The CIRCULAR research project addresses a pressing and multifaceted sustainability challenge: transitioning from a linear to a circular economic system. The circular economy is about giving more back to nature than we extract. Products and materials must last longer and be reused in new ways. Existing consumption patterns, business models, and governance structures (legislation, subsidies, taxes, etc.) must change. The transition to a circular economy therefore involves developing new policies and practices at the intersection of different institutions, actors, and interests. This calls for new, more collaboration- and co-creation-oriented governance models. And this is precisely where CIRCULAR aims to contribute new knowledge by exploring and identifying:
- Which governance factors drive co-creation processes and projects for the circular economy?
- What role do leadership and brokerage activities play in initiating and driving such processes and projects?
The research is conducted by the Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research (NIBR) at OsloMet (project leader), the University of Bergen, NTNU, Utrecht University, and the University of Cape Town, with So Central as a subcontractor. A resource group with both practical and academic expertise contributes throughout all phases of the project.
Data collection is sequential and comparative, combining qualitative and quantitative methods. During 2024 and 2025, all data have been collected:
1. An integrative literature review combining sustainable transition and collaborative governance literature.
2. A survey of leading companies in relevant sectors. The results are summarized in the policy brief "Circular Transition Requires Co-creation and Regulatory Innovation."
A total of 10 case studies was completed in September 2025.
Throughout the data collection process, we have conducted several workshops and seminars.
CIRCULAR will now enter the analysis phase of the project, where the goal is to identify a set of governance factors that promote co-creation of circular solutions. The results will be discussed and developed in ongoing dialogue with practitioners and research colleagues to provide deeper knowledge and practical guidance on governing circular processes in both the Global North and the Global South
The transition from a linear to a circular economy represents a complex, multifaceted and vital societal challenge that calls for co-created solutions between multiple public and private stakeholders. CIRCULAR addresses this challenge through investigating critical governance factors for facilitating a shift to a circular economy. Moreover, the project studies the roles of co-creational leadership and intermediaries in the management of this transition. CIRCULAR thus aims to contribute knowledge on how to promote effective design and delivery of a circular economy and reduced consumption.
The project is based on a mixed-method, interdisciplinary approach combining collaborative governance analysis, key informant interviews, leadership survey and qualitative comparative analysis (QCA). It adopts a novel analytical governance framework applied as heuristics to a comparative set of urban case studies; three cases in Norway, which constitute the main cases, and two comparative cases in international front-running cities on circular economy (Utrecht and Cape Town). The comparison across different institutional contexts, including in cities of the Global North and the Global South, enhances robustness of findings and learning. An interdisciplinary team of researchers and a panel of experts will, through regular interaction, testing of findings and communication, produce cutting-edge knowledge on how a given constellation of governance factors can facilitate co-created, just and sustainable circular economies in policy and practice.
