Schlussbericht: Transitionsgestaltung für nachhaltige Innovationen – Initiativen in den kommunal geprägten Handlungsfeldern Energie, Wasser, Bauen & Wohnen (TransNIK)

The aim of the TransNIK project was to investigate drivers and obstacles to the development and dissemination of innovative sustainable approaches in three fields of activity: energy, water and building & living. Furthermore it was the goal to identify key points for a transition to new solutions. The data collection for the case studies, which took place in the course of 2016, is based primarily on a total of 67 semi-structured interviews and was supplemented by internet research and document analyzes. The analyzes shows that in all areas of activity, the niches are struggling with a limited match with current regulation and institutions. Furthermore, there are areas of tension between the ideas of the project teams and the other involved actors, e.g. of the population/potential users, but also of institutions such as banks. Advisers and comparable interpreters, who can support the project groups in professionalisation, play a special role here. Such mediators have so far been less active in the water sector than in the areas of heating and living. Apart from that, lack of expertise continuously poses a challenge to projects. Integration with other project driven on the municipal scale can lead to synergies and increased efficiency. However, often actors seem to be operat-ing on the edge of their capacities. Thus, these synergies are only realized seldomly. The existing infrastructure or the accessibility and the adaptability of the existing infra-structure have an important influence on the success of the projects in scope. This raises questions, in particular, to what extent windows of opportunity can and need to be used in order to to escape socio-technical intertia. Finally, a quantitative evaluation of the sustainability impacts hardly take place in the projects, even if it is an important motivation. The generated results shed light on the complexity of sustainability related governance on the municipal level, but also offers policy suggestions to accelerate local transitions