Reflective Appraisal of Transformative Innovation Policy: Development of the Sustainability Transition and Innovation Review (STIR) Approach and Application to Canada

Colleen Kaiser, Michal Miedzinski, Will McDowall and Geoffrey R. McCarney ()
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Colleen Kaiser: Institute of the Environment, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa, 120 University Private, Ottawa, ON K1N 9A7, Canada
Michal Miedzinski: Institute for Sustainable Resources, University College London (UCL), Central House, 14 Upper Woburn Place, London WC1H 0NN, UK
Will McDowall: Institute for Sustainable Resources, University College London (UCL), Central House, 14 Upper Woburn Place, London WC1H 0NN, UK
Geoffrey R. McCarney: School of International Development & Global Studies and Institute of the Environment, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa, 120 University Private, Ottawa, ON K1N 9A7, Canada

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 12, 1-23

Abstract: In the context of governing innovation systems for low-carbon transitions, learning is paramount. In this article, we look specifically at the issue of learning through innovation policy review processes. We begin by reviewing the academic literature on innovation policy reviews as well as the emerging literature on transformative innovation policy (TIP) in the contexts of major challenges such as climate change. Drawing from this review, we argue that traditional policy review frameworks fail to provide the kind of learning required to assess challenge-oriented innovation policies and that new, more reflexive approaches are required. We then propose a novel evaluative framework, the Sustainability Transition and Innovation Review (STIR), which incorporates insights from the TIP literature in order to address this gap. The basis for the proposed STIR framework in the theoretical literature is reviewed, and we then describe the results of a test of the STIR framework to evaluate Canada’s policy mix for driving a socio-technical transition from fossil-powered to electric vehicles. Insights from the test application show that the STIR approach helped uncover key explanatory dynamics around incremental vs. transformative change in Canada’s innovation policy performance, and highlighted the interplay between governance and substantive weaknesses in the policy mix. We conclude by arguing that these findings demonstrate the importance of updating policy review frameworks with the insights of the recent TIP literature.

Keywords: policy mix; innovation policy; socio-technical system; policy reviews; electric mobility transitions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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