WP Public Actors

Our working hypothesis is that public actors have an unrealised capacity to govern and orchestrate the ongoing transition. The realisation of this capacity needs to be built on a focused analysis of existing governance frameworks and policy measures, and possible ways to redevelop and complement these.

Task P1: Transformative capacity: experiences from promising cases

The aim of this task is to identify key aspects of transformative capacity among public actors. Our analysis will be based on experiences from already existing, promising cases from fields such as sustainable urban transport, smart cities, smart energy transitions. By promising, we mean cases where there are traces of transformative capacity among public actors, i.e. where they have been successful in initiating new solutions or governance approaches that push sustainability, and/or influence market-driven initiatives by means of regulation, plats or strategies to make them aligned with long term climate-, social- or other sustainability goals. We have identified a number of initiatives that are of key interest to our work (e.g. London, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, São Paulo, Singapore, Toronto where public actors have taken active efforts to govern digitally enhanced accessibility services) , but the exact selection for the analysis will be decided Q1 2021.

In task P1, we will explore the following research questions:

• What are the most critical governance challenges for public actors in situations/contexts characterised by rapid market-driven developments and/or advanced digital technology? 
• What specific institutional responses and/or policy measures have proved crucial in these earlier “promising” cases? (I.e. what were the key explanations behind the development of transformative capacity in these cases?)

Task P2: Exploring and building transformative capacity of public actors through living labs

The aim of this task is to explore and develop the capacity of public actors to develop and apply transformative policy measures to strengthen the climate and social justice-aspects act of digitally supported mobility and accessibility services. To accomplish this, a policy lab will be set up, adjacent to LL3 , that includes 8-12 engaged public sector professionals. They will be recruited from the Mistra Sams partners (Botkyrka municipality, Stockholm municipality, and the Swedish transport administration), but also from other national and regional authorities with responsibility for spatial planning, infrastructure, public transport, housing and digitalisation.

Through a stepwise approach that follows the rationale of the LL3-process, the policy actors will contribute with their perspectives and experiences of existing policy conditions, and will also be invited to identify, test and explore other ways of working (regarding both organisation, specific policy instruments and new ways to collaborate across administrative borders etc). A specific benefit of the policy lab-approach, compared to less interactive research methods, is that it builds on a clear commitment among the policy actors to be prepared to test and apply new policy measures in practice, which is made possible through the living lab-approach.

Task P2 will address the following research questions:

• What perspectives do these policy actors have on prevailing, approaches to platform-based mobility? What risks and/or possibilities do they see in terms of climate and social justice?
• What types of policy measures do the public actors consider as possible and suitable to apply, to ensure that digitally supported accessibility and mobility services will contribute to a climate-neutral and socially just transport system?
• How are market and citizens actors targeted by public actors in suggested measures, and what role are they intended to play in the future transport system?
• Based upon insights in the development of LL3, what lessons can be drawn regarding the need for new, and/or adjusted/developed policy measures and ways of working across administrative borders?

Task P3: Ways forward: institutions, procedures and leadership for transformative capacity

The aim of this task is to build richer, broader and more generalisable insights on possible and recommendable ways forward for public actors to develop a transformative capacity to ensure that platform-based mobility and accessibility will contribute substantially to society’s long-term goals of climate neutrality and social justice.

Task P3 will address the following research questions:

• What are the key measures, actions and paths that are needed for public actors to develop a transformative capacity?
• How can public actors initiate, support and enable sustainable citizenship and sustainable entrepreneurship?