Public Authorities, Biogas Syd and Agency within Transitions
(2013) EKHR71 20131Department of Economic History
- Abstract
- With climate change gathering pace and increasingly foreboding predictions of the effects it will bring, the question of how to achieve a fast-paced transition towards a sustainable society is gaining increased awareness and importance. One debate centers on agency, and whether primarily public authorities can govern such a transition successfully. Theory on transitions suggests that they are often only achieved with the assistance of a strategic intermediary organization that plays a governance role. In this thesis, the strengths and weaknesses of a strategic intermediary to foster a transition are evaluated. The chosen case study is Biogas Syd (BGS) in Scania, Sweden, and its work to promote biogas development in the region. BGS is... (More)
- With climate change gathering pace and increasingly foreboding predictions of the effects it will bring, the question of how to achieve a fast-paced transition towards a sustainable society is gaining increased awareness and importance. One debate centers on agency, and whether primarily public authorities can govern such a transition successfully. Theory on transitions suggests that they are often only achieved with the assistance of a strategic intermediary organization that plays a governance role. In this thesis, the strengths and weaknesses of a strategic intermediary to foster a transition are evaluated. The chosen case study is Biogas Syd (BGS) in Scania, Sweden, and its work to promote biogas development in the region. BGS is perceived partly as an agent of the public authorities in Scania, due to the public authorities' involvement and funding of the organization. The functions BGS performs are extracted through a coding process based on interviews with representatives from five organisations working closely with the BGS, in addition to BGS itself. These functions are then subjected to a deeper theoretical analysis, drawing on the multi-level perspective coupled with spatial proximities to evaluate their contribution to fostering a transition. It is found that BGS strengthen some processes vital in niche development, but lack connection to the national and local political levels. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/3920578
- author
- Wretlind, Per LU
- supervisor
-
- Lars Coenen LU
- organization
- alternative title
- - An investigation of the advantages and drawbacks of a strategic intermediary organisation in fostering biogas development as a sustainable transition
- course
- EKHR71 20131
- year
- 2013
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- Transitions, sustainability, biogas, strategic intermediary, proximities, Scania, Biogas Syd
- language
- English
- id
- 3920578
- date added to LUP
- 2013-08-23 15:03:27
- date last changed
- 2013-08-23 15:03:27
@misc{3920578,
abstract = {{With climate change gathering pace and increasingly foreboding predictions of the effects it will bring, the question of how to achieve a fast-paced transition towards a sustainable society is gaining increased awareness and importance. One debate centers on agency, and whether primarily public authorities can govern such a transition successfully. Theory on transitions suggests that they are often only achieved with the assistance of a strategic intermediary organization that plays a governance role. In this thesis, the strengths and weaknesses of a strategic intermediary to foster a transition are evaluated. The chosen case study is Biogas Syd (BGS) in Scania, Sweden, and its work to promote biogas development in the region. BGS is perceived partly as an agent of the public authorities in Scania, due to the public authorities' involvement and funding of the organization. The functions BGS performs are extracted through a coding process based on interviews with representatives from five organisations working closely with the BGS, in addition to BGS itself. These functions are then subjected to a deeper theoretical analysis, drawing on the multi-level perspective coupled with spatial proximities to evaluate their contribution to fostering a transition. It is found that BGS strengthen some processes vital in niche development, but lack connection to the national and local political levels.}},
author = {{Wretlind, Per}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Public Authorities, Biogas Syd and Agency within Transitions}},
year = {{2013}},
}