From Experimentation to Sustainability Transformation: Developing a Tool to Better Anticipate Upscaling of Urban Innovation Experiments

Urban experiments are increasingly embraced for their potential to transform incumbent socio-technical systems by offering multifaceted, ‘high-quality’ learning. The early literature on sustainability transitions painted an optimistic picture of the impact of experiments, prescribing their role in managing transitions. More recently, scholars have elaborated on the different purposes and functions of experiments; however, they generally stress that, as of yet, there is scarce evidence for their effectiveness concerning transformation in practice. This paper develops a tool for more effective follow-ups after an experiment in practice, by anticipating contextual constraints on upscaling innovations. The tool has been developed through a design science research method by first doing action research on sustainable mobility innovations in four European cities and subsequently testing the prototype of the tool in five other places. Our findings suggest that this new tool improves conditions for wider implementation of the innovation being experimented with, and associated transformation. This is one key starting point for increasing the impact of experiments and accelerating urban sustainability transformation.