Work

Metagovernance as scaffolding: strategies promoting co-created learning and innovation for sustainability transitions

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Co-creation among cross-sectoral actors offers a promising pathway for fostering collaborative learning and innovation in response to complex societal challenges. While prior research highlights the role of metagovernance in shaping co-creation, it has often focused on the utilization of discrete governance tools rather than on how these tools function together. This article argues that a key task for metagovernors is to ‘scaffold’ co-creation through the strategic configuration of complementary and interlocking governance factors that support three core dimensions: (a) reciprocal knowledge exchange and perspective transformation (input); (b) adaptive responsiveness to emerging needs and feedback (process); and (c) collective ownership and commitment to both the collaborative process and its outcomes (output). Based on a within- and cross-case analysis of four successful co-created sustainability solutions from Denmark, the United States, Malaysia, and Serbia, we draw the key distinction between two types of scaffolding: necessary scaffolding providing the baseline support structures for co-creation, and contingent scaffolding in the form of situational mechanisms activated in response to contextual challenges. By conceptualizing scaffolding as a flexible, context-sensitive configuration of governance factors, our findings demonstrate that successful co-creation emerges not from individual governance tools alone, but from their strategic alignment and interaction.

Source: Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions

DOI: 10.1016/j.eist.2026.101148

Authors: Alexander L.Q. Chen-Florea, Eva Sørensen, Mohd Sallehuddin Mat Noor, Rastislav Vrbensky, Yoon Ai Chin

Institutions: Roskilde University, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Masaryk University, Institut Tadbiran Awam Negara

Language: English

Topic: Sustainability and Climate Change Governance

Subfield: Global and Planetary Change

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,610