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CenSES annual report 2011
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RA4 has five work packages:
- WP1 Commercialization of research (Lars
Øystein Widding, NTNU IØT)
- WP2 Innovation processes and innovation sys-
tems (Olav Wicken, UiO TIK)
- WP3 Local and regional barriers and strategies
(Erling Holden, HiSF)
- WP4 Public perceptions and engagement –
technological citizenship (Knut Holtan Sørensen,
NTNU KULT)
- WP5 Cross cutting analysis and implication
assessment (Audun Ruud, SINTEF ENERGI)
Research plan
Research on innovation, commercialization and
public engagement cover a wide range of topics.
First, innovation research is dominated by system
perspectives which have led to a number of inno-
vation system models at national, regional, secto-
rial and technological levels of analysis. In RA 4 we
take a somewhat different approach as we focus on
how firms get access to and use resources, includ-
ing financial, physical, human and organizational
resources.
Public policy and regulations may also influence
both access to and use of resources and will be giv-
en particular emphasis in the analyses of firm and
project level strategies and decisions.
Furthermore, the large scale investments needed to
develop, innovate and implement new alternative
energy technologies require fairly large coalitions
of actors meeting a politically moderated demand.
This suggests a need to focus on infrastructural in-
novation, even if existing literature in this field is
limited to studies of relatively small-scale experi-
ments.
RA 4 Innovation, Commercialization and Public
Engagement
Public engagement is critical to the outcome of in-
novation and commercialization. Recent research
asks what is needed to achieve robust and mature
public evaluations: early involvement, transpar-
ency, adequate information, opportunities for de-
liberation, and acknowledgement of contributions
from a diversity of expertise.
Research in 2011
A number of new PhD candidates and post docs
have started during 2011. An example of a PhD
project that combines several of the perspectives
raised above is the project initiated by Vivek Sinha
and Vegar Ausrød. They are focusing on decentral-
ized renewable energy production in emerging
markets. In particular they examine how different
kind of business models can be drivers for the de-
velopment of renewable energy to rural areas in
third world countries