Session 556 Logic Models to Describe Diffusion of Innovations
Innovation Systems, Program Theory, and Sustainability Research
Session 556 Logic Models to Describe Diffusion of Innovations
Innovation Systems, Program Theory, and Sustainability Research
October 28th, 2005
Diana Bauer, Julie Zimmerman, Dale Pahl, Emma Norland
US EPA Office of Research and Development
2005 Joint Conference: Crossing Borders, Crossing Boundaries Canada Evaluation Society & American Evaluation Association
October 28th, 2005
Diana Bauer, Julie Zimmerman, Dale Pahl, Emma Norland
US EPA Office of Research and Development
2005 Joint Conference: Crossing Borders, Crossing Boundaries Canada Evaluation Society & American Evaluation Association
Why innovate?
• Solve problems• Adapt• Grow• Improve
The Future:Forecasted Trends Important for
Sustainability
Economy: + 500%* Population: + 50%* Energy Consumption: + 300%* Manufacturing Activity: +300%* Planets: +0%
* – World Resources Institute, The Weight of Nations, 2000
We conventionally think of innovation as driving economic growth, but why not also adaptation of proactive environmental protection and environmental improvement that is balanced with the economy and society?
How Does Systems Thinking Strengthen Sustainability Research?
• Environment/Societal System: Identify leverage points for solutions in multidisciplinary systems
• Knowledge System: Integrate thinking; fill gaps• Social/Economic/Technological System:
Accelerate implementation• Communication/ Social/ Technological
System: Improve dissemination and diffusion of innovation
• Information/ Communication System: Tighten loops of communication and feedback between research and application
How Can the Global and Local Scales Work Together?
• Global/National Scale Identify, develop solution strategies, and
measure progress towards global/national goals Prioritize federal spending Invest in the national/international knowledge
base and research community
• Local Scale Identify needs and develop tailored solutions Develop and test out new ideas Prioritize local resources Collaborate in community
What is required for innovation to solve society’s
problems?
• People need to have the ability to innovate• Innovation needs to be valued• Opportunities for innovation need to be seen
and understood• “Good” innovation needs to be diffused and
scaled up• “Good” innovations need to complement and
enhance one another
Client-Centered Long Term Goals and Relation to Outcomes for Sustainability
Research
P3 Student Award (People, Prosperity, and the Planet)
Innovation in science and technology for sustainability: Teams of university students to design, research, and develop a scientific, policy, or technical solution to a sustainability challenge in developing and developed world
Building capacity in the Next Generation: integrating sustainability concepts into fundamental education creating a future workforce with an awareness of the impacts of their work on economy, society, and the environment, to work in a multi-disciplinary framework, and to make collaborative, interdisciplinary decisions.
Team Partnerships: Interdisciplinary teams are encouraged. Teams are encouraged to partner with industry, nonprofits, and government
Program Partners: over 40 partners including industry, NGOs, professional societies, other government
Research Example:Getting the Lead Out
Dr. CJ Wong of Georgia Tech, with graduate students Grace Yi Li and Kyoung-sik Moon, is developing electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) that are substitutes for leaded solder.
ECAs could simplify electronics manufacture by eliminating several processing steps.
Lower processing temperatures will mean less thermal stress on components and less manufacturing energy consumed.
5 invention disclosures and 2 patents are pending
Research Example: Towards Trash that Thinks
• Valerie Thomas at Princeton University is developing product tags to embed information.
• This approach will enable more intelligent: end-of-life product
management; tracking of product end-
of-life practices; and recycling rebate
programs.
Ecological Sustainability in Rapidly Developing Watersheds
P2 and the NY/ NJ Harbor
SustainableSandhills: A Plan forRegional Sustainability
Decision Model for UrbanWater Reuse Cuyahoga Sustainability
Network
Integrating Water Supply Management and Ecological Flow Requirements
Sustaining Multiple Benefitsin Large River Floodplains
Using MarketForces to ImplementSustainable Watershed Management
Efficient Materials and Energy Use: UnderstandingEconomic Benefits
Bringing Global Thinking to Local Sustainability Efforts for the Boston Region
SustainableLand Use inPuerto Rico
Transforming OfficeParks into TransitVillages
CNS Projects
Science for Decision-Making:The Collaborative Science and Technology Network for Sustainability
(CNS)
CNS
CARE
EJ Cooperative
Grants
BrownfieldsTechnical Assistance
NEIEN PHfellow
Regionalscientist
ORDscientists
ORD Research
RegionalEnvironmental Management
Strategies
OEI
AMI
NSF Programs
Federal Regulations, Incentives, Information
ResearchPartners &Programs
Information/DataPrograms
RegionalGrants Programs
Federal, State, LocalPolicy
Sustainability Research and Applications:a Systems View
Systems Understanding
•Resilience•Vulnerabilities•Interconnectedness•Scale•Trends and Transformations•Links between Natural and Built Environment•Uncertainty
Decision Support Tools
Technologies
Collaborative Decision-Making
Customers and Collaborators
Business & IndustryCommunitiesGovernmentIndividuals
Metrics and Indicators
Long term Outcomes
Environmental and HumanHealth protected
Resource SustainabilityOutcomes
WaterLandAirEnergyMaterialsEcosystems
Metricsand Indicators
Questions for Discussion
• Which types of systems are most important to enlist to enable innovation in support of sustainability?
• How do we balance the encouragement of independent innovation and new ideas with collaborating towards common sustainability goals?
• How can we best tighten loops of communication and information so that critical societal decisions are informed by science and visa versa?
• How can we best invest our resources in pursuit of sustainability?