A constructivist approach to the spatial organization of transformative innovation policy

Summary, in English

Recent attempts to conceptualize the multi-level governance of transformative innovation policy make strong arguments in favour of pursuing societal challenges at the subnational scale. This article suggests, that these recent efforts risk falling into a scalar trap, because they rely on a theoretical assumption about the policy effectiveness of the subnational scale. In response, the paper proposes a constructivist approach to the spatial organization of transformative innovation policy. The constructivist approach views scale as continuously produced and contested by actors. Moreover, it suggests that rescaling may be an important aspect of multi-level governance of transformative innovation policy because it has the potential to alter the influence of actors in the prevailing socio-technical system. The approach is illustrated with an empirical analysis of waste management in Denmark where a transformative innovation policy has recently been introduced, rescaling decision-making away from a traditionally strong subnational scalar arrangement.