IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envirc/v27y2009i3p491-511.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Role of Individuals in Policy Change: The Case of UK Low-Energy Housing

Author

Listed:
  • Heather Lovell

    (Centre for the Study of Environmental Change and Sustainability, School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Drummond Street, Edinburgh EH8 9XP, Scotland)

Abstract

In this paper I examine the role of individuals in the policy process, drawing on research into a number of individuals active in UK low-energy housing during the 1990s. Kingdon's notion of a policy entrepreneur is critically assessed. Policy entrepreneurs are conceived of as working very closely with government trying to influence the day-to-day operations of the policy process. Here I broaden this definition, suggesting that individuals active outside of government circles can also have a significant impact on processes of policy change. Concepts from science and technology studies, including actor-network theory and innovation niches, are used to explore the relationship between low-energy housing entrepreneurs, the housing they built, and policy change. Sociotechnical approaches are helpful in thinking about both the potential for individuals operating outside of the policy arena to influence policy, as well as the agency of materials such as low-energy housing. The policy influence of the entrepreneurs is judged to be twofold: in reframing policy discourse, and in providing a model for new low-energy housing. In conclusion, the importance of attending to the local embeddedness of the entrepreneurs is discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Heather Lovell, 2009. "The Role of Individuals in Policy Change: The Case of UK Low-Energy Housing," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 27(3), pages 491-511, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envirc:v:27:y:2009:i:3:p:491-511
    DOI: 10.1068/c0878j
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1068/c0878j
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1068/c0878j?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Adrian Smith, 2003. "Transforming technological regimes for sustainable development: A role for alternative technology niches?," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 30(2), pages 127-135, April.
    2. Vaughan Higgins & Simon Kitto, 2004. "Mapping the Dynamics of New Forms of Technological Governance in Agriculture: Methodological Considerations," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 36(8), pages 1397-1410, August.
    3. Harriet Bulkeley, 2006. "Urban Sustainability: Learning from Best Practice?," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 38(6), pages 1029-1044, June.
    4. Geoffrey Dudley & Jeremy Richardson, 1998. "Arenas without Rules and the Policy Change Process: Outsider Groups and British Roads Policy," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 46(4), pages 727-747, September.
    5. Henry Etzkowitz & Magnus Gulbrandsen, 1999. "Public entrepreneur: the trajectory of United States science, technology and industrial policy," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 26(1), pages 53-62, February.
    6. James Austin & Howard Stevenson & Jane Wei–Skillern, 2006. "Social and Commercial Entrepreneurship: Same, Different, or Both?," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 30(1), pages 1-22, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Liu, Zhijian & Zhou, Qingxu & Tian, Zhiyong & He, Bao-jie & Jin, Guangya, 2019. "A comprehensive analysis on definitions, development, and policies of nearly zero energy buildings in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 1-1.
    2. Eva Heiskanen & Kaarina Hyvönen & Senja Laakso & Päivi Laitila & Kaisa Matschoss & Irmeli Mikkonen, 2017. "Adoption and Use of Low-Carbon Technologies: Lessons from 100 Finnish Pilot Studies, Field Experiments and Demonstrations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-20, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Heather Lovell & Harriet Bulkeley & Susan Owens, 2009. "Converging Agendas? Energy and Climate Change Policies in the UK," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 27(1), pages 90-109, February.
    2. Helen M. Haugh & Alka Talwar, 2016. "Linking Social Entrepreneurship and Social Change: The Mediating Role of Empowerment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 133(4), pages 643-658, February.
    3. Muhammad Farooq Islam & Ozge Can, 2024. "Integrating digital and sustainable entrepreneurship through business models: a bibliometric analysis," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 14(1), pages 1-18, December.
    4. Ruben Burga & Davar Rezania, 2016. "Stakeholder theory in social entrepreneurship: a descriptive case study," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 6(1), pages 1-15, December.
    5. Reeti Kulshrestha & Arunaditya Sahay & Subhanjan Sengupta, 2022. "Constituents and Drivers of Mission Engagement for Social Enterprise Sustainability: A Systematic Review," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 31(1), pages 90-120, March.
    6. Ankita Tandon & Unnikrishnan K. Nair, 2015. "Enactment of knowledge brokering: Agents, roles, processes and the impact of immersion," Working papers 183, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode.
    7. Barbara Bradač Hojnik & Katja Crnogaj, 2020. "Social Impact, Innovations, and Market Activity of Social Enterprises: Comparison of European Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-15, March.
    8. Inmaculada Buendía-Martínez & Inmaculada Carrasco Monteagudo, 2020. "The Role of CSR on Social Entrepreneurship: An International Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-22, August.
    9. Robin Stevens & Nathalie Moray & Johan Bruneel, 2015. "The Social and Economic Mission of Social Enterprises: Dimensions, Measurement, Validation, and Relation," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 39(5), pages 1051-1082, September.
    10. Paola Alzate & Juan F. Mejía-Giraldo & Isabella Jurado & Sara Hernandez & Alexandra Novozhenina, 2024. "Research perspectives on youth social entrepreneurship: strategies, economy, and innovation," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 1-22, December.
    11. David Gibbs & Kirstie O'Neill, 2014. "Rethinking Sociotechnical Transitions and Green Entrepreneurship: The Potential for Transformative Change in the Green Building Sector," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 46(5), pages 1088-1107, May.
    12. Simon Cornée & David Masclet & Gervais Thenet, 2012. "Credit Relationships: Evidence from Experiments with Real Bankers," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 44(5), pages 957-980, August.
    13. Nishchapat Nittapaipapon & Thithit Atchattabhan, 2016. "Creating Shared Value: the Fundamental Ontology of Establishing and Movement in Business," International Business Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 9(5), pages 112-124, May.
    14. Geoffrey M. Kistruck & Paul W. Beamish, 2010. "The Interplay of Form, Structure, and Embeddedness in Social Intrapreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 34(4), pages 735-761, July.
    15. Sebastian-Ion Ceptureanu & Eduard-Gabriel Ceptureanu & Mihai Cristian Orzan & Irinel Marin, 2017. "Toward a Romanian NPOs Sustainability Model: Determinants of Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-26, June.
    16. Tanja Collavo, 2018. "Unpacking Social Entrepreneurship: Exploring the Definition Chaos and Its Consequences in England," Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, Fundacja Upowszechniająca Wiedzę i Naukę "Cognitione", vol. 14(2), pages 49-82.
    17. Anders Blok & Robin Tschötschel, 2016. "World port cities as cosmopolitan risk community: Mapping urban climate policy experiments in Europe and East Asia," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 34(4), pages 717-736, June.
    18. Chitvan Trivedi & Daniel Stokols, 2011. "Social Enterprises and Corporate Enterprises," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 20(1), pages 1-32, March.
    19. Rey-Martí, Andrea & Ribeiro-Soriano, Domingo & Palacios-Marqués, Daniel, 2016. "A bibliometric analysis of social entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(5), pages 1651-1655.
    20. Tamar Balgiashvili, 2017. "Comparing Entrepreneurial Passion of Social and Commercial Entrepreneurs in the Czech Republic," Central European Business Review, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2017(4), pages 45-61.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:envirc:v:27:y:2009:i:3:p:491-511. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.