Paper short abstract:

We present a theoretical and practical framework combining Strategic Planning and Socio-Technical Approach. The STSP is a framework oriented to the solution of social and environmental problems, built by the long-term expirience of Institute of Science and Technology Studies (UNQ).

Paper long abstract:

In this paper, we present a theoretical and practical framework combining Strategic Planning and Socio-Technical Approach. The Socio-Technical Strategic Planning (STSP) is a framework oriented to the solution of social and environmental problems, built by the Institute of Science and Technology Studies of the National University of Quilmes.

The STSP combines elements of Strategic Planning (situation, moments, problem, critical point, power strategy and tactics) with key concepts of Socio-Technical Approach (co-construction, relevant social group, meaning flexibility, material agency, problem-solution relationship, socio-technical alliance).

Departing from experiences carried out during the last 10 years (co-designing policies and artifacts, co-implementing solutions in the field and training human resources) we show why the STSP is an useful framework to design national, regional and local strategies to foster inclusive and sustainable development.

The paper starts with the presentation of a typology of the common problems/failures of traditional (public and private) policies which are nominally defined as “inclusive development” or “sustainable development”. We show why the traditional way of design and implement these policies necessarily involve those kinds of failures.

Then, departing from a set of learning built up from more than 10 years of experience in the field (presented in the paper as empirical insights) we present STSP as a way to overcome the common failures imply in the traditional planning behind mainstream policies oriented to inclusive and sustainable development.