Fig. 9

Conceptual governance research framework for integrated analysis, identification of research gaps, and generation of knowledge to better understand how legitimacy and trust are granted to sustainability governance systems or regimes. The framework is based on the typology presented in Table 11 including research foci (R1–R6) and the possible relationships between variables associated with them (indicated as a function, e.g. R3 = f(R2)). Brown boxes contain research questions to examine policies (R2) and their relationship with other research foci. Yellow boxes contain related questions that do not directly involve policy analysis. Ex post studies can help to understand causalities experienced in the past, which may help to make assumptions, create hypotheses and predictive models for use in ex ante studies to analyse the consequences of future policy scenarios in similar situations and conditions. White boxes indicate typical scientific disciplines involved for various research foci. The overall purpose of any analysis is to generate knowledge that can improve our understanding of what makes sustainability governance “good” (Table 7)