Sabine Hielscher
Biographic Data
| ID | 1519141 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Sabine Hielscher |
| GIVEN NAMES | Sabine |
| FAMILY NAME | Hielscher |
| SIGNATURE | HIELSCHER S |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Sussex |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1416-5733 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 22 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 438 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 22 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2013 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 8 |
Social innovation and their legitimation processes within rural developments in east Germany
Speeding-up wind energy developments
The rapid expansion of low-carbon energy technologies across European regions has been argued to be essential in tackling climate change, necessitating the transition of energy systems towards renewable energy technologies, including wind energy. To accelerate wind energy developments, policies have been put in place to speed up planning and implementation in several European countries in recent years. However, the impacts of these policies remai…
Advancing the understanding of social innovation in sustainability transitions
The increasing academic interest in social innovation for addressing societal challenges is mirrored by a growing recognition by policymakers of its potential relevance. Considering that social innovation research has largely emerged outside the field of sustainability transition, the core aim of this special issue is to introduce the diversity of perspectives on social innovation to the sustainability transitions research community, and in doing…
Gesamtverzeichnis 2023 der eingegangenen Bücher
Eingegangene Bücher (Ausführliche Besprechung vorbehalten)
Making sense of power through transdisciplinary sustainability research
If transdisciplinary sustainability research is to contribute to sustainability transitions, issues of power dynamics need to be understood and accounted for. However, examples of concrete methods that put this into practice are sparse. This paper presents a conceptual and methodological framework that develops a better understanding of the power phenomenon, while providing actionable knowledge. By focussing on the context of social innovation in…
Power to, over and with
This paper explores how power relations are manifested, altered and/or reproduced in processes of social innovations in energy transitions (SIE). We explore this research question by developing an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary power heuristic building on different dimensions of power: power to, power over and power with. This conceptual framework helps us analyse the power dynamics in multiple types of SIEs that aim to contribute to sus…
Innovating Urban Governance for Sustainable Energy Transitions
Social movements in energy transitions
Pathways towards low-carbon energy transitions have become a priority in 21st century Europe. The commitment to lowering carbon dioxide emissions have triggered changes to current fossil fuel-based energy systems. Over the past decade, fossil fuel energy pathways have been characterized by closures of sites, continued extractions and new explorations, demonstrating processes of (dis)continuation. This paper contributes to the recent line of work …
A typology for unpacking the diversity of social innovation in energy transitions
Academic research and policy have focused on sustainable energy transitions for addressing the societal challenge of climate change for a long time, but the concept of ‘social innovation’ has only been recently taken up. This concept refers to different social phenomena relating to changes in socio-technical systems. Moving beyond narrow perspectives on social innovation, this article asks how we can capture the diversity of social innovation, ta…
Smart grids and institutional change
Imagining sustainable energy and mobility transitions
Based on an extensive synthesis of semi-structured interviews, media content analysis, and reviews, this article conducts a qualitative meta-analysis of more than 560 sources of evidence to identify 38 visions associated with seven different low-carbon innovations – automated mobility, electric vehicles, smart meters, nuclear power, shale gas, hydrogen, and the fossil fuel divestment movement – playing a key role in current deliberations about mo…
Beyond instrumentalism
Social innovation is an important dimension of current transformations in energy systems. It can refer to alternative business models, novel policy instruments, financing schemes, participatory governance approaches to energy questions, or new discourses. Its significance for energy systems is often considered in narrow instrumentalist terms, reducing it to a tool serving particular policy objectives. Grounding the concept in social science and h…
Collaboration, creativity, conflict and chaos
How do the social dynamics within interdisciplinary research teams shape sustainability research? This paper presents a case study of interdisciplinary research projects at the University of Sussex, as part of a programme aimed at encouraging collaborative work to address intersections between the Sustainability Development Goals. Using data gathered during a series of participatory workshops at the start and end of the projects, combined with no…
Governance through expectations
Vulnerability and resistance in the United Kingdom's smart meter transition
Phasing out coal, sustaining coal communities? Living with technological decline in sustainability pathways
Experimenting with alternative economies
Because You're Worth It
Hair care is a significant international industry – estimated to be worth over £1.44 billion in contemporary Britain (Mintel, 2015). Given this, it is perhaps not so surprising to learn that British women spend on average £40,000 on their hair over a lifetime (Sharkey, 2014). However, despite women’s preoccupation with hair, social science research has paid little attention to this area (McCracken, 1997; Cox, 1999)
Making the most of community energies
Grassroots innovations for sustainability are attracting increasing policy attention. Drawing upon a wide range of empirical research into community energy in the UK, and taking recent support from national government as a case study, we apply three distinct analytical perspectives: strategic niche management, niche policy advocacy, and critical niches. Whilst the first and second perspectives appear to explain policy influence in grassroots inno…
A grassroots sustainable energy niche? Reflections on community energy in the UK
System-changing innovations for sustainability transitions are pro- posed to emerge in radical innovative niches. ‘Strategic Niche Management’ theory predicts that niche-level actors and networks will aggregate learning from local projects, disseminating best practice, and encouraging innovation diffusion. Grassroots inno- vations emerging from civil society are under-researched, and so we investigate the UK community energy sector to empirically…
Grassroots innovations in community energy
A grassroots sustainable energy niche? Reflections on community energy in the UK
System-changing innovations for sustainability transitions are pro- posed to emerge in radical innovative niches. ‘Strategic Niche Management’ theory predicts that niche-level actors and networks will aggregate learning from local projects, disseminating best practice, and encouraging innovation diffusion. Grassroots inno- vations emerging from civil society are under-researched, and so we investigate the UK community energy sector to empirically…
Grassroots innovations in community energy
Making the most of community energies
Grassroots innovations for sustainability are attracting increasing policy attention. Drawing upon a wide range of empirical research into community energy in the UK, and taking recent support from national government as a case study, we apply three distinct analytical perspectives: strategic niche management, niche policy advocacy, and critical niches. Whilst the first and second perspectives appear to explain policy influence in grassroots inno…
Beyond instrumentalism
Social innovation is an important dimension of current transformations in energy systems. It can refer to alternative business models, novel policy instruments, financing schemes, participatory governance approaches to energy questions, or new discourses. Its significance for energy systems is often considered in narrow instrumentalist terms, reducing it to a tool serving particular policy objectives. Grounding the concept in social science and h…
Governance through expectations
Experimenting with alternative economies
A typology for unpacking the diversity of social innovation in energy transitions
Academic research and policy have focused on sustainable energy transitions for addressing the societal challenge of climate change for a long time, but the concept of ‘social innovation’ has only been recently taken up. This concept refers to different social phenomena relating to changes in socio-technical systems. Moving beyond narrow perspectives on social innovation, this article asks how we can capture the diversity of social innovation, ta…
Power to, over and with
This paper explores how power relations are manifested, altered and/or reproduced in processes of social innovations in energy transitions (SIE). We explore this research question by developing an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary power heuristic building on different dimensions of power: power to, power over and power with. This conceptual framework helps us analyse the power dynamics in multiple types of SIEs that aim to contribute to sus…
Phasing out coal, sustaining coal communities? Living with technological decline in sustainability pathways
Advancing the understanding of social innovation in sustainability transitions
The increasing academic interest in social innovation for addressing societal challenges is mirrored by a growing recognition by policymakers of its potential relevance. Considering that social innovation research has largely emerged outside the field of sustainability transition, the core aim of this special issue is to introduce the diversity of perspectives on social innovation to the sustainability transitions research community, and in doing…
Collaboration, creativity, conflict and chaos
How do the social dynamics within interdisciplinary research teams shape sustainability research? This paper presents a case study of interdisciplinary research projects at the University of Sussex, as part of a programme aimed at encouraging collaborative work to address intersections between the Sustainability Development Goals. Using data gathered during a series of participatory workshops at the start and end of the projects, combined with no…
Innovating Urban Governance for Sustainable Energy Transitions
Making sense of power through transdisciplinary sustainability research
If transdisciplinary sustainability research is to contribute to sustainability transitions, issues of power dynamics need to be understood and accounted for. However, examples of concrete methods that put this into practice are sparse. This paper presents a conceptual and methodological framework that develops a better understanding of the power phenomenon, while providing actionable knowledge. By focussing on the context of social innovation in…
Social movements in energy transitions
Pathways towards low-carbon energy transitions have become a priority in 21st century Europe. The commitment to lowering carbon dioxide emissions have triggered changes to current fossil fuel-based energy systems. Over the past decade, fossil fuel energy pathways have been characterized by closures of sites, continued extractions and new explorations, demonstrating processes of (dis)continuation. This paper contributes to the recent line of work …
Smart grids and institutional change
Speeding-up wind energy developments
The rapid expansion of low-carbon energy technologies across European regions has been argued to be essential in tackling climate change, necessitating the transition of energy systems towards renewable energy technologies, including wind energy. To accelerate wind energy developments, policies have been put in place to speed up planning and implementation in several European countries in recent years. However, the impacts of these policies remai…
Grassroots innovations in community energy
A grassroots sustainable energy niche? Reflections on community energy in the UK
System-changing innovations for sustainability transitions are pro- posed to emerge in radical innovative niches. ‘Strategic Niche Management’ theory predicts that niche-level actors and networks will aggregate learning from local projects, disseminating best practice, and encouraging innovation diffusion. Grassroots inno- vations emerging from civil society are under-researched, and so we investigate the UK community energy sector to empirically…
Experimenting with alternative economies
Because You're Worth It
Hair care is a significant international industry – estimated to be worth over £1.44 billion in contemporary Britain (Mintel, 2015). Given this, it is perhaps not so surprising to learn that British women spend on average £40,000 on their hair over a lifetime (Sharkey, 2014). However, despite women’s preoccupation with hair, social science research has paid little attention to this area (McCracken, 1997; Cox, 1999)
Making the most of community energies
Grassroots innovations for sustainability are attracting increasing policy attention. Drawing upon a wide range of empirical research into community energy in the UK, and taking recent support from national government as a case study, we apply three distinct analytical perspectives: strategic niche management, niche policy advocacy, and critical niches. Whilst the first and second perspectives appear to explain policy influence in grassroots inno…
Vulnerability and resistance in the United Kingdom's smart meter transition
Phasing out coal, sustaining coal communities? Living with technological decline in sustainability pathways
Governance through expectations
Imagining sustainable energy and mobility transitions
Based on an extensive synthesis of semi-structured interviews, media content analysis, and reviews, this article conducts a qualitative meta-analysis of more than 560 sources of evidence to identify 38 visions associated with seven different low-carbon innovations – automated mobility, electric vehicles, smart meters, nuclear power, shale gas, hydrogen, and the fossil fuel divestment movement – playing a key role in current deliberations about mo…
Beyond instrumentalism
Social innovation is an important dimension of current transformations in energy systems. It can refer to alternative business models, novel policy instruments, financing schemes, participatory governance approaches to energy questions, or new discourses. Its significance for energy systems is often considered in narrow instrumentalist terms, reducing it to a tool serving particular policy objectives. Grounding the concept in social science and h…
Collaboration, creativity, conflict and chaos
How do the social dynamics within interdisciplinary research teams shape sustainability research? This paper presents a case study of interdisciplinary research projects at the University of Sussex, as part of a programme aimed at encouraging collaborative work to address intersections between the Sustainability Development Goals. Using data gathered during a series of participatory workshops at the start and end of the projects, combined with no…
Smart grids and institutional change
Social movements in energy transitions
Pathways towards low-carbon energy transitions have become a priority in 21st century Europe. The commitment to lowering carbon dioxide emissions have triggered changes to current fossil fuel-based energy systems. Over the past decade, fossil fuel energy pathways have been characterized by closures of sites, continued extractions and new explorations, demonstrating processes of (dis)continuation. This paper contributes to the recent line of work …
A typology for unpacking the diversity of social innovation in energy transitions
Academic research and policy have focused on sustainable energy transitions for addressing the societal challenge of climate change for a long time, but the concept of ‘social innovation’ has only been recently taken up. This concept refers to different social phenomena relating to changes in socio-technical systems. Moving beyond narrow perspectives on social innovation, this article asks how we can capture the diversity of social innovation, ta…
Gesamtverzeichnis 2023 der eingegangenen Bücher
Eingegangene Bücher (Ausführliche Besprechung vorbehalten)
Making sense of power through transdisciplinary sustainability research
If transdisciplinary sustainability research is to contribute to sustainability transitions, issues of power dynamics need to be understood and accounted for. However, examples of concrete methods that put this into practice are sparse. This paper presents a conceptual and methodological framework that develops a better understanding of the power phenomenon, while providing actionable knowledge. By focussing on the context of social innovation in…
Power to, over and with
This paper explores how power relations are manifested, altered and/or reproduced in processes of social innovations in energy transitions (SIE). We explore this research question by developing an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary power heuristic building on different dimensions of power: power to, power over and power with. This conceptual framework helps us analyse the power dynamics in multiple types of SIEs that aim to contribute to sus…
Innovating Urban Governance for Sustainable Energy Transitions
Speeding-up wind energy developments
The rapid expansion of low-carbon energy technologies across European regions has been argued to be essential in tackling climate change, necessitating the transition of energy systems towards renewable energy technologies, including wind energy. To accelerate wind energy developments, policies have been put in place to speed up planning and implementation in several European countries in recent years. However, the impacts of these policies remai…
Advancing the understanding of social innovation in sustainability transitions
The increasing academic interest in social innovation for addressing societal challenges is mirrored by a growing recognition by policymakers of its potential relevance. Considering that social innovation research has largely emerged outside the field of sustainability transition, the core aim of this special issue is to introduce the diversity of perspectives on social innovation to the sustainability transitions research community, and in doing…
Social innovation and their legitimation processes within rural developments in east Germany
Political science (16 works) · Sustainability and Climate Change Governance (15 works) · Sociology (14 works) · Economics (13 works) · Social Acceptance of Renewable Energy (12 works) · Engineering (9 works) · Computer Science (8 works) · Public relations (8 works) · Ecology (7 works) · Politics (7 works)