Governance strategies to enhance the adaptive capacity of niche experiments

Calls for sustainability have resulted in the initiation of many system innovation projects. Despite the existence of several theoretical frameworks and principles on the governance of these system innovation projects, managers and participants still all too often feel at a loss for practical tools and guidelines to bring the project forward. This suggests that the current literature does not effectively support managers and participants during the governance of system innovation projects. This article aims to reduce this apparent gap by developing a systematic framework, based on both literature and practice, allowing project managers to enhance the adaptive capacity of system innovation projects. We propose an emergent design approach focussing on three main concepts: diversity, alignment and knowledge generation, and operationalise this framework into a coherent set of strategies and tools.