Effects of policy instruments and collaborations on circular innovation- case study of Almere

Circular economy (CE) is witnessing a collective promotion by the countries of European Union along with associated stakeholders since climate mitigation measures need to be coupled with CE models to reach the Paris climate agreement goals. Considering the imperativeness of climate mitigation targets, facilitating a transition towards circular models of operation requires radical changes in products and processes to transform the system. These radical changes or innovations would hence require greater coordination amongst stakeholders involved at the system level (Vence & Pereira, 2019. P2). Amongst the various stakeholders, local governments have a substantial importance in waste management and transition to a circular approach. In many cities, waste management remains a function of local governments or at least is partly regulated by them (Christensen,2021, p2). Though circular economy is not limited to municipal responsibilities, considering the niche level of circularity, the role of facilitating the systemic transition of local actors to circular models falls upon the approach of the municipalities. Increasing number of cities in Netherlands function today as urban living labs (ULLs) to serve as testing grounds for novel practices in circular economy. Their detailed mode of operation and the policy instruments employed by their municipalities to facilitate experimentation is relatively unknown in the academic space. This research attempts to bridge this gap by contributing to the literature on policy instruments, especially on the potential of demand pull and supply push instruments such as public procurement and co-financing in enabling innovations. To this we also add the contribution of collaborative networks since they form an intrinsic characteristic of urban experimentation. The initial findings of the research agree with the literature’s suggestions that policy instruments such as public procurement have a positive impact on creating traction for circular innovations. The research finds that stimulating circular experimentation for transition and the diffusion of results through policy instruments is highly reliant on municipalities’ self-organizing capacities. While this is often impeded due to institutional challenges faced by municipalities as documented during this research, it is also noted that strong coalition with actors at higher hierarchical levels, coupled with shared commitment and goals amongst collaborating actors act as positive factors in enabling stimulation of innovations and their diffusion.