Sustainable development and the challenge of innovation

Innovation does not automatically lead to societal progress, as is implicitly assumed in technology push-oriented policies. This assumption is an inheritance of the Enlightenment; i.e., the belief that science will automatically lead to a better quality of life. The strive for sustainable development needs an approach towards innovation that can be characterised as society pull: the society has to decide which (balance of) economical, ecological and social goals are to be met. Society pull can be organised by developing shared perspectives for the future, which are inspiring for public and private policy-makers and investors. In this paper this is worked out as transition management: a process approach directing innovation towards sustainable development. A crucial aspect of transition management is that innovation is no longer driven by the past, but attracted by the future.