Translating Transformative Innovation Framework in Colombia
Governance Implications for STI Policy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5380/nocsi.i7.102428Keywords:
Transformative Innovation, Governance, Policy Transfer, Regional Approach, ColombiaAbstract
This article analyzes the transfer process of the transformative innovation policy (TIP) framework in Colombia and the translation process carried out by Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) policy actors, emphasizing the implications of this process for governance. Using the Colombian Green Book 2030 case study and its regional implementation, the article examines how the TIP framework has been adopted by stakeholders and reinterpreted in peripheral contexts. A qualitative study with an interpretive approach was conducted based on 30 semi-structured interviews with individuals involved in the analyzed transfer process, as well as observations and document reviews. The findings suggest that institutional inertia has influenced the appropriation of the TIP framework in Colombia, leading to its association with prior social innovation experiences that align with some of the framework's characteristics. This includes participation and the inclusion of local actors. The framework was reinterpreted to address specific local issues through niche configurations rather than destabilizing socio-technical regimes. This frames transformative change within policy instruments designed under a bottom-up model. Nevertheless, the territorial level has emerged as a key space for TIP experimentation, offering opportunities to explore other STI applications oriented toward social concerns. The study concludes that transferring the transformative framework provides an opportunity to reconsider STI policy governance.References
Albis, N., Sepúlveda, P., Bawarshi, G., González, C., Shaffernich, M., Suazo, D., & Villalobos, P. (2023). Sembrado del agua para la transformación: una aproximación desde las prácticas sostenibles de uso de agua en Chile. In M. Ramírez (Ed.), Abriendo Pasos a Políticas y Prácticas de Innovación Transformativa en América Latina (pp. 373–404). Tirant Humanidades. https://editorial.tirant.com/co/libro/abriendo-paso-a-politicas-y-practicas-de-innovacion-transformativa-en-america-latina-matias-ramirez-9788419825728?utm_source.com
Boni, A., Velasco, D., & Ghosh, B. (2025). A human capability approach to transformative innovation policy. Theoretical insights and practical implications for directionality. Journal of Responsible Innovation, 12(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/23299460.2024.2440966
Bueno, C., Orozco, D., & Betanzos, A. (2023). Anaa witsukj: una apuesta a un cambio transformador. In M. Ramirez (Ed.), Abriendo Pasos a Políticas y Prácticas de Innovación Transformativa en América Latina2 (pp. 313–344). Tirant Humanidades. https://editorial.tirant.com/free_ebooks/9788419825728.pdf?utm_source.com
Chaminade, C., Lundvall, B. Å., & Haneef, S. (2018). Advanced introduction to National Innovation Systems. Edward Elgar. https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/usd/advanced-introduction-to-national-innovation-systems-9781785362033.html
Colciencias. (2018). Green Book 2030: National science and innovation policy for sustainable development. Colciencias. https://tipresourcelab.net/resource/green-book-national-science-and-innovation-policy-for-sustainable-development-english-version/
Colciencias, & SPRU. (2018). Orientaciones para la Formulación de Políticas Regionales de Innovación Transformativa en Colombia. Colciencias & University of Sussex. https://tipconsortium.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Orientaciones-formulacion-politicas_defweb.pdf
Congreso de Colombia. (2016). Informe Congreso de la República. Debate de control político FCTeI del SGR (p. 311). Congreso de la República de Colombia. https://www.camara.gov.co/sites/default/files/2017-08/Respuestas COLCIENCIAS Proposición No 025-16.pdf
CONPES. (2022). Documento CONPES 4069. Política Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación (2022-2031). https://colaboracion.dnp.gov.co/CDT/Conpes/Económicos/4069.pdf
Dagnino, R. (2014). Tecnologia Social. Contribuições conceituis e metodológicas. Editora Insular. https://doi.org/10.7476/9788578793272
Daza-Caicedo, S., & Lozano-Borda, M. (2013). Actividades hacia “otros públicos” Entre la difusión, la apropiación y la gobernanza de la ciencia y la tecnología. In M. Salazar (Ed.), Colciencias cuarenta años: entre la legitimidad, la normatividad y la práctica (pp. 281–353). Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo.
Diercks, G. (2018). Lost in translation: How legacy limits the OECD in promoting new policy mixes for sustainability transitions. Research Policy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2018.09.002
Diercks, G., Larsen, H., & Steward, F. (2019). Transformative innovation policy: Addressing variety in an emerging policy paradigm. Research Policy, 48(4), 880–894. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2018.10.028
Doezema, T., Ludwig, D., Macnaghten, P., Shelley-Egan, C., & Forsberg, E. M. (2019). Translation, transduction, and transformation: expanding practices of responsibility across borders. Journal of Responsible Innovation, 6(3), 323–331. https://doi.org/10.1080/23299460.2019.1653155
Engels, F., Wentland, A., & Pfotenhauer, S. M. (2019). Testing future societies? Developing a framework for test beds and living labs as instruments of innovation governance. Research Policy, 48(9), 103826. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2019.103826
Feld, A. (2014). Paradigmas internacionales y políticas científico-tecnológicas en Argentina: 1958-1983. In H. Vessuri, P. Kreimer, L. Velho, & A. Arellano (Eds.), Perspectivas latinoamericanas en el estudio social de la ciencia, la tecnología y el conocimiento (pp. 337–351). Editorial Siglo Veintiuno. https://sigloxxieditores.com.mx/libro/perspectivas-latinoamericanas-en-el-estudio-social-de-la-ciencia-la-tecnologia-y-la-sociedad/?utm_source.com
Galego, D., & Brans, M. (2023). Governance of social innovation. In J. Howaldt & C. Kaletka (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Social Innovation (pp. 169–171). Edward Elgar. https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/usd/encyclopedia-of-social-innovation-9781800373341.html
Garzón, N., & da Costa, J. P. (2021). Towards a Regional Policy: Transformative Innovation in Colombia (pp. 81–104). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80832-7_5
Gibbons, M., Limoges, C., Nowotny, H., Schwartzman, S., Scott, P., & Trow, M. (1994). The New Production of Knowledge : The Dynamics of Science and Research in Contemporary Societies. SAGE Publications. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1994-98499-000
Godin, B. (2017). Models of Innovation. The history of an idea. The MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/10782.001.0001
Haddad, C., Nakić, V., Bergek, A., & Hellsmark, H. (2022). Transformative innovation policy: A systematic review. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 43(March 2021), 14–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2022.03.002
Kanger, L., Rotolo, D., Steinmueller, W. E., & Schot, J. (2022). Deep transitions : A mixed methods study of the historical evolution of mass production. Technological Forecasting & Social Change, 177(January). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121491
Kanger, L., & Schot, J. (2019). Deep transitions: Theorizing the long-term patterns of socio-technical change. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 32, 7–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2018.07.006
Kattel, R., Mazzucato, M., Baafi, K., Fernandez-Monge, F., Goulden, A., Gronchi, I., Kalema, N. L., & Puttick, R. (2025). Dynamic Capabilities for Transformative Change in City Governments. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/publications/2025/feb/dynamic-capabilities-transformative-change-city-governments
Kuhlmann, S., Stegmaier, P., & Konrad, K. (2019). The tentative governance of emerging science and technology—A conceptual introduction. Research Policy, 48(5), 1091–1097. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2019.01.006
Mercado, A., Sánchez, I., & Testa, P. (2014). La (de)construcción de la política científica y tecnológica en Venezuela (1990-2012). In H. Vessuri, P. Kreimer, L. Velho, & A. Arellano (Eds.), Perspectivas latinoamericanas en el estudio social de la ciencia, la tecnología y el conocimiento (pp. 337–351). Editorial Siglo Veintiuno.
Molas-Gallart, J., Boni, A., Giachi, S., & Schot, J. (2021). A formative approach to the evaluation of Transformative Innovation Policies. Research Evaluation, 30(4), 431–442. https://doi.org/10.1093/reseval/rvab016
Mowery, D. C., Nelson, R. R., & Martin, B. R. (2010). Technology policy and global warming: Why new policy models are needed (or why putting new wine in old bottles won’t work). Research Policy, 39(8), 1011–1023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2010.05.008
Nupia, C. (2013). Origen de la política científica y tecnológica en Colombia: Colciencias y su papel en la transferencia del modelo internacional de política científica. In M. Salazar (Ed.), Colciencias cuarenta años: entre la legitimidad, la normatividad y la práctica (pp. 121–177). Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo. https://ocyt.org.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/colciencias40.pdf?utm_source.com
OECD. (2024). OECD Agenda for Transformative Science, Technology and Innovation Policies. In OECD Science, Technology and Industry Policy Papers (OECD Science, Technology and Industry Policy Papers, Vol. 164, Issue 69). https://doi.org/10.1787/ba2aaf7b-en
Ordóñez-Matamoros, G., Centeno, J. P., Andrade-Sastoque, E., & Pinzón-Camargo, M. A. (2021). Transformative Innovation Policy in Emerging Economies: What Does It Entail? In Palgrave Studies in Democracy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Growth (Issues 978-3-030-80831–0, pp. 105–146). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80832-7_6
Orozco, L., Villaveces, J., Ordoñez-Matamoros, G., & Moreno, G. (2019). Innovation policy and governance networks on national innovation systems. 17th International Conference on Scientometrics & Informetrics, 1, 541–553.
Osorio-García, A., Pabón, A., & Asprilla, H. (2023). Impulsando transiciones agroecológicas con comunidades agrícolas aisladas: las redes como primer paso. In M. Ramírez (Ed.), Abriendo Pasos a Políticas y Prácticas de Innovación Transformativa en América Latina (pp. 343–371). Tirant Humanidades. https://editorial.tirant.com/free_ebooks/9788419825728.pdf
Peck, J. (2011). Geographies of policy : From transfer-diffusion to mobility-mutation. Progress in Human Geography, 35(6), 773–797. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132510394010
Pinzón-Camargo, M. A., Centeno, J. P., Andrade-Sastoque, E., & Ordoñez-Matamoros, H. G. (2023). Logics and Enablers of Transformative Innovation Policies: The case of the Colombian Appropriation of Science and Technology Policy. NOvation - Critical Studies of Innovation, 5, 31. https://doi.org/10.5380/nocsi.v0i5.93602
Pozzebon, M., Souza, A., & Saldanha, F. (2023). The South American concept of tecnologia social. In J. Howaldt & C. Kaletka (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Social Innovation (pp. 95–99). Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800373358.ch17
Ramirez, M., Boni, A., Wade, I., & Byrne, R. (2024). How does transformative innovation policy travel across physical and cognitive spaces? Exploring the role of mutable fluid space in experimental policy engagements. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 52(June), 100881. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2024.100881
Sagasti, F. (1978). Science and technology for development : main comparative report of the Science and Technology Policy Instruments Project. International Development Research Centre. http://hdl.handle.net/10625/4293
Saldaña, J. (2016). The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. SAGE.
Schot, J., & Steinmueller, W. E. (2018). Three frames for innovation policy: R&D, systems of innovation and transformative change. Research Policy, 47(9), 1554–1567. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2018.08.011
Smits, R., Kuhlmann, S., & Shapira, P. (2010). The Theory and Practice of Innovation Policy. Edward Elgar Publishing. http://www.elgaronline.com/view/9781845428488.xml
Sovacool, B. K., & Hess, D. J. (2017). Ordering theories: Typologies and conceptual frameworks for sociotechnical change. Social Studies of Science, 47(5), 703–750. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306312717709363
SPRU, & Ingenio. (2016a). COLCIENCIAS Training Programme. An introduction to the concepts and roles of evaluation [PowerPoint slides] (p. 82).
SPRU, & Ingenio. (2016b). Un marco para la evaluación de las políticas de CTI en Colombia [PowerPoint slides] (p. 11).
Stone, D. (2012). Transfer and translation of policy. Policy Studies, 33(6), 483–499. https://doi.org/10.1080/01442872.2012.695933
Summer, A., & Tribe, M. (2008). International Development Studies: Theories and Methods in Research and Practice. SAGE Publications. https://sk.sagepub.com/book/mono/international-development-studies/toc
TIPC. (2021). Reporte de recomendaciones hacia la innovación transformativa del programa “A Ciencia Cierta.”
Ulmanen, J., Bergek, A., & Hellsmark, H. (2022). Lost in translation: Challenges in creating new transformative innovation policy practices. PLOS Sustainability and Transformation, 1(10), e0000031. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pstr.0000031
Velho, L. (2011). Conceitos de Ciência e a Política Científica, Tecnológica e de Inovação. Sociologias, 13(26), 128–153. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1517-45222011000100006
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Janaina Pamplona da Costa, Nicolás Garzón Rodríguez
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
NOvation is an open-access journal under a Creative Commons – CC Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 license, which allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement (and preservation) of the author's authorship and intellectual property rights.
To this extent, the authors who publish in this journal agree with the following terms:
1. Authors retain the rights and grant the journal the right of first publication, with the work published under the Creative Commons – CC Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 that allows [...].
2. Authors have authorization for distribution, of the version of the work published in this journal, in an institutional repository, thematic, databases and in other works as a book chapter, with acknowledgement of authorship and initial publication in the journal;
3. Papers published in this journal will be indexed in databases, repositories, portals, directories and other sources in which the journal is and will be indexed.
Ethical Responsibilities of Authors
This journal is committed to upholding the integrity of the scientific record.
Consent to submit has been received explicitly from all co-authors, as well as from the responsible authorities – tacitly or explicitly – at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before the work is submitted.
