Policy Making for Governance of Technology Transitions: Basics and Theories

Technology transitions are fundamental shifts in sociotechnical systems, it means that they are not simply technical changes, but also changes in social, cultural, infrastructural and institutional dimensions. Since mature technologies are integrated with all these dimensions, sociotechnical systems are usually locked in, and their ruling regimes are resistant to change. Transition means getting out of "lock in" situation, so policy makers for governing such transitions needs to pay attention to all these aspects to overcome path dependency and to lead sociotechnical systems in a way that meet desirable goals of society. Different approaches are suggested in policy making in the field of technology transition, such as multi-level perspective, technological innovation systems and strategic niche management and transition management explained in paper and an example of using strategic niche management in Iran is provided.