104 M. M. Bugge and A. M. Fevolden
national organisation working with waste policy issues (Avfall Norge) and an
interest organisation representing all municipalities (KS), there is a lack of
coherence across waste systems and legislation in different municipalities, and
there are several ongoing innovative projects aiming to transform existing
municipal waste processing systems which unfold independently of each
other. There is no dedicated national policy programme representing a
coordination mechanism for joint reflexivity, learning and diffusion across
municipalities in the case of waste. In consequence, the lack of coordination
of experience sharing and mutual learning may paradoxically increase longterm costs and limit the effects of ongoing initiatives within the existing costoriented regime.
5.6 Conclusions
This chapter has sought to interpret the case of governance of urban waste as
an example of mission- oriented innovation. Based on the insights gained
from a case study of waste treatment in Oslo, we have discussed how governance of urban waste valorisation may be understood in terms of balancing
between problem solving and problem setting.
The case study has shown how the work with waste treatment in Oslo can
be interpreted as an expression of a traditional and narrow form of missionoriented innovation policy, where the objectives have been clearly defined
within the public sector domain rather than by a broad constellation of societal
actors. The municipality of Oslo has been guided by political strategies aiming
for a 50% recycling target. Such a target does not represent any incentive for
waste prevention, but represents a technical specification that may contribute
to the formation of a lock- in of the recycling stage in the waste hierarchy. The
development of a circular system for the recycling of household waste constitutes a value chain that can be seen as a disincentive to support efforts to
reduce waste streams in the first place. It seems as if the dynamics observed
actualise a discussion of whether and how the political direction and mission
given have been too specific and narrow, thus limiting the long- term action
options available to the problem solvers involved. This type of (top- down)
directionality contrasts with the joint and negotiated paths of directionality
prescribed in the literature on transformative change (Weber & Rohracher,
2012). To avoid long- term lock- ins and to enable leaps upwards through the
waste hierarchy, it appears more appropriate to operate with more open- ended
and functional requirements with regard to sustainable development than to
specify which sort of solutions are sought. This resembles the insight derived
earlier from studies of innovative public procurement, which have concluded
that functional requirements should be preferred to technical specifications in
public tenders (Edquist & Zabala- Iturriagagoitiaa, 2012).
In addition to operating with functional requirements in their setting
of the mission to be solved, the municipality could also have benefited
from including a more diverse set of actors such as the private sector, social
national organisation working with waste policy issues (Avfall Norge) and an
interest organisation representing all municipalities (KS), there is a lack of
coherence across waste systems and legislation in different municipalities, and
there are several ongoing innovative projects aiming to transform existing
municipal waste processing systems which unfold independently of each
other. There is no dedicated national policy programme representing a
coordination mechanism for joint reflexivity, learning and diffusion across
municipalities in the case of waste. In consequence, the lack of coordination
of experience sharing and mutual learning may paradoxically increase longterm costs and limit the effects of ongoing initiatives within the existing costoriented regime.
5.6 Conclusions
This chapter has sought to interpret the case of governance of urban waste as
an example of mission- oriented innovation. Based on the insights gained
from a case study of waste treatment in Oslo, we have discussed how governance of urban waste valorisation may be understood in terms of balancing
between problem solving and problem setting.
The case study has shown how the work with waste treatment in Oslo can
be interpreted as an expression of a traditional and narrow form of missionoriented innovation policy, where the objectives have been clearly defined
within the public sector domain rather than by a broad constellation of societal
actors. The municipality of Oslo has been guided by political strategies aiming
for a 50% recycling target. Such a target does not represent any incentive for
waste prevention, but represents a technical specification that may contribute
to the formation of a lock- in of the recycling stage in the waste hierarchy. The
development of a circular system for the recycling of household waste constitutes a value chain that can be seen as a disincentive to support efforts to
reduce waste streams in the first place. It seems as if the dynamics observed
actualise a discussion of whether and how the political direction and mission
given have been too specific and narrow, thus limiting the long- term action
options available to the problem solvers involved. This type of (top- down)
directionality contrasts with the joint and negotiated paths of directionality
prescribed in the literature on transformative change (Weber & Rohracher,
2012). To avoid long- term lock- ins and to enable leaps upwards through the
waste hierarchy, it appears more appropriate to operate with more open- ended
and functional requirements with regard to sustainable development than to
specify which sort of solutions are sought. This resembles the insight derived
earlier from studies of innovative public procurement, which have concluded
that functional requirements should be preferred to technical specifications in
public tenders (Edquist & Zabala- Iturriagagoitiaa, 2012).
In addition to operating with functional requirements in their setting
of the mission to be solved, the municipality could also have benefited
from including a more diverse set of actors such as the private sector, social