Master Thesis : "Outside-In Business Development : A Derived Market Perspective on VITO's Policy Support Strategy"

Abstract

Policy support is a core element of VITO’s public mission. Within the Water and Energy Transition (WET) Unit, this mission spans the entire policy cycle—from agenda setting to implementation and evaluation—ensuring that decision-makers have access to science-based and actionable knowledge. The main goal is to develop a comparative and stakeholder-informed conceptual framework that helps in supporting the internal strategic alignment on VITO’s policy-support role. Rather than presenting a ready-made strategy, the framework aims to integrate empirical insights from policy stakeholders with theoretical perspectives on value co-creation, expertise, and legitimacy, offering VITO a practical tool for internal reflection and strategic dialogue about how it positions itself in policy-support activities. To address this goal, this study combines conceptual and empirical insights. Theoretically, it draws on three complementary perspectives. The first perspective finds its origin in a stakeholder-informed approach and value co-creation, which highlights that the value of policy support does not arise from the mere provision of knowledge but from the interaction between experts and policymakers. Credibility, usability, and legitimacy emerge in this dynamic interplay rather than being defined internally. The second perspective concerns the transformation of climate science, where the focus has shifted from describing climate systems to enabling societal change. Experts may now act as solution brokers, norm entrepreneurs, or transition partners—each representing a distinct mode of connecting scientific insight to policy action. The third perspective, drawn from the sociology of expertise, stresses that authority and trust are socially constructed and depend on how expertise resonates with institutional expectations, values, and political contexts. Empirically, the thesis builds on a series of twelve semi-structured interviews with Flemish policymakers across different levels of the policy spectrum, with the interview guide being constructed based upon the above-mentioned three perspectives. Results showed that stakeholders consistently associate VITO with functional value—its ability to deliver timely and relevant insights—and epistemic value, grounded in scientific rigour and neutrality. At the same time, interviewees stressed that impact depends on more than analytical quality alone: it also requires accessibility, clarity, and trust. Policy relevance is thus not only about being correct, but about being heard and understood at the right moment in the policy process. Policymakers expressed a clear need for different forms of support throughout the policy cycle. At certain moments, they require a Solution Broker—an actor who can provide timely, neutral, and evidence-based analyses that help structure decisions and clarify technical or systemic options. In other contexts, they look for a Norm Entrepreneur—a partner who can help articulate long-term visions, interpret complex trade-offs, and frame the societal values that underpin transition pathways. Increasingly, as transitions move from strategy to implementation, they seek a Transition Partner—an engaged collaborator who can work alongside public authorities in co-creating, testing, and adapting solutions in real-world settings. These needs are not sequential or mutually exclusive: they overlap and evolve as policy processes unfold. Together, they reflect policymakers’ demand for a trusted, flexible, and context-sensitive knowledge partner—one capable of combining scientific credibility with practical engagement and value-based reflection. These findings illustrate that the three positioning modes should not be understood as separate or competing roles, but as elements of a dynamic whole. Stakeholders recognise the greatest value when analytical work, strategic framing, and collaborative engagement strengthen each other throughout the policy process. In practice, this means that effective policy support depends on VITO’s ability to move flexibly between these roles—combining scientific analysis with interpretive insight and constructive interaction. The constructed comparative framework will foster future strategic discussions within VITO.