A Systems Engineering Framework for Bioeconomic Transitions in a Sustainable Development Goal Context

TLDR

Sustainable development goals have spurred interest in the bioeconomy, yet critics note they lack stakeholder perspectives, business engagement, and systematic frameworks for planning bioeconomy transitions. The authors aim to develop a systems engineering process framework, MPAST, to bridge bioeconomy transitions and address SDG implementation. The MPAST framework maps problem and solution states using sector‑specific stakeholder data, and is applied to a Norwegian agricultural bioeconomy transition case study. Applying MPAST demonstrates that visual mapping methods can be combined into a process to support SDG implementation.

Abstract

To address sustainable development goals (SDGs), national and international strategies have been increasingly interested in the bioeconomy. SDGs have been criticized for lacking stakeholder perspectives and agency, and for requiring too little of business. There is also a lack of both systematic and systemic frameworks for the strategic planning of bioeconomy transitions. Using a systems engineering approach, we seek to address this with a process framework to bridge bioeconomy transitions by addressing SDGs. In this methodology paper, we develop a systems archetype mapping framework for sustainable bioeconomy transitions, called MPAST: Mapping Problem Archetypes to Solutions for Transitions. Using this framework with sector-specific stakeholder data facilitates the establishment of the start (problem state) and end (solution state) to understand and analyze sectorial transitions to the bioeconomy. We apply the MPAST framework to the case of a Norwegian agricultural bioeconomy transition, using data from a survey of the Norwegian agricultural sector on transitioning to a bioeconomy. The results of using this framework illustrate how visual mapping methods can be combined as a process, which we then discuss in the context of SDG implementation.