|  | 
	
		|  | 
	
		| Piergiuseppe  Morone and Antonio  Lopolito | 
	
		|  | 
	
		| ''Socio-technical transition pathways and social networks: a toolkit for empirical innovation studies'' | 
	
		| ( 2010, Vol. 30 No.4 ) | 
	
		|  | 
	
		|  | 
	
		| In this note we investigate socio-technical transition pathways concentrating our attention on innovation niches formations. Specifically, we present a methodological conceptualization of innovation-niches and propose a preliminary protocol, based on a Social Network Analysis (SNA), aiming to capture and measure the internal status of niches. The suggested protocol provides a toolkit with insights on three SN concepts which can be used to study and measure the evolution process of technological niches. This allowed us to suggest a set of possible policy actions, which derives directly from the conceptualisation of innovation-niches propose in this paper. Although preliminary, we believe this study represents an important step in a much-needed direction, which is science-policy interface in socio-technical transition studies. | 
	
		|  | 
	
		|  | 
	
		| Keywords: socio-technical transition,  innovation,  social network analysis,  science-policy interface | 
	
		| JEL: O3 - Technological Change; Research and Development: General D8 - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty: General
 | 
	
		|  | 
	
		| | Manuscript Received : Sep 07 2010 |  | Manuscript Accepted : Oct 19 2010 | 
 |