Serviços de saúde são reconhecidamente sistemas socio-técnicos complexos (SSTC) tendo em vista sua dinamicidade, diversidade, incerteza e interações entre os diversos elementos que os compõe. Outra característica importante dos SSTC é a resiliência, fundamental para manter os sistemas em funcionamento. Estudar a resiliência em SSTC é objetivo da Engenharia de Resiliência (ER), novo paradigma para gestão de segurança, com enfoque na análise do trabalho real. Esta tese explora o papel complementar de duas práticas com influência na resiliência em SSTC: o desenvolvimento de habilidades de resiliência (HR) e os procedimentos operacionais padronizados (POPs). Há um entendimento que, mesmo com procedimentos operacionais padronizados, existe uma variabilidade inerente ao SSTC, tornando impossível que o procedimento atenda a todas as situações. Este estudo tem como principal questão de pesquisa: como integrar a gestão de procedimentos operacionais padronizados ao desenvolvimento de HR em serviços de emergência hospitalar? E como objetivo principal: propor um modelo para integração entre gestão de POP e desenvolvimento de HR, enfatizando serviço de emergência hospitalar Os objetivos específicos são: (a) identificar, analisar e traçar um panorama sobre estudos na área da saúde com a ótica da ER; (b) identificar a origem das HR. A abordagem norteadora da tese é o Design Science Research que, com sua natureza prescritiva, busca desenvolver o conhecimento por meio da construção de artefatos. A tese está estruturada em três fases, que resultam em três artigos: (i) ―Contribuições da Engenharia de Resiliência para a Saúde: uma Revisão Sistemática‖, tem como principal objetivo identificar e entender como os conceitos de ER vem sendo utilizados na área da saúde; (ii) ―Habilidades de resiliência como fenômeno emergente: um estudo em departamentos de emergência no Brasil e nos Estados Unidos‖, tem como objetivo responder ao questionamento ―de onde emergem as habilidades de resiliência‖; (iii) ―Procedimentos e capacitação: recursos para ação trabalhando em conjunto para apoiar a resiliência de sistemas sócio-técnicos complexos‖, que responde a pergunta ―como integrar melhoria de POP e desenvolvimento de HR?‖. Assim, o último artigo atende o principal objetivo da tese ao propor modelo de integração entre POP e capacitações em HR. / Health services are admittedly complex socio-technical systems (CSS) considering their dynamism, diversity, uncertainty and interactions between the various elements that compose them. Another important feature of the CSS is resilience. It is critical to keep systems running. The goal of Resilience Engineering is to study resilience, the new paradigm for safety management, focusing on the analysis of current work. This thesis approaches the complementary role of two practices that influence the resilience CSS: the development of resilience skills (RS) and standard operational procedures (SOPs). There is an understanding that even with the use of SOPs, there is variability in the CSS, making it impossible for the procedure to meet all situations. This study's main research question is: how to integrate the SOP management and RS development in hospital emergency room services? The main objective of the study is: to suggest a model to integrate SOP management and RS development, with emphasis in hospital emergency room. The specific objectives are: (a) identify, analyze and give an overview of studies in health care according to Resilience Engineering; (b) identify the origens of the RS The guiding approach of this thesis is the Design Science Research which, due to its prescriptive nature, seeks to develop knowledge by building artifacts. The thesis is structured in three phases, resulting in three items: (i) ―A Systematic Review on Resilience Engineering contributions for Health Care‖ aims to identify and understand how concepts of Resilience Engineering have been used in health services (ii) "Resilience skills as emergent phenomena: a study of emergency departments in Brazil and the United States" aims to answer the question "where do resilience skills come from"; (iii) ―Procedures and training: resources for action working together to support the resilience in CSS‖, which answers the question "how to integrate SOP improvement and resilience skills development?". Thus, the last article serves the main objective of the thesis that is to suggest an integration model between SOP and RS training.

O setor de assistência à saúde atualmente, carece de técnicas de gerenciamento que visem a melhoria dos processos, permitindo a redução de custos ao otimizar os recursos existentes. O sistema de saúde, classificado como um sistema complexo devido a diversidade de interações não-lineares que apresenta, vem sendo estudado sob a ótica da engenharia de resiliência que enfatiza a necessidade de regular o seu funcionamento diante de uma situação adversa. Por sua vez, a resiliência é facilitada por meio do uso de folgas, que fornecem recursos reservas para lidar com as variabilidades. Ao passo que as folgas são importantes para manter a resiliência, também podem ser recursos ociosos que tendem a mascarar as variabilidades, quando em excesso. Portanto, um equilíbrio deve ser considerado entre o mínimo necessário para manter a resiliência do sistema e o máximo que não venha a se enquadrar como desperdício de recursos. Para isso, esse trabalho desenvolve e aplica uma framework que visa analisar qualitativa e quantitativamente as folgas a fim de reprojetar o sistema sócio-técnico complexo. O estudo foi realizado numa maternidade, referência no atendimento privado. Os processos de atravessamento do fluxo de valor da paciente foram mapeados, permitindo a identificação de 17 fontes de variabilidade e 20 recursos de folga. O reprojeto do sistema de trabalho envolveu a classificação das folgas entre os requisitos levantados, de maneira a priorizar as variabilidades menos cobertas pelas folgas. A framework se mostrou eficaz ao elencar as prioridades no redesenho das folgas e variabilidades, a fim de tornar o sistema estudado mais resiliente. / The healthcare sector currently lacks management techniques that aim to improve processes, allowing cost reduction by optimizing existing resources. The health system, classified as a complex system due to the diversity of nonlinear interactions that it presents, has been studied from the point of view of resilience engineering that emphasizes the need to regulate its functioning in the face of an adverse situation. In turn, resilience is facilitated through the use of slack, which provide reserve resources to deal with variability. While slack are important to maintaining resilience, it can also be idle resources that tend to mask variability when in excess. Therefore, a balance must be considered between the minimum necessary to maintain the resilience of the system and the maximum that doesn’t fit as a waste of resources. For this, this work develops and applies a framework that aims to analyze qualitatively and quantitatively the slack in order to redesign the complex socio-technical system. The study was performed in a maternity hospital, that is a reference in private care. The processes of flow of the patient's value were mapped, allowing the identification of 17 sources of variability and 20 resources of slack. The redesign of the work system involved the classification of slack between the requisites raised, in order to prioritize the variabilities less covered by the slack. The framework proved to be effective in highlighting the priorities in the redesign of the slack and variabilities, in order to make the studied system more resilient.

This thesis is about the work of Nordel, an advisory body set up in 1963 by the largest power companies in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The purpose of Nordel was to strengthen and consolidate Nordic cooperation in the production and transmission of electrical power. The analysis has been conducted by using Elinor Ostrom’s framework for studying common-pool resources, which is described in her book Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action (1990). The thesis concludes that Nordel reaffirmed the bilateral practises already established by the individual power companies and was circumscribed by national energy policies. Nordel’s main contribution to the Nordic cooperation was to act as a forum for common technical issues and general aims, and as a knowledge-producing organisation.

Serviços de saúde são reconhecidamente sistemas socio-técnicos complexos (SSTC) tendo em vista sua dinamicidade, diversidade, incerteza e interações entre os diversos elementos que os compõe. Outra característica importante dos SSTC é a resiliência, fundamental para manter os sistemas em funcionamento. Estudar a resiliência em SSTC é objetivo da Engenharia de Resiliência (ER), novo paradigma para gestão de segurança, com enfoque na análise do trabalho real. Esta tese explora o papel complementar de duas práticas com influência na resiliência em SSTC: o desenvolvimento de habilidades de resiliência (HR) e os procedimentos operacionais padronizados (POPs). Há um entendimento que, mesmo com procedimentos operacionais padronizados, existe uma variabilidade inerente ao SSTC, tornando impossível que o procedimento atenda a todas as situações. Este estudo tem como principal questão de pesquisa: como integrar a gestão de procedimentos operacionais padronizados ao desenvolvimento de HR em serviços de emergência hospitalar? E como objetivo principal: propor um modelo para integração entre gestão de POP e desenvolvimento de HR, enfatizando serviço de emergência hospitalar Os objetivos específicos são: (a) identificar, analisar e traçar um panorama sobre estudos na área da saúde com a ótica da ER; (b) identificar a origem das HR. A abordagem norteadora da tese é o Design Science Research que, com sua natureza prescritiva, busca desenvolver o conhecimento por meio da construção de artefatos. A tese está estruturada em três fases, que resultam em três artigos: (i) ―Contribuições da Engenharia de Resiliência para a Saúde: uma Revisão Sistemática‖, tem como principal objetivo identificar e entender como os conceitos de ER vem sendo utilizados na área da saúde; (ii) ―Habilidades de resiliência como fenômeno emergente: um estudo em departamentos de emergência no Brasil e nos Estados Unidos‖, tem como objetivo responder ao questionamento ―de onde emergem as habilidades de resiliência‖; (iii) ―Procedimentos e capacitação: recursos para ação trabalhando em conjunto para apoiar a resiliência de sistemas sócio-técnicos complexos‖, que responde a pergunta ―como integrar melhoria de POP e desenvolvimento de HR?‖. Assim, o último artigo atende o principal objetivo da tese ao propor modelo de integração entre POP e capacitações em HR. / Health services are admittedly complex socio-technical systems (CSS) considering their dynamism, diversity, uncertainty and interactions between the various elements that compose them. Another important feature of the CSS is resilience. It is critical to keep systems running. The goal of Resilience Engineering is to study resilience, the new paradigm for safety management, focusing on the analysis of current work. This thesis approaches the complementary role of two practices that influence the resilience CSS: the development of resilience skills (RS) and standard operational procedures (SOPs). There is an understanding that even with the use of SOPs, there is variability in the CSS, making it impossible for the procedure to meet all situations. This study's main research question is: how to integrate the SOP management and RS development in hospital emergency room services? The main objective of the study is: to suggest a model to integrate SOP management and RS development, with emphasis in hospital emergency room. The specific objectives are: (a) identify, analyze and give an overview of studies in health care according to Resilience Engineering; (b) identify the origens of the RS The guiding approach of this thesis is the Design Science Research which, due to its prescriptive nature, seeks to develop knowledge by building artifacts. The thesis is structured in three phases, resulting in three items: (i) ―A Systematic Review on Resilience Engineering contributions for Health Care‖ aims to identify and understand how concepts of Resilience Engineering have been used in health services (ii) "Resilience skills as emergent phenomena: a study of emergency departments in Brazil and the United States" aims to answer the question "where do resilience skills come from"; (iii) ―Procedures and training: resources for action working together to support the resilience in CSS‖, which answers the question "how to integrate SOP improvement and resilience skills development?". Thus, the last article serves the main objective of the thesis that is to suggest an integration model between SOP and RS training.

O setor de assistência à saúde atualmente, carece de técnicas de gerenciamento que visem a melhoria dos processos, permitindo a redução de custos ao otimizar os recursos existentes. O sistema de saúde, classificado como um sistema complexo devido a diversidade de interações não-lineares que apresenta, vem sendo estudado sob a ótica da engenharia de resiliência que enfatiza a necessidade de regular o seu funcionamento diante de uma situação adversa. Por sua vez, a resiliência é facilitada por meio do uso de folgas, que fornecem recursos reservas para lidar com as variabilidades. Ao passo que as folgas são importantes para manter a resiliência, também podem ser recursos ociosos que tendem a mascarar as variabilidades, quando em excesso. Portanto, um equilíbrio deve ser considerado entre o mínimo necessário para manter a resiliência do sistema e o máximo que não venha a se enquadrar como desperdício de recursos. Para isso, esse trabalho desenvolve e aplica uma framework que visa analisar qualitativa e quantitativamente as folgas a fim de reprojetar o sistema sócio-técnico complexo. O estudo foi realizado numa maternidade, referência no atendimento privado. Os processos de atravessamento do fluxo de valor da paciente foram mapeados, permitindo a identificação de 17 fontes de variabilidade e 20 recursos de folga. O reprojeto do sistema de trabalho envolveu a classificação das folgas entre os requisitos levantados, de maneira a priorizar as variabilidades menos cobertas pelas folgas. A framework se mostrou eficaz ao elencar as prioridades no redesenho das folgas e variabilidades, a fim de tornar o sistema estudado mais resiliente. / The healthcare sector currently lacks management techniques that aim to improve processes, allowing cost reduction by optimizing existing resources. The health system, classified as a complex system due to the diversity of nonlinear interactions that it presents, has been studied from the point of view of resilience engineering that emphasizes the need to regulate its functioning in the face of an adverse situation. In turn, resilience is facilitated through the use of slack, which provide reserve resources to deal with variability. While slack are important to maintaining resilience, it can also be idle resources that tend to mask variability when in excess. Therefore, a balance must be considered between the minimum necessary to maintain the resilience of the system and the maximum that doesn’t fit as a waste of resources. For this, this work develops and applies a framework that aims to analyze qualitatively and quantitatively the slack in order to redesign the complex socio-technical system. The study was performed in a maternity hospital, that is a reference in private care. The processes of flow of the patient's value were mapped, allowing the identification of 17 sources of variability and 20 resources of slack. The redesign of the work system involved the classification of slack between the requisites raised, in order to prioritize the variabilities less covered by the slack. The framework proved to be effective in highlighting the priorities in the redesign of the slack and variabilities, in order to make the studied system more resilient.

Serviços de saúde são reconhecidamente sistemas socio-técnicos complexos (SSTC) tendo em vista sua dinamicidade, diversidade, incerteza e interações entre os diversos elementos que os compõe. Outra característica importante dos SSTC é a resiliência, fundamental para manter os sistemas em funcionamento. Estudar a resiliência em SSTC é objetivo da Engenharia de Resiliência (ER), novo paradigma para gestão de segurança, com enfoque na análise do trabalho real. Esta tese explora o papel complementar de duas práticas com influência na resiliência em SSTC: o desenvolvimento de habilidades de resiliência (HR) e os procedimentos operacionais padronizados (POPs). Há um entendimento que, mesmo com procedimentos operacionais padronizados, existe uma variabilidade inerente ao SSTC, tornando impossível que o procedimento atenda a todas as situações. Este estudo tem como principal questão de pesquisa: como integrar a gestão de procedimentos operacionais padronizados ao desenvolvimento de HR em serviços de emergência hospitalar? E como objetivo principal: propor um modelo para integração entre gestão de POP e desenvolvimento de HR, enfatizando serviço de emergência hospitalar Os objetivos específicos são: (a) identificar, analisar e traçar um panorama sobre estudos na área da saúde com a ótica da ER; (b) identificar a origem das HR. A abordagem norteadora da tese é o Design Science Research que, com sua natureza prescritiva, busca desenvolver o conhecimento por meio da construção de artefatos. A tese está estruturada em três fases, que resultam em três artigos: (i) ―Contribuições da Engenharia de Resiliência para a Saúde: uma Revisão Sistemática‖, tem como principal objetivo identificar e entender como os conceitos de ER vem sendo utilizados na área da saúde; (ii) ―Habilidades de resiliência como fenômeno emergente: um estudo em departamentos de emergência no Brasil e nos Estados Unidos‖, tem como objetivo responder ao questionamento ―de onde emergem as habilidades de resiliência‖; (iii) ―Procedimentos e capacitação: recursos para ação trabalhando em conjunto para apoiar a resiliência de sistemas sócio-técnicos complexos‖, que responde a pergunta ―como integrar melhoria de POP e desenvolvimento de HR?‖. Assim, o último artigo atende o principal objetivo da tese ao propor modelo de integração entre POP e capacitações em HR. / Health services are admittedly complex socio-technical systems (CSS) considering their dynamism, diversity, uncertainty and interactions between the various elements that compose them. Another important feature of the CSS is resilience. It is critical to keep systems running. The goal of Resilience Engineering is to study resilience, the new paradigm for safety management, focusing on the analysis of current work. This thesis approaches the complementary role of two practices that influence the resilience CSS: the development of resilience skills (RS) and standard operational procedures (SOPs). There is an understanding that even with the use of SOPs, there is variability in the CSS, making it impossible for the procedure to meet all situations. This study's main research question is: how to integrate the SOP management and RS development in hospital emergency room services? The main objective of the study is: to suggest a model to integrate SOP management and RS development, with emphasis in hospital emergency room. The specific objectives are: (a) identify, analyze and give an overview of studies in health care according to Resilience Engineering; (b) identify the origens of the RS The guiding approach of this thesis is the Design Science Research which, due to its prescriptive nature, seeks to develop knowledge by building artifacts. The thesis is structured in three phases, resulting in three items: (i) ―A Systematic Review on Resilience Engineering contributions for Health Care‖ aims to identify and understand how concepts of Resilience Engineering have been used in health services (ii) "Resilience skills as emergent phenomena: a study of emergency departments in Brazil and the United States" aims to answer the question "where do resilience skills come from"; (iii) ―Procedures and training: resources for action working together to support the resilience in CSS‖, which answers the question "how to integrate SOP improvement and resilience skills development?". Thus, the last article serves the main objective of the thesis that is to suggest an integration model between SOP and RS training.

O setor de assistência à saúde atualmente, carece de técnicas de gerenciamento que visem a melhoria dos processos, permitindo a redução de custos ao otimizar os recursos existentes. O sistema de saúde, classificado como um sistema complexo devido a diversidade de interações não-lineares que apresenta, vem sendo estudado sob a ótica da engenharia de resiliência que enfatiza a necessidade de regular o seu funcionamento diante de uma situação adversa. Por sua vez, a resiliência é facilitada por meio do uso de folgas, que fornecem recursos reservas para lidar com as variabilidades. Ao passo que as folgas são importantes para manter a resiliência, também podem ser recursos ociosos que tendem a mascarar as variabilidades, quando em excesso. Portanto, um equilíbrio deve ser considerado entre o mínimo necessário para manter a resiliência do sistema e o máximo que não venha a se enquadrar como desperdício de recursos. Para isso, esse trabalho desenvolve e aplica uma framework que visa analisar qualitativa e quantitativamente as folgas a fim de reprojetar o sistema sócio-técnico complexo. O estudo foi realizado numa maternidade, referência no atendimento privado. Os processos de atravessamento do fluxo de valor da paciente foram mapeados, permitindo a identificação de 17 fontes de variabilidade e 20 recursos de folga. O reprojeto do sistema de trabalho envolveu a classificação das folgas entre os requisitos levantados, de maneira a priorizar as variabilidades menos cobertas pelas folgas. A framework se mostrou eficaz ao elencar as prioridades no redesenho das folgas e variabilidades, a fim de tornar o sistema estudado mais resiliente. / The healthcare sector currently lacks management techniques that aim to improve processes, allowing cost reduction by optimizing existing resources. The health system, classified as a complex system due to the diversity of nonlinear interactions that it presents, has been studied from the point of view of resilience engineering that emphasizes the need to regulate its functioning in the face of an adverse situation. In turn, resilience is facilitated through the use of slack, which provide reserve resources to deal with variability. While slack are important to maintaining resilience, it can also be idle resources that tend to mask variability when in excess. Therefore, a balance must be considered between the minimum necessary to maintain the resilience of the system and the maximum that doesn’t fit as a waste of resources. For this, this work develops and applies a framework that aims to analyze qualitatively and quantitatively the slack in order to redesign the complex socio-technical system. The study was performed in a maternity hospital, that is a reference in private care. The processes of flow of the patient's value were mapped, allowing the identification of 17 sources of variability and 20 resources of slack. The redesign of the work system involved the classification of slack between the requisites raised, in order to prioritize the variabilities less covered by the slack. The framework proved to be effective in highlighting the priorities in the redesign of the slack and variabilities, in order to make the studied system more resilient.

This research aims to achieve a better understanding of interventions in the trajectories of practices. It is based on a case study of transport cycling in Santiago de Chile. The research uses a practice approach combined with concepts from Science and Technology Studies in order to explore the practice of transport cycling and examine interventions aimed at increasing the modal share of cycling in Santiago. The research is based on qualitative data from semi-structured interviews, participant observation, photography and document analysis. While transport cycling is a recognisable practice in Santiago, it is also the site of several conflicts. The stigmatisation of cycling in its recent history as mode of transport for the most marginalised part of the urban population is challenged by new images of cycling as environmentally-friendly, healthy mode of transport for young professionals. As cycling becomes more popular, conflicts over the location of cycling emerge with motorists as well as pedestrians. Finally, different performances and understandings of cycling have generated conflicts among the urban transport cyclists. By focusing on relations between practices, the research thereby brings to the forefront the contested nature of practices which has so far been underemphasised in practice research. The research then focuses on interventions in the trajectory of urban transport cycling in Santiago, how they are developed and how they take effect. The research identifies two categories of interventions: building practice and growing practice. Building practice is the government-led provision of material infrastructure for cycling, while growing practice is led by civil society and includes a variety of small-scale interventions in the everyday engagement in the practice. The research argues that building practice produces infrastructure which is developed within the dominant system of automobility and is shaped by and reflects the inherent conflicts of the practice. Growing practice interventions are shaped by the core of the community of practice. They do not only provide targeted support for individuals, but more importantly contribute to the creation of a community of practice. This research aims to contribute to practice research by proposing a relational perspective for the analysis of practices, which emphasises five relational dimensions of practice: the individual situated experience of the performance in which meaning is created, the socio-technical system in which the practice is embedded, the relations between co-existing practices which bring to the forefront the contested nature of practices, the material infrastructure which emerges from the socio-technical system and shapes the performance of the practice, and finally the community of practice which constitutes practice and may be able to grow practice.

Due to unsustainable production and consumption patterns that cause climate changes, current socio-technical systems, such as the agro-food system, must rapidly undergo sustainability transitions. To transition socio-technical systems is however complex and it usually takes decades, and it is therefore crucial to study how socio-technical systems can transition faster.  Aim – This study aims to investigate under what circumstances a sustainability transition through an increased cultivation of grain-legumes in Sweden can take place and be accelerated. In order to guide the study and thus fulfil the purpose, two research questions have been formulated: 1)  “What are the current main factors that hinder a sustainability transition in terms of an increased cultivation of grain-legumes in the current agricultural value chain of crop production in Sweden?” 2)  “What prerequisites are required to accelerate sustainability transitions in the agricultural value chain of crop production in terms of an increased cultivation of grain-legumes in Sweden?” Method – The methodology used is a qualitative case study of the Swedish agricultural value chain of crop production. The data was collected through interviews, literature review and webinars. The data collected through interviewing was analyzed by using a thematic analysis.  Findings – One main hindering factor refer to the absence of certain value chain processes, both when it comes to actors that can provide Swedish plant-based food producers with extracted proteins from grain-legumes and when it comes to actors that can receive, sort, peel and pack grain-legumes for human consumption at an industrial level. Other main hindering factors regards the lack of financial incentives at several levels as well as a structured and stabilized agricultural socio-technical regime characterized by path dependencies and lock-ins. The found prerequisites required in order to accelerate sustainability transitions include for instance having certain value chain processes to come into place, steer large investments and educated people in the right direction to drive innovation and development as well as an increased sustainability transitioning pressure from the civil society in Sweden.   Implications – The findings of this thesis can increase the knowledge of actors engaged in the agricultural value chain of crop production, but also provide valuable insights for the whole Swedish agro-food sector. This study also provides insights regarding how a sustainability transition can be accelerated based on the findings from the studied case. Another implication is that a larger focus, when researching sustainability transitions, should be put on the role of civil society to understand and facilitate faster sustainability transitions in socio-technical systems. Limitations – The political perspective is not considered, the internal strategies of actors have not been investigated and the focus has only been at the environmental dimension of sustainability, not on the social or economic dimensions.

Brazil is one of the largest biomass producers in the world, thus it has a huge potential for biogas production across all its territory. Nowadays, biogas production remains largely unexplored, representing just a small fraction of its potential. The adoption of biogas technologies has grown over the past years, but it is unevenly distributed across Brazilian states. This master thesis investigates the conditions under which the widespread diffusion of biogas technologies can be enabled in the Brazilian context by looking at the factors that influence the adoption of biogas technologies and why it differs across the Brazilian territory. Technological innovation systems (TIS), societal embedding, and diffusion of innovation theory are combined in the theoretical framework to create a broad understanding of the diffusion process of biogas technologies in Brazil. While TIS focusses on what are the functions been performed within the system, Societal embedding contributes to the understanding of why technological diffusion may not happen in the same way in different regions and how technologies are rooted in society. Diffusion of innovation theory adds to the importance of individual choices and strategies in the adoption of technologies. A comparative case study was design between the states São Paulo and Paraná. 16 semi-structured interviews served as the main research instrument with the support of document studies. When looking at the factors that could impact the adoption of biogas technologies the presence of specialized actors that can offer technical support to the implementation of projects locally proved to be positive considering that biogas technologies are still novel in Brazil. The unreliability of the energy grid in rural regions also favours the adoption of biogas technologies for electricity generation in agriculture properties that can combined waste treatment with energy security. Access to financial and human resources is still the largest barrier for the diffusion of biogas technologies. Financial institutions are at large unprepared to offer good conditions for the implementation of biogas projects, mainly because they do not understand the singularities of these projects. The adoption of biogas technologies in the case studies was mainly dictated by the economic activities in place, which shaped the view on biogas technologies. The complexities of the regulatory environment in Brazil could explain why electricity generation is still the main application of biogas technologies as the electricity market is regulated at national level while gas markets are the responsibility of individual states. When biogas technologies are portraited as a tool for sustainable development, other advantages of these technologies are highlighted – environmental and social benefits such as waste treatment and job creation – creating a better claim for biogas technologies which could boost adoption.