Circular Ecosystemsand Governance

The researchers aim to understand and structure framework conditions and potential courses of action to achieve a circular transformation through sound research and active transfer processes. They develop, trial and evaluate solution pathways, strategies and instruments – together with stakeholders from the fields of business, politics, administration and society, such as companies, associations, local authorities, regional development agencies, trade unions, ministries and civil society initiatives.

Through their transformative sustainability research, the researchers strive to:

• Capture dynamics and interactions (systems knowledge): This involves investigating the structures, logics and interactions in organisations, networks, markets and ecosystems in order to understand their modes of operation. 
• Develop solution spaces and target images of a circular economy (target knowledge): Together with stakeholders from practice, the researchers design adaptable solution spaces and target images of a circular economy and promote coordination between stakeholders in the circular transformation. 
• Analyse, trial and evaluate scope for action, instruments and strategies for the circular transformation (transformation knowledge): This entails translating circular sociotechnical innovations into viable and scalable transformation pathways.

The Research Unit's focus extends to three levels in particular, which should be considered interlinked rather than viewed in isolation. In the first focus topic, the researchers analyse organisations, networks and (regional) ecosystems as central arenas of the circular transformation. They investigate the interactions between companies, their business and value models, regional value-creation networks and structural framework conditions. The intention behind this work is to understand how to structure dynamics, logics, cooperative relationships and dependencies in a sustainable and resilient manner in the context of transformation.

Building on this, the second focus topic is designing, trialling and coordinating governance structures and political steering mechanisms. On the one hand, the researchers investigate how regulatory framework conditions must engage, from regional to European levels, in order to address structural barriers and create potential scope for action. On the other hand, they also analyse specific governance approaches between different stakeholders – including between manufacturing companies, the waste management industry, organisations in civil society and the political sphere. Through organisational cooperation mechanisms and cooperative coordination processes, the researchers aim to ensure robust directional governance.

The third research focus is developing circular transformation pathways and facilitating their scaling. In an effort to help innovations achieve a systemic impact beyond stand-alone projects and niches, the researchers analyse how circular strategies can be integrated into existing economic and political contexts and logics. In the process, the researchers identify and support the conditions and processes through which to draw attention to circular practices without losing the focus on transformation.

Within the Circular Economy Division, the Circular Ecosystems and Governance Research Unit complements the Circular Society Research Unit, which strives to leverage "circular empowerment" to highlight social transformation pathways and circular behavioural patterns. It also collaborates closely with the Circular Systems Research Unit, which engages with the recording, analysis and modelling of circular value creation systems, and the Digital Transformation Research Unit, which examines digitalization opportunities