From gap to opportunity: regulatory voids as spaces for experimentation and innovation for sustainability

The article addresses the complex dynamics underlying regulatory experimentation and participatory regulatory processes for sustainable innovation in the agri-food sector. These experiences are investigated in their potential to promote a better understanding of the risks and opportunities associated with innovation, better legitimise its adoption, and stimulate responsible experimentation. The article first reviews relevant theories, such as critiques to techno-solutionism and literature on regulatory pluralism and experimentalism, and transnational administrative law doctrine, to stress the need for multiple instruments and viewpoints in shaping innovation. The case study analysis builds on the experience of the Horizon project AWARE, driving innovation in the field of aquaculture from refined wastewater through a pilot based in Southern Italy. The article also engages with a review of other case studies from the Global South shedding light on experiences of sustainable innovation for the benefit of vulnerable communities and related regulatory modalities. The ‘capabilities approach’ is discussed to frame the context through the lens of ‘just’ experimentalism in the sector. In conclusion, the article develops a reflection on way forwards that encompass cogovernance approaches and a ‘right to innovation through experimentalism’ which entails not only access to innovation but also the opportunity to participate in shaping innovation.