INNOVATION GOVERNANCE IN THE BIOGAS SECTOR: AN ANALYSIS OF THE CAPACITY-BUILDING FUNCTION IN HELIX-BASED MODELS

Abstract:

Biogas diffusion in Brazil faces sociotechnical challenges in which governance failures often outweigh purely technical barriers. Drawing on a structured literature review of 34 studies, this article examines how helix-based governance models and intermediary actors are addressed in the Brazilian biogas sector. The review identifies a systemic imbalance marked by a fragile Academic Helix, limited formalization of intermediary functions, and weak two-way societal engagement, which together constrain coordination, legitimacy, and long-term sectoral development. The analysis synthesizes six recurrent governance diagnoses related to policy fragmentation, insufficient capacity building, weak territorial engagement, and limited predictability in the policy mix. Based on these findings, the article derives policy implications for strengthening innovation governance, including better alignment across policy domains and levels of government, stronger Academic–Industry cooperation, more structured capacity-building mechanisms, and greater recognition of intermediary actors in governance arrangements. The article contributes by offering an analytical extension of helix-based approaches, showing how intermediary actors perform coordinating, enabling, and capacity-building functions that are especially relevant in fragmented sociotechnical contexts such as Brazil’s biogas sector.

Keywords: Biogas; Helix-based governance; Innovation governance; Intermediary actors; Capacity building