The role of umbrella organisations in facilitating sustainability transition - the diffusion of energy cooperatives and community-supported agriculture in Europe
(2023) In Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science MESM02 20231LUCSUS (Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies)
- Abstract
- Umbrella organizations of grassroot innovations can play important roles in facilitating sustainability transitions. This thesis examines such roles by studying national and regional umbrella organizations of energy cooperatives and community-supported agriculture in Europe. Embedded in the Multi-Level Perspective, it applies frameworks on Intermediary Roles, Intermediary Levels and Collective Diffusion Pathways. Based on eleven semi-structured interviews with key umbrella organizations, my results show that umbrella organizations fulfil multiple roles to support their affiliates. Whereas energy umbrella organizations engaged more in replicating and scaling practices of the affiliates, agriculture umbrella organizations assimilated their... (More)
- Umbrella organizations of grassroot innovations can play important roles in facilitating sustainability transitions. This thesis examines such roles by studying national and regional umbrella organizations of energy cooperatives and community-supported agriculture in Europe. Embedded in the Multi-Level Perspective, it applies frameworks on Intermediary Roles, Intermediary Levels and Collective Diffusion Pathways. Based on eleven semi-structured interviews with key umbrella organizations, my results show that umbrella organizations fulfil multiple roles to support their affiliates. Whereas energy umbrella organizations engaged more in replicating and scaling practices of the affiliates, agriculture umbrella organizations assimilated their niche status by focusing on the stabilization. The thesis discusses three main findings that (1) intermediary roles are diverse and dynamic, (2) umbrella organizations foster collective diffusion, but they have diverging interpretations of the role of professionalization, and (3) umbrella organizations can accelerate their diffusion potential by engaging more with regime actors to facilitate sustainability transition. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9123251
- author
- Feddersen, Kaya LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- MESM02 20231
- year
- 2023
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- sustainability science, sustainability transition, collective diffusion, umbrella organizations, intermediary roles
- publication/series
- Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science
- report number
- 2023:037
- language
- English
- id
- 9123251
- date added to LUP
- 2023-06-12 08:19:44
- date last changed
- 2023-06-12 08:19:44
@misc{9123251, abstract = {{Umbrella organizations of grassroot innovations can play important roles in facilitating sustainability transitions. This thesis examines such roles by studying national and regional umbrella organizations of energy cooperatives and community-supported agriculture in Europe. Embedded in the Multi-Level Perspective, it applies frameworks on Intermediary Roles, Intermediary Levels and Collective Diffusion Pathways. Based on eleven semi-structured interviews with key umbrella organizations, my results show that umbrella organizations fulfil multiple roles to support their affiliates. Whereas energy umbrella organizations engaged more in replicating and scaling practices of the affiliates, agriculture umbrella organizations assimilated their niche status by focusing on the stabilization. The thesis discusses three main findings that (1) intermediary roles are diverse and dynamic, (2) umbrella organizations foster collective diffusion, but they have diverging interpretations of the role of professionalization, and (3) umbrella organizations can accelerate their diffusion potential by engaging more with regime actors to facilitate sustainability transition.}}, author = {{Feddersen, Kaya}}, language = {{eng}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, series = {{Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science}}, title = {{The role of umbrella organisations in facilitating sustainability transition - the diffusion of energy cooperatives and community-supported agriculture in Europe}}, year = {{2023}}, }