Sarah Giest
Professor Public Policy with a focus on Innovation and Sustainability
- Name
- Prof.dr. S.N. Giest
- Telephone
- +31 70 800 9084
- s.n.giest@fgga.leidenuniv.nl
- ORCID iD
- 0000-0001-8201-6943
Sarah Giest is a Professor of Public Policy with a focus on Innovation and Sustainability at the Public Administration Institute of Leiden University. She has been developing an interdisciplinary research agenda and teaching on using a policy lens to look at technical, environmental and social solutions that shape sustainable societies.
More information about Sarah Giest
PhD Candidates
News
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Sofie Hajer wins prize for research on balancing wind energy and biodiversity -
Experts share future vision at Data for Policy 2025: ‘Data centres must become not only smarter, but also cleaner’ -
‘Digital services lean heavily on the social infrastructure’ -
Grant worth millions for research on the socio-economic impact of hydrogen transition -
New YAL board: ‘Make sure young academics’ voices are heard’ -
Leadership change at Young Academy Leiden -
Hybrid Intelligence: Making the unknown visible for Humans and AI -
Sarah Giest Vice-Chair of the Young Acadamy Leiden -
Book: The Capacity to Innovate: dynamics in clusters and cluster policy -
Governments working with one hand tied when it comes to data on vulnerable groups -
FGGA members for Young Academy Leiden -
Making policy with big data
Research & Teaching
Sarah Giest is passionate about research and teaching at the intersection of innovation and environmental as well as social sustainability through a policy lens. With training in Public Policy and Science, Technology, and Society (STS) Studies, Sarah has published extensively and has become an expert for international organizations. To shape the field in particular around innovation policy, Sarah published the book The Capacity to Innovate. Sarah also focuses on the challenges of the early-career research community in different capacities by participating in university-wide and international conversations.
Sarah is the Vice-President of the International Public Policy Association (IPPA) and on the Editorial Boards of Data & Policy and Policy Design and Practice and acts as an expert for national and international organizations, such as Dutch Ministries, the OECD, the European Commission or the UN. She is also the former (Vice-)Chair of the Young Academy Leiden.
Before coming to Leiden in 2014, Sarah received her PhD with honors from Simon Fraser University (Canada) where she focused on regional innovation policy of governments in Asia, Europe and North America.
Professor Public Policy with a focus on Innovation and Sustainability
- Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs
- Institute of Public Administration
- Hughes S., Giest S.N. & Tozer L. (2020), Accountability and data-driven urban climate governance, Nature Climate Change 10(12): 1085–1090.
- Berg A.C. van den, Giest S.N., Groeneveld S.M. & Kraaij W. (2020), Inclusivity in online platforms: Recruitment strategies for improving participation of diverse sociodemographic groups, Public Administration Review 80(6): 989-1000.
- Giest S.N. & Samuels A. (2020), ‘For good measure’: data gaps in a big data world, Policy Sciences 53: 559–569.
- Giest S. (2017), Big Data for Policymaking: Fad or Fast Track?, Policy Sciences 50(3): 367–382.
- Ingrams A. & Giest S.N. (2025), Public value misalignment and adoption of algorithmic tools: the influence of operational capacity and external support, Public Management Review : 1-29.
- Weerheijm Brecht, Giest Sarah & Klievink Bram (2025), Complexity, understandability, and compatibility: A comparative study of AI advisory systems for National Security, Government Information Quarterly 42(4): 102088 (102088).
- Weerheijm B., Galdames Castillo M.I. & Giest S.N. (2025), Bureaucratic accountability: enabler or barrier for algorithm use?, Policy Design and Practice : 1-22.
- Ingrams Alex Giest Sarah (2025), Public value misalignment and adoption of algorithmic tools: the influence of operational capacity and external support, Public Management Review : 1-29.
- Wellstead Adam Giest Sarah Mukherjee Ishani Gofen Anat Evans Bryan (2025), Peak policy lab or chasing windmills? The overlooked issue of misaligned policy design, Policy Sciences 58: 267-286.
- Howlett Michael Giest Sarah Mukherjee Ishani Taeihagh Araz (2025), New policy tools and traditional policy models: better understanding behavioural, digital and collaborative instruments, Policy Design and Practice 8: 121-137.
- Giest Sarah (2025), The intersection of digital and social infrastructures in (a)spatial policymaking, Policy Sciences 58: 369-384.
- Giest Sarah McBride Keegan Nikiforova Anastasija Sikder Sujit Kumar (2025), Digital & data-driven transformations in governance: a landscape review, Data & Policy 7: e21.
- Wellstead Adam Giest Sarah Mukherjee Ishani Gofen Anat Evans Bryan (2025), Peak policy lab or chasing windmills? The overlooked issue of misaligned policy design, Policy Sciences 58: 267-286.
- Siqing Yu Leila Cornips Trui Steen Sarah Giest Joep Crompvoets Abbas Rajabifard Jagannath Aryal Tina Jukić (2025), Researching or researching with the public? A systematic review on knowledge co-production through citizen science, Science and Public Policy 52(3): .
- Sarah Giest Bram Klievink Alex Ingrams and Matthew M. Young (Ed.) (2025), Handbook on Governance and Data Science: Edward Elgar Publishing.
- Giest S., Ingrams A. & Klievink B. (2024), The effect of algorithmic tools on public value considerations in participatory processes: the case of regulations.gov. Research Handbook on Public Management and Artificial Intelligence.
- Giest Sarah N. Klievink Bram (2024), More than a digital system: how AI is changing the role of bureaucrats in different organizational contexts, Public Management Review 26(2): 379-398.
- van den Berg Annelieke C. Giest Sarah Groeneveld Sandra (2024), How young adults explain their intention to participate in online direct citizen participation, Public Administration 102: 1257-1274.
- Giest Sarah Roberge Ian (Ed.) (2024), The Routledge International Handbook of Public Administration and Digital Governance: Routledge.
- Giest Sarah & Samuels Annemarie (2022), Administrative burden in digital public service delivery: The social infrastructure of library programs for e‐inclusion, Review of Policy Research 40: 626-645.
- Nasri M., Tsou Y., Koutamanis A., Baratchi M., Giest S.N., Reidsma D. & Rieffe C.J. (2022), A novel data-driven approach to examine children’s movements and social behaviour in schoolyard environments, Children 9(8): 1177.
- Giest Sarah N. Klievink Bram (2022), More than a digital system: how AI is changing the role of bureaucrats in different organizational contexts, Public Management Review 26: 379-398.
- Giest Sarah Mukherjee Ishani (2022), Evidence integration for coherent nexus policy design: a Mediterranean perspective on managing water-energy interactions, Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning 24: 553-567.
- Giest S.N. & Samuels A. (2022), Administrative burden in digital public service delivery: The social infrastructure of library programs for e-inclusion, Review of Policy Research : .
- Giest S.N. & Klievink A.J. (2022), More than a digital system: how AI is changing the role of bureaucrats in different organizational contexts, Public Management Review : .
- Giest S.N. & Samuels A. (2022), Pre-conditions for equal digital access policies the role of data practices and social infrastructure. Policy in Focus: A Publication of the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth. Brasilia, Brazil: International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth.
- Mauri Andrea Psyllidis Achilleas Bozzon Alessandro Lee Ju-Sung Pridmore Jason van Zoonen Liesbet Giest Sarah (2021), Complementing Studies on Vulnerable Youths with Reddit Data. : ACM. 1-8.
- Vydra Simon, Poama Andrei, Giest Sarah, Ingrams Alex & Klievink Bram (2021), Big Data Ethics: A Life Cycle Perspective, Erasmus Law Review 14: 24-44.
- Giest Sarah (2021), The Capacity to Innovate: Cluster Policy and Management in the Biotechnology Sector. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press.
- Duijvenvoorde A.C.K. van, Fonteyn L., Giest S.N., Pluut H. & Samuels A. (22 July 2021), Science is NOT like competitive sports. Voices of Young Academics. Leiden: Young Academy Leiden. [blog entry].
- Hughes Sara, Giest Sarah & Tozer Laura (2020), Accountability and data-driven urban climate governance, Nature Climate Change 10: 1085-1090.
- Giest Sarah (2020), Do nudgers need budging? A comparative analysis of European smart meter implementation, Government Information Quarterly 37: 101498 (101498).
- Giest S.N. & Samuels A. (2020), ‘For good measure’: data gaps in a big data world, Policy Sciences 53: 559-569.
- Mukherjee Ishani & Giest Sarah (2020), Behavioural Insights Teams (BITs) and Policy Change: An Exploration of Impact, Location, and Temporality of Policy Advice, Administration & Society 52(10): 1538-1561.
- Mukherjee I. & Giest S.N. (2020), Behavioural Insights Teams (BITs) and policy change: an exploration of impact, location, and temporality of policy advice, Administration & Society 52(10): 1538-1561.
- Giest S.N. (2020), Do nudgers need budging? A comparative analysis of European smart meter implementation, Government Information Quarterly 37(4): 101498.
- Giest S. & Samuels A. (1 December 2020), Studying Missing Data: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Data Gaps. Leiden Anthropology Blog. [blog entry].
- Giest S.N. (2019), Making energy personal: Policy coordination challenges in UK smart meter implementation, Journal of Public Policy : .
- Giest S., Klievink B. & Steunenberg B. (2019), Beleidsuitdagingen bij datagebruik. In: , Behoorlijk datagebruik in de openbare ruimte: Van dialoogtafels naar voorstellen voor nieuw beleid. Den Haag: Rijksoverheid/NL Digitaal. 149-160.
- Giest S., Klievink B. & Steunenberg B. (2019), Policy challenges relating to data use. In: , Appropriate use of data in public space: From dialogue groups to new policy proposals. The Hague: Rijksoverheid/NL Digitaal. 147-158.
- Giest S.N. (2018), Entrepreneurial activities in policy implementation: Sweden’s national wind coordinators, Regional Environmental Change 18(5): 1299-1308.
- Mans U., Giest S.N. & Baar T. (2018), Can Big Data Make a Difference for Urban Management?. In: Elmqvist T., Bai X., Frantzeskaki N., Griffith C., Maddox D., McPhearson T., Parnell S., Romero-Lankao P., Simon D. & Watkins M. (Eds.), Urban Planet, Knowledge towards Sustainable Cities. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press. 218-238.
- Giest S.N. & Raaphorst N.J. (2018), Unraveling the hindering factors of digital public service delivery at street-level: the case of electronic health records, Policy Design and Practice 1(2): 141-154.
- Giest S.N. & Mukherjee I. (2018), Behavioral instruments in renewable energy and the role of big data: A policy perspective, Energy Policy 123: 360-366.
- Giest S.N. (2017), Big data analytics for mitigating carbon emissions in smart cities: opportunities and challenges, European Planning Studies 25(6): 941-957.
- Giest S. (2017), Trust Dynamics in Innovation Networks: The Chicago Life Science Cluster, Administration & Society 51(2): 1-19.
- Mukherjee I. & Giest S.N. (2017), Designing policies in uncertain contexts: Entrepreneurial capacity and the European Emission Trading Scheme, Public Policy and Administration 34(3): 262-286.
- Breeman G.E., Giest S.N. & Rimkute D. (2017), Food security governance and the sustainability of GMOs in the United States and the European Union. In: Barling D. (Ed.), Advances in Food Security and Sustainability no. Volume 2: Elsevier. 165-193.
- Giest S.N. (2016), The challenges of enhancing collaboration in life science clusters: Lessons from Chicago, Copenhagen and Singapore, Science and Public Policy 44(2): 163-173.
- Giest S. (2016), Overcoming the Failure of ‘Silicon Somewheres’: Collective Learning in Innovation Networks, Policy & Politics 45(1): 39-54.
- Giest S. (2015), Comparative analysis of Sweden’s wind energy policy: The evolution of ‘coordinated’ networks, Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis 17(4): 393-407.
- Giest S. & Howlett M. (2014), Understanding the pre-conditions of commons governance: The role of network management, Environmental Science & Policy 36: 37-47.
- Giest S. (2014), Place-based policy in climate change: Flexible and path-dependent elements, International Journal of Public Administration 37(12): 824-834.
- Giest S., Howlett M. & Ishani M. (2014), The relevance of the academic study of public policy. In: Peters Guy, Pierre Jon & Stoker Gerry (Eds.), The Relevance of Political Science: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Giest S. (2014), Network capacity-building in high-tech sectors: Opening the black box of cluster facilitation policy, Public Administration 93(2): 471–489.
- Hira A., Giest S. & Howlett M. (2013), Explaining the Success of Clusters: A Framework for the Study of Global Wine Industry Dynamics. In: Hira A. (Ed.), What makes clusters competitive? Cases from the global wine industry. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press.
- Giest S. & Howlett M. (2013), Comparative Climate Change Governance: Lessons from European Transnational Municipal Network Management Efforts, Environmental Policy and Governance 23(6): 341-353.
- Howlett M. & Giest S. (2012), The Policy-Making Process: Policy Cycles and Policy Styles. In: Araral E., Fritzen S., Howlett M., Ramesh M. & Wu X. (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Public Policy. New York: Routledge.
- Howlett M. & Giest S. (2012), The Policy-Making Process. In: Wright James D. (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioural Sciences. London: Elsevier.
- Giest S. & Howlett M. (2012), Multi-Level governance and place-based policy-making for climate change adaptation: the European experience and lessons for British Columbia, BC Studies 176: 133-154.
- Giest S. & Howlett M. (2012), Comparative climate change governance: Lessons from European transnational municipal networks, The British Columbian Quarterly 176: .
- Artmann J., Stroetmann K. & Giest S. (2010), In guter Gesellschaft, Das österreichische Gesundheitswesen : .