Innovation for Sustainability: Strengthening Systems Thinking and Collaboration

1. Session 556 Logic Models to Describe Diffusion of InnovationsInnovation Systems, Program Theory, and Sustainability Research October 28th, 2005 Diana Bauer, Julie Zimmerman, Dale Pahl, Emma Norland US EPA Office of Research and Development 2005 Joint Conference: Crossing Borders, Crossing Boundaries Canada Evaluation Society & American Evaluation Association

2. Why innovate? • Solve problems • Adapt • Grow • Improve

3. The Future:Forecasted Trends Important for Sustainability • Economy: + 500%* • Population: + 50%* • Energy Consumption: + 300%* • Manufacturing Activity: +300%* • Planets: +0% * – World Resources Institute, The Weight of Nations, 2000 We conventionally think of innovation as driving economic growth, but why not also adaptation of proactive environmental protection and environmental improvement that is balanced with the economy and society?

4. How Does Systems Thinking Strengthen Sustainability Research? • Environment/Societal System: Identify leverage points for solutions in multidisciplinary systems • Knowledge System: Integrate thinking; fill gaps • Social/Economic/Technological System: Accelerate implementation • Communication/ Social/ Technological System: Improve dissemination and diffusion of innovation • Information/ Communication System: Tighten loops of communication and feedback between research and application

5. How Can the Global and Local Scales Work Together? • Global/National Scale • Identify, develop solution strategies, and measure progress towards global/national goals • Prioritize federal spending • Invest in the national/international knowledge base and research community • Local Scale • Identify needs and develop tailored solutions • Develop and test out new ideas • Prioritize local resources • Collaborate in community

6. What is required for innovation to solve society’s problems? • People need to have the ability to innovate • Innovation needs to be valued • Opportunities for innovation need to be seen and understood • “Good” innovation needs to be diffused and scaled up • “Good” innovations need to complement and enhance one another

7. Client-Centered Long Term Goals and Relation to Outcomes for Sustainability Research

8. P3 Student Award(People, Prosperity, and the Planet) • Innovation in science and technology for sustainability: Teams of university students to design, research, and develop a scientific, policy, or technical solution to a sustainability challenge in developing and developed world • Building capacity in the Next Generation: integrating sustainability concepts into fundamental education creating a future workforce with an awareness of the impacts of their work on economy, society, and the environment, to work in a multi-disciplinary framework, and to make collaborative, interdisciplinary decisions. • Team Partnerships: Interdisciplinary teams are encouraged. Teams are encouraged to partner with industry, nonprofits, and government • Program Partners: over 40 partners including industry, NGOs, professional societies, other government

9. Research Example:Getting the Lead Out • Dr. CJ Wong of Georgia Tech, with graduate students Grace Yi Li and Kyoung-sik Moon, is developing electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) that are substitutes for leaded solder. • ECAs could simplify electronics manufacture by eliminating several processing steps. • Lower processing temperatures will mean less thermal stress on components and less manufacturing energy consumed. • 5 invention disclosures and 2 patents are pending

10. Research Example: Towards Trash that Thinks • Valerie Thomas at Princeton University is developing product tags to embed information. • This approach will enable more intelligent: • end-of-life product management; • tracking of product end-of-life practices; and • recycling rebate programs.

11. Integrating Water Supply Management and Ecological Flow Requirements CNS Projects Efficient Materials and Energy Use: Understanding Economic Benefits Decision Model for Urban Water Reuse Sustaining Multiple Benefits in Large River Floodplains Cuyahoga Sustainability Network Bringing Global Thinking to Local Sustainability Efforts for the Boston Region Using Market Forces to Implement Sustainable Watershed Management P2 and the NY/ NJ Harbor Ecological Sustainability in Rapidly Developing Watersheds Transforming Office Parks into Transit Villages Sustainable Sandhills: A Plan for Regional Sustainability Sustainable Land Use in Puerto Rico

12. Science for Decision-Making: The Collaborative Science and Technology Network for Sustainability (CNS) Federal, State, Local Policy Regional Grants Programs Information/ Data Programs Research Partners & Programs Regional scientist OEI CARE Regional Environmental Management Strategies NEIEN PH fellow EJ Cooperative Grants AMI CNS Federal Regulations, Incentives, Information NSF Programs Brownfields Technical Assistance ORD Research ORD scientists

13. Sustainability Research and Applications: a Systems View Metrics and Indicators • Systems • Understanding • Resilience • Vulnerabilities • Interconnectedness • Scale • Trends and Transformations • Links between Natural and Built Environment • Uncertainty Long term Outcomes Environmental and Human Health protected Resource Sustainability Outcomes Water Land Air Energy Materials Ecosystems Decision Support Tools Customers and Collaborators Business & Industry Communities Government Individuals Technologies Collaborative Decision-Making Metrics and Indicators

14. Questions for Discussion • Which types of systems are most important to enlist to enable innovation in support of sustainability? • How do we balance the encouragement of independent innovation and new ideas with collaborating towards common sustainability goals? • How can we best tighten loops of communication and information so that critical societal decisions are informed by science and visa versa? • How can we best invest our resources in pursuit of sustainability?