Using transition management concepts for the evaluation of intersecting policy domains ('grand challenges'): the case of Swedish, Norwegian and UK biofuel policy
The notion of 'grand challenges' (GC) is increasingly used in international research and innovation discourse, but risks being used rhetorically to justify business as usual policy approaches. We draw on a study that maps the characteristics of policy problems and proposals referred to in association with 'GC', showing how transition management fits well as a response to these characteristics. We then use the transition management perspective to evaluate prevailing research and innovation policy for an exemplar policy sector (biofuels), in countries with differing policy histories for that sector (the UK, Norway and Sweden). We argue that transition management functions well as a means of highlighting not only policy shortcomings in a sector, but also policy directions appropriate to the scale of GC.
In order to receive public transportation subsidies, municipalities above a certain size in the European Union must develop sustainable urban mobility plans. This article discusses the development of mobility plans in the Madrid, Spain region. The Consorcio Regional de Transportes de Madrid (CRTM) has been charged with managing the mobility plans in the Madrid region. Of the 20 largest municipalities in the Madrid region, 15 have already developed mobility plans. The city of Madrid is creating its own mobility plan by developing separate but coordinated plans for each of its 21 districts. In another initiative to improve sustainable mobility in the Madrid region, the CRTM is developing training programs for experts on sustainable mobility plans and corporate mobility coordinators.