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An interdisciplinary debate on project perspectives

Table 2 Illustrative example: scaling up

From: Signals of sustainability transition: Sensing enabling factors through cultural initiatives

General impact determinants

Comprehensive enabling factors

Initiative-based learning

Interactions across system levels

Transformative effects

Resulting from scaling-up dynamics

Case-specific enabling factors

Resulting through the observation of one/more initiatives in one context

Identification of key scaling mechanisms

Knowledge and abilities

Enhancing skills and expertise

• Experts from the impact domain (e.g. urban regeneration) have been included in the development of cultural actions

• Local knowledge has been embedded in the design of cultural activities

Scaling up

Cultural actions at the niche level start growing and becoming more stable. In the long-term, this trend might affect institutional structures, e.g. through re-alignment or innovation

Key interaction: Collaboration between niches and regimes

• Emergent practices formalised through norms and regulation

• New pervasive narratives created

• New values consolidated

• Widened adoption of novel practices from social impact domains

• Expanded adoption of novel practices by synergising functions and domains

• Learning

Facilitating knowledge acquisition and diffusion

• Collaboration agreements have been signed with local research bodies

• Results from the cultural actions are disseminated throughout local networks

Norms and regulations

Rooting in norms and regulations from the impact domains

• The Involvement of cultural operators in urban regeneration processes is formally recognized

• Cultural operators participate in co-design experiments seeking to support policy recommendations

Narratives and discourses

Emphasising innovation and novelty

• Innovative cultural actions become a reference point for the development of neighbourhood initiatives

Resources and infrastructures

Access to financial resources

• Private–public partnerships are signed

• Sponsorship agreements are promoted by cultural institutions

Access and activation of spaces and infrastructures

• Underused cultural venues are activated

• New technological infrastructures are developed

Networks and partnerships

Political recognition and support

• The Municipality formally acknowledges the relevance of the initiatives launched

Emergence and consolidation of collaborative schemes

• The Cultural Unit and the Urban Planning Department of the Municipality develop new forms of collaborations

• A new network involving local cultural associations and institutions emerges