Diffusing transformative innovations through templating – The case of onsite water reuse in the United States
Lesch, Djamila LU ; Miorner, Johan LU
and Binz, Christian
LU
(2026)
In Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions
61.
- Abstract
Although transitions literature provides ample evidence of how transformative innovations like renewable energies, regenerative agriculture, or multi-modal mobility systems emerge, it offers limited insight into the mechanisms that enable their spatial diffusion. We address this gap by exploring templating, a crucial yet under-theorized pathway through which actors can actively foster the spatial diffusion of transformative innovations. We conceptualize templating as a set of activities through which actors create blueprints, best practices, and standards that provide well-aligned guidance on the implementation of transformative innovations across multiple dimensions (technical, organizational, institutional). Our conceptualization of... (More)
Although transitions literature provides ample evidence of how transformative innovations like renewable energies, regenerative agriculture, or multi-modal mobility systems emerge, it offers limited insight into the mechanisms that enable their spatial diffusion. We address this gap by exploring templating, a crucial yet under-theorized pathway through which actors can actively foster the spatial diffusion of transformative innovations. We conceptualize templating as a set of activities through which actors create blueprints, best practices, and standards that provide well-aligned guidance on the implementation of transformative innovations across multiple dimensions (technical, organizational, institutional). Our conceptualization of templating is informed by an in-depth single case study focusing on the increasing diffusion of onsite water reuse systems (ONWS) across the United States. Based on 23 expert interviews and a review of secondary literature, we examine how San Francisco’s public utility established a network of public agencies that subsequently orchestrated a templating process by identifying necessary template elements and mobilizing collaborators capable of developing and showcasing them. We argue that templating is a highly relevant strategy for diffusing complex innovations, with the potential to considerably accelerate sustainability transitions.
(Less)
- author
- Lesch, Djamila
LU
; Miorner, Johan
LU
and Binz, Christian
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026-08
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Configurational template, Spatial diffusion, Transformative innovation, Water management
- in
- Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions
- volume
- 61
- article number
- 101170
- publisher
- Elsevier
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105044458753
- ISSN
- 2210-4224
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.eist.2026.101170
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2026 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
- id
- 6ae26c0e-dae5-49c7-a539-39a71f6a7c91
- date added to LUP
- 2026-07-20 08:29:22
- date last changed
- 2026-08-05 14:17:09
@article{6ae26c0e-dae5-49c7-a539-39a71f6a7c91,
abstract = {{<p>Although transitions literature provides ample evidence of how transformative innovations like renewable energies, regenerative agriculture, or multi-modal mobility systems emerge, it offers limited insight into the mechanisms that enable their spatial diffusion. We address this gap by exploring templating, a crucial yet under-theorized pathway through which actors can actively foster the spatial diffusion of transformative innovations. We conceptualize templating as a set of activities through which actors create blueprints, best practices, and standards that provide well-aligned guidance on the implementation of transformative innovations across multiple dimensions (technical, organizational, institutional). Our conceptualization of templating is informed by an in-depth single case study focusing on the increasing diffusion of onsite water reuse systems (ONWS) across the United States. Based on 23 expert interviews and a review of secondary literature, we examine how San Francisco’s public utility established a network of public agencies that subsequently orchestrated a templating process by identifying necessary template elements and mobilizing collaborators capable of developing and showcasing them. We argue that templating is a highly relevant strategy for diffusing complex innovations, with the potential to considerably accelerate sustainability transitions.</p>}},
author = {{Lesch, Djamila and Miorner, Johan and Binz, Christian}},
issn = {{2210-4224}},
keywords = {{Configurational template; Spatial diffusion; Transformative innovation; Water management}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Elsevier}},
series = {{Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions}},
title = {{Diffusing transformative innovations through templating – The case of onsite water reuse in the United States}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2026.101170}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.eist.2026.101170}},
volume = {{61}},
year = {{2026}},
}