Work package Public Actors

Aim

The overall aim with WP P is to build knowledge regarding the potential role of public actors to more actively govern and orchestrate the ongoing transition to digitally supported mobility and accessibility services. For this purpose, we will 1) synthesise previous insights on institutional conditions of significance for enhancing the transformative capacity of public actors and 2) explore concrete ways to integrate transformative policy measures into the development of new mobility and accessibility services, to make them effective and accurate with regards to climate neutrality and social justice.

Content and scientific context

A theoretical approach will be applied that can capture path dependencies and power relations, while also suggesting ways to alter these. We have found inspiration in theories of sociological institutionalism (Steele, 2011; c.f. Healey, 2007) and interpretive and discursive policy science (Wagenaar, 2011) as well as the emerging fields of transformative climate governance (Bulkeley & Broto, 2013) and transition studies with a focus on regimes, lock-ins and power-dynamics (Avelino & Rotmans, 2009; Avelino et al 2016; Smith & Raven, 2012). Based upon these strands of literature, we will develop a theoretical approach that sheds light on what mechanisms in policy and planning which can ignite and ensure transformative capacity. Throughout our work, we will make use of a broad understanding of policy measures, which includes means of communication, rules and regulations, economic incentives and forms of organization (Hood & Margretts, 2007).

The research builds on three types of empirical material: 1) previous literature (both published works and grey literature), 2) in-depth interviews with planners, politicians and experts from the local, regional and national levels (i.e. Botkyrka municipality, the city of Stockholm, the Stockholm region, The Swedish transport administration (STA) as well as other agencies with a strategic role for transport regulation, land use and digitalisation, and 3) interactive workshops with strategically selected individuals from these organisations.

The WP will be carried out in three tasks in close collaboration with WP M, WP C and WP LLD. Public officers from Botkyrka municipality, and the City of Stockholm, will actively participate in setting up workshops and discussing interventions, etc.

Work package leader

The leader of this work package is Malin Henriksson, VTI

Tasks 

Task P1: Transformative capacity: experiences from promising cases

Aim and research questions

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?)

The work is based upon a literature review (published research, grey literature and other forms of documentation) through which a gross list of promising examples from the last 5 years are identified. From this gross list, we will make a strategic selection of 8-12 cases that we will analyse closer. For these cases, we will complement the literature review with qualitative interviews with experts with unique insights in these cases ( 1-2 experts per case). The results will inform the development of a framework for analyzing and developing the transformative capacity of public actors in the new living lab, and will also provide key input to the outline of LL3.

Deliverables:

1 research report (with WP C and WP M)

1 conference presentation

Task leader: Jacob Witzell, VTI

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

Aim and research questions

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?

This task will be carried out through interactive yearly workshops with the public actors included in the policy lab (see above). The workshops will be complemented by in-depth individual interviews with the participants and will include questions about experiences and reflections of the themes discussed in the workshops. Key issues to explore in the in-depth individual interviews is related to the specific institutional conditions of each organisation to work transformatively, and what it will take to enhance this capacity further.

Deliverables:

3 workshops including workshop documentation

3 peer-reviewed journal papers (1 with WP M)

1 debate article

2 conference presentations

Task leader:  Malin Henriksson, VTI

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

Aim and research questions

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 transformativecapacity?
• How can public actors initiate, support and enable sustainable citizenship and sustainable entrepreneurship?

A key activity for this task is the organisation of a carefully designed workshop/conference to which a broad set of actors and organisations will be invited (i.e. public organisations working with transport, land-use and digitalisation at the local, regional and national levels; large and small enterprises (working with transport/mobility/logistics, housing/estate and ICT), researchers and civil society organisations). We will host a workshop/conference in the format of a “Future search workshop” (Weisbord et.al. 2000) (Q3 2023). This is an established method aimed to explore possibilities for change in-depth and to produce key steps to start a transformative process. Results and insights from tasks in WPP, WPM, WPC and WPLL will provide input to the workshop discussions, and serve as a starting point for exploring what types of regulative efforts, plans, strategies, indicators, leadership and ways of working within and among public actors (at various administrative levels) that will enhance transformative capacity.

The other key activity in PA3 includes analysing and synthesizing the lessons learned about transformative capacity from P1 and P2 and way forwards for public actors. This also includes drawing lessons from WP LLD, WP C and WP M, with a particular focus on impacts for public actors' ability to develop transformative capacity.

Deliverables:

1 conference presentation

1 peer reviewed journal paper

1 chapter in the WP S anthology

Task leader:  Jessica Berg, VTI