The governance of innovation in socio-technical systems: The difficulties of strategic niche management in practice

Strategic niche management concerns how governments can foster the introduction of new technologies, initially through establishing experiments within protected niches. The development of UK low-energy housing illustrates some limitations of this model of technology change. Low-energy housing niches built during the 1990s have not been driven by Government policy, but rather have been initiated by entrepreneurial individuals working outside of Government. However, the Government has recently become interested in low-energy housing niches because of growing concerns about climate change. Several policies and initiatives drawing on the niches have emerged but they do not amount to a coherent niche strategy. © Beech Tree Publishing 2007.