Paving the way for sustainability transitions? Supportive potentials of university-related intermediaries in regional innovation systems

Abstract

Sustainability transitions research has identified intermediaries as central actors on driving change on landscape, regime and niche-level. To date, the role of higher education institution (HEI)-related intermediaries in supporting sustainability transitions is underexplored. We investigate in a qualitative case study four regional HEI-led innovation programs in Germany. This study set out to investigate how HEI-related intermediaries are involved in roles and activities that are predominantly attributed to systemic and regime-based transition intermediaries. Extending and adapting activities, we find HEI-related intermediaries are pivotal in advancing sustainability transitions: First, by performing roles and activities of transition intermediaries, they foster and mobilize potentials of regional innovation systems and thereby indirectly improving preconditions to enable change processes. Second, they directly induce impulses introducing concrete strategies and projects by fostering inclusive co-creation among diverse regional stakeholders. Therefore, we argue that regional-level HEI-related intermediation should be considered in the design and implementation of innovation policies driving sustainability transitions.