Agency of institutional intermediaries in transitions: A study of influences on intermediary practices

Traditionally, the literature on socio-technical transitions has predominantly focused on system-level phenomena. However, to fully comprehend the processes of change, it is crucial to understand the roles and practices of individual actors involved in these transitions. This paper examines institutional intermediaries, which are actors with the mission to implement policies. Our objective is to explore how agency influences the practices of institutional intermediaries in operationalizing their policy missions. The paper draws on an interview study of individuals serving as institutional intermediaries, financed by a national energy agency, to support citizens and organizations in adopting sustainable technologies and practices. We introduce an analytical framework highlighting that institutional intermediaries are subject to multiple levels of influence. These include top-down influences, coming from national or local decision-makers, bottom-up influences from local clients, as well as middle-out influences derived from their own agency and interpretation of their institutional role. The latter significantly impacts how institutional intermediaries operationalize their policy missions. Consequently, intermediaries are not merely passive implementers of national policies but also agents with their own agendas. This has important implications for the theoretical understanding of intermediary actors’ behaviors in transitions and for the design of public or governmental employees’ tasks and missions. • Apart from implementing policies, intermediaries are agents with their own agenda. • Middle-out influences affect the interpretation of intermediaries’ institutional role. • Intermediaries’ agency translates in a variety of practices in policy implementation. • Different intermediation practices lead to differences in terms of policy outcomes. • Variation in practices represents risks and opportunities for policy implementation.