Local and regional authorities have a crucial role in driving resilience – societal ability to adapt and react. Due to the complexity of sustainability challenges, there is a need to mobilise all levels of society to create and implement solutions that enable systemic changes in our unsustainable practices. Civil society actors – associations, social entrepreneurs, cooperatives, communities, individuals – can have a pioneering role in enhancing ecological and social sustainability.

We make transition! project engages a great number of regional and local authorities, civil society, and other innovation actors from the Baltic Sea region. Partners from six countries cooperate with altogether 12 cities and municipalities in implementing local transition arena workshop processes including co-creation of a joint vision, pathways, concrete solutions, and initiatives that enhance the cooperation with civil society actors. The topics of the processes focus on either 1) sustainable lifestyle, 2) agriculture & food, 3) biodiversity, or 4) circular & sharing economy. The main output of the project will be a practical manual for applying the transition management approach to make strategy processes such as climate plans, roadmaps, and local strategies more interactive to involve also civil society actors.

On this platform we invite you to read and comment our publications including:

  • Case studies on civil society making sustainability transitions
  • Baltic Sea region sustainability vision and recommendations co-created by a transnational group of change agents
  • How to improve cooperation between local authorities and civil society actors? – a transnational gap analysis.
  • Manual for applying the transition arena method for inclusive governance (available later).

Publication: More about the project