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Sociotechnical agendas: reviewing future directions for energy and climate research
Version 2 2023-06-07, 08:47
Version 1 2023-06-07, 07:06
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-07, 08:47 authored by Benjamin SovacoolBenjamin Sovacool, David J Hess, Sulfikar Amir, Frank W Geels, Richard Hirsh, Leandro Rodriguez Medina, Clark Miller, Carla Alvial Palavicino, Roopali Phadke, Marianne Ryghaug, Johan Schot, Anntii Silvast, Jennie Stephens, Andrew StirlingAndrew Stirling, Bruno Turnheim, Erik van der Vleuten, Harro van Lente, Steven YearleyThe field of science and technology studies (STS) has introduced and developed a “sociotechnical” perspective that has been taken up by many disciplines and areas of inquiry. The aims and objectives of this study are threefold: to interrogate which sociotechnical concepts or tools from STS are useful at better understanding energy-related social science, to reflect on prominent themes and topics within those approaches, and to identify current research gaps and directions for the future. To do so, the study builds on a companion project, a systematic analysis of 262 articles published from 2009 to mid-2019 that categorized and reviewed sociotechnical perspectives in energy social science. It identifies future research directions by employing the method of “co-creation” based on the reflections of sixteen prominent researchers in the field in late 2019 and early 2020. Drawing from this co-created synthesis, this study first identifies three main areas of sociotechnical perspectives in energy research (sociotechnical systems, policy, and expertise and publics) with 15 topics and 39 subareas. The study then identifies five main themes for the future development of sociotechnical perspectives in energy research: conditions of systematic change; embedded agency; justice, power, identity and politics; imaginaries and discourses; and public engagement and governance. It also points to the recognized need for pluralism and parallax: for research to show greater attention to demographic and geographical diversity; to stronger research designs; to greater theoretical triangulation; and to more transdisciplinary approaches.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Published version
Journal
Energy Research and Social ScienceISSN
2214-6296Publisher
ElsevierExternal DOI
Volume
70Page range
1-35Article number
a101617Department affiliated with
- SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit Publications
Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2020-05-27First Open Access (FOA) Date
2020-09-14First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2020-05-27Usage metrics
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