Applying policy mix thinking to social innovation: from experimentation to socio-technical change

So far, the emerging literature on policy mixes for sustainability transitions has paid little attention to social innovation. This seems at odds with recent claims that transformative policies should promote a wide range of innovation, and social innovation in particular. In this paper, we explore whether and how policy mix delineation and analytical approaches that were developed primarily with technological innovation in mind can be usefully applied to social innovation. We examine empirical case study evidence, and proceed in two steps: after an initial top-down mapping of the focal policy mix for social innovation in energy in Germany, we conduct a bottom-up mapping of the policy mix relevant for the social innovation field of 'participatory incubation and experimentation' in Germany's energy sector. Based on our insights we discuss the relevance and recognition of social innovation in sustainability transition policy mixes, and offer research and policy implications for accelerating socio-technical change.