Transition Management : New Mode of Governance for Sustainable Development

This book introduces transition management as a new mode of ngovernance for sustainable development. Transition management ncombines a conceptual approach on social complexity, governance and nlong-term structural societal change with an operational governance nmodel to actually work towards sustainability through learning-by- ndoing and doing-by-learning. The basic rationale behind transition nmanagement is that we are faced with societal problems of such ncomplexity and magnitude, that existing approaches do not suffice. nSuch persistent problems can be found in many areas of society: nenergy, mobility, agriculture, water management, but also in health ncare, education, construction and industry. In these areas agreement nupon definitions of sustainability the best solutions is impossible nto achieve so that top-down planning is impossible, while at the same ntime sustainability can also never be achieved solely through bottom- nup innovation and liberalization: sustainable development re!n quires taking into account collective goods, future needs and un ncertain future development.nnTransition management aims to deal with persistent societal problems nthrough combining long-term envisioning, short-term experiments in a nselective participatory process that supports policy integration, nsocial learning and social innovation. It focuses on frontrunners, nentrepreneurs, niche-actors and innovative individuals and norganizations in general that are committed to sustainable ndevelopment. More often than not, innovations that in the long-term ncould contribute to sustainable development are unable to break nthrough because of for example fragmentation, lack of means and nsupport, limited attention to external (socio-economic) factors or nlack of exposure. By simultaneously raising awareness and political nacceptance for sustainable development in a specific area and by ndeveloping more coherence, cooperation and strategic capabilities at nthe level of the innovations, a structured process of social nexperimentation and learning can evolve that gradually leads to nfundamenta!n l structures in our societal systems.nnThe central instrument for transition management is the transition narena: a scientifically underpinned operational model for ncoordinating and structuring transition management processes n(especially in the predevelopment phase). The transition arena is a nmental, physical and institutional space for experimentation, nenvisioning and network-building that is legitimized by regular npolicy. In the transition arena, different types of innovators with nvarious backgrounds, perspectives and ambitions are brought together nand develop shared long-term perspectives and a transition agenda nthat increasingly will influence regular policy. This approach has nbeen introduced into research and policy in the Netherlands in 2001 nand since then successfully applied in areas of sustainable energy, nmobility, agriculture and housing . It has also been adopted as a new nparadigm and approach in multi-disciplinary research . This book ncovers offers insight into the first five years of development of theory and practice of transition management in the Netherlands. As nsuch, it is a unique account of an innovative experiment in policy ntheory and practice that is highly relevant for sustainable ndevelopment in the international context.