Sustainability assessments of research projects: exploring the case of Sustainability Readiness Level (SRL)
(2020) MVEM30 20201Studies in Environmental Science
- Abstract
- This study explores the cross-section between sustainability assessment and research reviewing- and evaluation at an early development stage of emerging technical solutions´ by conducting a case study on Sustainability Readiness Level, a tool used in the application and reviewing process of the Strategic Innovation Programme (SIP) BioInnovation. The aim of the thesis is to gain a deeper understanding of how sustainability assessments can be integrated into R&D projects and to get an understanding of the perception of SRL among its users (applicants and reviewers). This is done by conducting a qualitative interview study and a literature review. The results show a mixed perception on the effectiveness of SRL, however most of the... (More)
- This study explores the cross-section between sustainability assessment and research reviewing- and evaluation at an early development stage of emerging technical solutions´ by conducting a case study on Sustainability Readiness Level, a tool used in the application and reviewing process of the Strategic Innovation Programme (SIP) BioInnovation. The aim of the thesis is to gain a deeper understanding of how sustainability assessments can be integrated into R&D projects and to get an understanding of the perception of SRL among its users (applicants and reviewers). This is done by conducting a qualitative interview study and a literature review. The results show a mixed perception on the effectiveness of SRL, however most of the interviewees perceive SRL as an important tool that to some degree forces the applicants to reflect around sustainability. However, all of the applicants considered SRL to be vague and difficult to understand and use. This can be related to the limited time of implementations, difficulties in interpreting and set boundaries of “sustainability”, and to the, sometimes inherent, difficulties with ex ante assessments, such as uncertainties and lack of reliable data. The results indicate that SRL has led to discussions and reflections regarding sustainability issues within the projects and in the grant review process, but it does not seem to have had an effect on the integration of sustainability perspectives’ in the project design. Instead, the potential market diffusion and market need (sometimes related to requirements and regulations on national or EU-level) along with a collaborative research form seems to be the main drivers for ensuring a sustainable design of the project’s solution. SRL is a tool that answers to the many calls to incorporate sustainability perspectives into research projects applications and grant review, however, in order to fully study the effect and benefits of the tool a broader implementation in different contexts is needed, also in contexts where sustainability is not an explicit focus. (Less)
- Popular Abstract (Swedish)
- Det finns ett ökat intresse för att förstå forskningens bidrag och roll i omställningen till ett mer hållbart samhälle. Hursomhelst karaktäriseras forskningsutvärdering och management av osäkerheter och en rad svårigheter, såsom balansen mellan långsiktiga och kortsiktiga projekt, inkrementella och disruptiva projekt m.m. Denna studie undersöker tvärsnittet mellan hållbarhetsbedömningar och forskningsutvärdering genom att utforska Sustainability Readiness Level (SRL), ett verktyg som används av det strategiska innovationsprogrammet BioInnovation i ansöknings- och bedömningsprocessen. Detta görs genom att göra en litteraturstudie av tidigare forskning och metoder som liknar SRL, samt genom en intervjustudie. Intervjustudien syftar till att... (More)
- Det finns ett ökat intresse för att förstå forskningens bidrag och roll i omställningen till ett mer hållbart samhälle. Hursomhelst karaktäriseras forskningsutvärdering och management av osäkerheter och en rad svårigheter, såsom balansen mellan långsiktiga och kortsiktiga projekt, inkrementella och disruptiva projekt m.m. Denna studie undersöker tvärsnittet mellan hållbarhetsbedömningar och forskningsutvärdering genom att utforska Sustainability Readiness Level (SRL), ett verktyg som används av det strategiska innovationsprogrammet BioInnovation i ansöknings- och bedömningsprocessen. Detta görs genom att göra en litteraturstudie av tidigare forskning och metoder som liknar SRL, samt genom en intervjustudie. Intervjustudien syftar till att förstå användares perspektiv på SRL och huruvida verktyget har påverkat hur bedömare och ansökare arbetar med hållbarhet. Resultaten visar på en blandad syn på SRL bland användarna. De flesta ansåg att SRL är ett viktigt verktyg då det har ett signalvärde och till viss del tvingar användarna att reflektera kring hållbarhet. Hursomhelst ansåg alla ansökare att SRL är vagt och svårt att använda. Detta kan bero på kort implementeringstid och svårigheter med avgränsningar och tolkning av ”hållbarhet”, men också på svårigheter med ex ante utvärderingar generellt, såsom avsaknad av tillförlitliga data och stora osäkerheter. Resultaten indikerar på att SRL har lett till diskussioner och reflektioner om hållbarhet inom projektgrupperna och bedömningsgruppen, men att det inte verkar inte ha påverkat hur man arbetar med hållbarhet i projekten. Istället verkar marknadsbehovet och det nära samarbetet med potentiella kunder vara den främsta drivkraften till det tydliga hållbarhetsfokuset inom projekten. Resultaten visar också på en oro för effekten av denna typ av verktyg generellt, där flera deltagare menade att det finns en generell risk att införandet av modeller för att kommunicera potentiellt impact kan påverka substansen i hållbarhetsarbetet. För att förstå effekten av att använda SRL behöver verktyget implementeras i en bredare kontext, även i sammanhang där hållbarhet inte redan är ett tydligt fokus. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9029690
- author
- Stadler, Nike LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- MVEM30 20201
- year
- 2020
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Research Policy, research evaluation, sustainability, Sustainability Readiness Level, grant review
- language
- English
- id
- 9029690
- date added to LUP
- 2020-10-20 15:57:56
- date last changed
- 2021-01-01 03:40:54
@misc{9029690,
abstract = {{This study explores the cross-section between sustainability assessment and research reviewing- and evaluation at an early development stage of emerging technical solutions´ by conducting a case study on Sustainability Readiness Level, a tool used in the application and reviewing process of the Strategic Innovation Programme (SIP) BioInnovation. The aim of the thesis is to gain a deeper understanding of how sustainability assessments can be integrated into R&D projects and to get an understanding of the perception of SRL among its users (applicants and reviewers). This is done by conducting a qualitative interview study and a literature review. The results show a mixed perception on the effectiveness of SRL, however most of the interviewees perceive SRL as an important tool that to some degree forces the applicants to reflect around sustainability. However, all of the applicants considered SRL to be vague and difficult to understand and use. This can be related to the limited time of implementations, difficulties in interpreting and set boundaries of “sustainability”, and to the, sometimes inherent, difficulties with ex ante assessments, such as uncertainties and lack of reliable data. The results indicate that SRL has led to discussions and reflections regarding sustainability issues within the projects and in the grant review process, but it does not seem to have had an effect on the integration of sustainability perspectives’ in the project design. Instead, the potential market diffusion and market need (sometimes related to requirements and regulations on national or EU-level) along with a collaborative research form seems to be the main drivers for ensuring a sustainable design of the project’s solution. SRL is a tool that answers to the many calls to incorporate sustainability perspectives into research projects applications and grant review, however, in order to fully study the effect and benefits of the tool a broader implementation in different contexts is needed, also in contexts where sustainability is not an explicit focus.}},
author = {{Stadler, Nike}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Sustainability assessments of research projects: exploring the case of Sustainability Readiness Level (SRL)}},
year = {{2020}},
}