1 A Transitions Perspective on Governance for Sustainable Development Derk Loorbach, Niki Frantzeskaki and Wil Thissen Brussels, Sustainable Development: A challenge for European research May 2009, Brussels, Belgium

2 Key messages Sustainable development requires transitions Transitions can be understood & influenced Governance of transitions requires innovative approaches and research

3 On or off track? Our society is unsustainable –Climate, energy, health-care, education, mobility, water, poverty, inequality, … Sustainable development –Different levels of scale; local-global –Long term process; intergenerational –Multiple domains; ecologic, economic, socio-cultural  No fixed goals or definitions; clearly not business as usual

4 Sustainability transitions Fundamental change of a societal system towards a sustainable system state satisfying sustainability values A continuous process in which societal values and interests are represented, negotiated and balanced Normative orientation for future oriented action  fundamental shift from existing practices, structures and culture to new ones

5 Time Water management Dutch Health care Dutch construction sector Sustainable systems US car industry Financial system Agriculture National energy systems System Sustainability Performance

6 Understanding transition dynamics Predevelopment Stabilization time Societal development Acceleration Take-off Macro-level (landscape, trends) Meso-level (regimes, institutions) Micro-level (Niches, individuals) From: Rotmans et al, 2000 From: Geels and Kemp, 2001

7 Towards transition governance Propositions Transition process guidelines Research questions Basic claims Operational framework Scientific agenda

8 Proposition 1 Sustainability transitions are long-term processes of fundamental societal change that incorporate processes of societal, ecological, economic, cultural and technological evolution.

9 Research questions Which are the prevailing patterns of societal transitions? Can we distinguish different types of transitions and what does that mean in terms of societal dynamics? Is it possible to understand ongoing transitions in which we all are part and if so, are we able to influence these?

10 Proposition 2 Enabling societal processes of change (transitions) implies deliberate and reflexive strategies that allow for self- orientation of society towards a sustainable development pathway.

11 Research questions How can we better understand complex evolutions in society to make better use of complex system dynamics? Which are the means for governance that can deliberately promote societal transitions while allowing self-organization and self-orientation of the societal system?

12 Proposition 3 Innovation and sustainable development are interlinked. More specifically, a focus on sustainability could trigger innovations that comply with sustainability values as well as that these innovations can be the stimuli for societal transitions to sustainability.

13 Research questions Which modes of governance can promote innovation while securing sustainability values? Which are means for governance that can create space for innovation that comply with sustainability values apart from regulation and institutionalization? Which are means for governance that can accommodate multiple visions while facilitating innovation and adaptation?

14 Proposition 4 Governance for sustainability transitions has to secure sustainability values such as long-term orientation, balance between different domains and intergenerational justice.

15 Research questions How can governance deal with the tensions between promoting continuous innovation while at the same time offering social stability and institutional structure? Which are the means for governance that incorporate long-term orientation and its uncertainties? Which are the means for governance that ensure reflexivity and adaptability in face of long-term processes of transitions to sustainability?

16 Transition governance perspective Propositions Transition process guidelines Research questions Basic claims Operational framework Scientific agenda

17 Transition process tenets System dynamics create feasible & non-feasible means Learning-by-doing and doing-by-learning Radical change in incremental steps Flexible and adjustable objectives at the system level Creating space in transition arenas and experiments A focus on frontrunners Guided variation and selection Long-term thinking for shaping short-term policy Anticipation and adaptation

18 Operational framework Strategic (emphasis on system) Tactical (emphasis on subsystems) Experimental (emphasis on niches) Monitoring, evaluating and learning Developing images coalitions and transition- agendas Mobilizing actors and executing projects and experiments Problem structuring, establishment of the transition arena and envisioning

19 Health care transition in NL Transition arena: redefining health care system  reconnecting to the human, formulating basic sustainability principles Innovation program: transition experiments and learning community  over 30 innovative experiments with new health-care concepts linked to vision and pathways Transition agenda linking vision to experiments  multiple pathways, qualitative and quantitative goals

20 Role of researchers Transition research poses a challenge to the scientific community at large: –To step over the boundaries of their scientific disciplines so as to develop new insights, –To do research actively in interaction with practitioners and society –To co-produce new tools, methods and approaches

21 Towards transitions research The transition approach focuses on understanding and promoting long-term societal innovation to sustainability Research questions formulated cannot be answered in a traditional way: the empirical object (transitions) is continuously on the move. At the end of the day, it is the responsibility of us, scientists, to contribute to sustainability transitions in our own personal way

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23 Transition management radical change in incremental steps Complex system approach –Reframing social problems and developing shared long term perspectives, interests and strategies Basic tenets and framework guide experimental governance strategy development –Visions, experiments, agenda’s, reflection inform one another Building up societal pressure on regime, and seducing regime actors to participate –Multi-actor, frontrunners, experimenting Framework for science-policy co-production –Iteration between theory and practice

24 Transitionizing research: activist science History Policy sciences Complexity research Sociology Ecology Action Grounded theory consultancy Applied Participatory Sustainability Sciences

25 Co-evolutionary process Basic starting points  rough model (arena)  exp./evaluation  prescriptive model  formalisation Basic concept  policy/governance  complexity  framework  refined and grounded TM concept Theoretical stream Operational stream: