Technology and Innovation Management

We have an international reputation for research in technology management and innovation (TIM). Our work is rooted in the view that TIM is a complex process that cannot be understood as purely a social or technical process and so our research focuses on the socio-technical. We adopt a critical stance in research and aim to find ways to steer socio-technical innovation toward more sustainable outcomes. Our research is therefore relevant not only to academic audiences but also to a variety of key decision makers such as policy makers and managers.

Much of our research is case study orientated and focuses on TIM in multiple settings such as firms, sectors, systems and environments, particularly urban areas. As such we have significant experience of multiple research methods including longitudinal and comparative case study analysis, ethnography, discourse and frame analysis. Key topics investigated in our research include:

• Sustainable production and consumption, e.g. smart agriculture systems in cities
• Transport systems and infrastructures, e.g. induction charging for electric vehicles and associated policies and practices
• Smart energy futures, e.g. development of smart regional networks, development of smart city projects and programmes, changes in practices and industry structures, outcomes for citizens, evaluation methodologies
• Energy in buildings, e.g. integration of low carbon and renewable technologies in buildings, changes in industry and user practices, assessment methodologies

Our work is funded by a variety of bodies including UK Research Councils, the European Union, firms and UK Government departments, agencies and programs, e.g. the Low Carbon Network Fund.