenda of the workshop: Tuesday Time Topic 09.00 – 10.15 Welcome and introduction 10.15 – 10.45 Break 10.45 – 12.00 Session 1: Creating socio-political and socio-institutional spaces 12.00 – 13.00 Lunch 13.00 – 14.15 Session 2: Shielding, nurturing and empowering niche spaces 14.15 – 14.45 14.45 – 16.00 Session 3: Experimenting in low-carbon spaces and their political and spatial context 16.00 – 17.00 What have we learned today? 18.00 - Free evening / School of Innovation Sciences 11-1-2019

Agenda of the workshop: Wednesday Time Topic 09.15 – 10.30 Session 4: Voluntary and commercial initiatives in creating innovation spaces 10.30 – 11.00 Break 11.00 – 12.15 Session 5: Spatial reconfigurations, protective spaces and socio-technical transformations 12.15 – 13.30 Lunch 13.00 – 15.15 Session 6: Relational perspectives on protected spaces 15.15 – 15.45 15.45 – 17.00 What have we learned today? 19.00 - Workshop dinner / School of Innovation Sciences 11-1-2019

Agenda of the workshop: Thursday Time Topic 09.00 – 10.45 Session 7: Contestation and legitimacy in creating protective spaces 10.45 – 11.00 Break 11.00 – 11.30 What have we learned today? 11.30 – 12.00 Ways forward 12.00 – 13.00 Goodbye lunch 14.00 – 15.30 PhD defense Johanna Ulmanen / School of Innovation Sciences 11-1-2019

Have a great workshop! / School of Innovation Sciences 11-1-2019