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?