Abstract
“Learning from abroad” is a widely recognised and used means to innovate and improve strategies and policies implemented by regions and cities. However, literature on knowledge transfer and related concepts, such as policy transfer, policy mobility or lesson-drawing, highlights the limitations of this process, especially when it entails the simple transfer of (best) practices from “place A” to “place B”. Such a transfer may lead to suboptimal solutions particularly when the imported practices concern complex phenomena, involving networks of multiple actors and relying on place-specific dynamics. Departing from this critique, the article sheds light on the process of knowledge transfer in the field of circular economy, taking place between the two metropolitan regions of Amsterdam and Naples. This process is guided by an innovative methodology based on a network of (peri-urban) living labs generating eco-innovative solutions for using material waste and wastescapes as a resource in peri-urban areas. Using participant observation in knowledge transfer workshops, stakeholder interviews and surveys, it investigates how the process of co-creation of knowledge in the relational space of the networked living labs takes place thanks to the participation of stakeholders from both regions. This in turn allows for drawing conclusions on what barriers are encountered in such knowledge transfer, what makes solutions transferable across different contexts, and, finally, how the solutions are adapted as they travel from one place to another.
Highlights
Transfer of knowledge, policies or “best practices” from different territories aimed at addressing policy challenges, has become a standard feature of contemporary policy-making
Building on the notion of policy translation, this study focuses on exploring how ecoinnovative solutions (EIS) for achieving circularity are translated to best fit into the recipient context
The latter endeavour is loosely inspired by policy mobility literature (e.g., Peck, 2011; Temenos & McCann, 2013), borrowing the notion of international networks being moored in space and applying it describe the network of the living labs as part of the REPAIR project, in which the knowledge transfer activities unfolded, albeit without deeply engaging with this strand of the literature
Summary
Policies or “best practices” from different territories aimed at addressing policy challenges, has become a standard feature of contemporary policy-making. There is, a research gap concerning: (1) the transferability of solutions between contexts, and (2) the understanding of how solutions are adapted and morphed as they are grafted from one place to another Against this background, the article strives to address the above gaps and answer following three research questions: (1) What are the barriers for transfer of circular economy solutions across different regions? The article strives to address the above gaps and answer following three research questions: (1) What are the barriers for transfer of circular economy solutions across different regions? To address these questions, the article draws on novel empirical material from the knowledge transfer process on spatial solutions for promoting circular economy between two contrasted European metropolitan regions (Amsterdam Metropolitan Area [AMA] and the Naples Metropolitan Area), experimenting with ecoinnovative solutions (EIS) for circular resources management.
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