Conceptualizing the democratization of innovation through transitions theory: A case study of biohacking in community science labs

Abstract

Community science labs are important sites attempting to democratize science and biotechnology. With similarities to hackerspaces and makerspaces, these labs provide resources to conduct experiments and develop goods. As such, they are touted as potential sites for innovation for more just and equitable outcomes. This article aims to demonstrate how concepts from the transitions literature can be used to understand the democratization of innovation in and from these types of spaces. Combining concepts from the socio-technical transitions and economization/marketization literatures, the article develops a novel conceptual framework for analyzing the democratization of innovation that encompasses the dynamic interactions between both the innovation activities that occur within community science labs and their broader socioeconomic contexts. The framework is applied to a case study (the Open Insulin Project) in a community science lab in the San Francisco Bay Area (Counter Culture Labs).