A working paper is a preliminary paper that authors share to receive feedback before submitting it to a peer-reviewed journal. These papers are used to present new ideas, theories, or findings that are still in progress. They allow authors to share their work with colleagues and the broader community, gather input, and refine their work before final publication. Working papers can cover a wide range of topics and are typically not yet finalized or formally published.
The EU Reformers project aims to develop sustainable ecosystems through the quadruple helix. This approach, evolved from the triple helix theory of knowledge exchange for innovation, adds a fourth element: the social factor. The question is whether this concept can be easily applied to smaller regions without universities for fundamental research. Although the quadruple helix adds the social factor, literature often seems to be more inspired by new information and communication technology than by sociological knowledge. This working paper starts with social systems theory and a tool used to develop a regional scenario in a structured manner. Discussed is how learning can take place in a small region, indicating that this can also be analyzed at different levels. It provides a more practical implementation of cooperation between education, business, government and society. For the working paper click here
Just a neighborhood where people are not primarily concerned with sustainability.
One objective of the EU Reformers project is citizens engagement. But there are many well-intentioned actions by volunteers or civil servants working on the energy transition, with the result that enthusiastic people who were already planning to take measures participate, but that a larger part of the silent majority feels threatened, drops out and votes for extreme parties. Those parties then break sustainability with national regulations and laws. So what does engagement mean for sustainability in the long term. Various forces in the media play a role, how new techniques are chosen and the way in which people communicate with each other through forms of propaganda. These aspects of the energy transition are discussed based on basic literature but also from winners of the Nobel Prize for 2024 Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson. The energy transition is pre-eminently a collective issue that affects every citizen and in certain situations lends itself to deliberative democracy as a supplement to representative democracy. This paper is a first attempt to bridge the gap between this Nobel Prize winners and the approach to energy transition, with engagement and participation as a solution with for example a citizens assembly on energy embedded in representative democracy. For the working paper click here
Analyse regio Alkmaar aan de hand van quadruple helix.
Not every region can become Silicon Valley and as the paper ‘Quadruple helix and Parsons’ AGIL’ indicates the Quadruple helix is a bit too focused on the data systems. This paper gives an idea how to make an analysis of a region in order to come to a realistic focus for a region without union and international trade. As an example the Alkmar region where the reformers project is executed is mentioned. For the Dutch paper click here. For the Dutch presentation click here.