Transition management (governance)

Transition management is an alternative model of environmental governance which seeks to guide the gradual, continuous process of transformation of socio-political landscapes, socio-technical practices and “the structural character of society” from one equilibrium to another. In its application, transition management seeks to steer the outcome of change to lessen inherent uncertainty, produce desirable social outcomes and enhance resilience during the transformation of socio-technical systems (ibid). This is primarily achieved by engaging a wide range of stakeholders over the multiple levels to create shared visions and goals which are then tested for practicality through the use of experimentation, learning and adaptation at the niche level. The model is often discussed in reference to sustainable development and the possible use of the model as a method for change.Key principles to transition management as a form of governance: seeks to widen participation by taking a multi-actor approach in order to encompass societal values and beliefs takes a long-term perspective (between 1-3 generations) creating a basket of visions in which short-term objectives can be identified focused on learning at the niche level, experiments are used to identify how successful a particular pathway could be and uses the concept of “Learn by doing, doing by learning” a systems thinking approach which identifies that problems will span multiple domains, levels and actors.↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ 4.0 4.1