This book introduces transition management as a new mode of
governance for sustainable development. Transition management
combines a conceptual approach on social complexity, governance and
long-term structural societal change with an operational governance
model to actually work towards sustainability through learning-by-
doing and doing-by-learning. The basic rationale behind transition
management is that we are faced with societal problems of such
complexity and magnitude, that existing approaches do not suffice.
Such persistent problems can be found in many areas of society:
energy, mobility, agriculture, water management, but also in health
care, education, construction and industry. In these areas agreement
upon definitions of sustainability the best solutions is impossible
to achieve so that top-down planning is impossible, while at the same
time sustainability can also never be achieved solely through bottom-
up innovation and liberalization: sustainable development re!
quires taking into account collective goods, future needs and un
certain future development.
Transition management aims to deal with persistent societal problems
through combining long-term envisioning, short-term experiments in a
selective participatory process that supports policy integration,
social learning and social innovation. It focuses on frontrunners,
entrepreneurs, niche-actors and innovative individuals and
organizations in general that are committed to sustainable
development. More often than not, innovations that in the long-term
could contribute to sustainable development are unable to break
through because of for example fragmentation, lack of means and
support, limited attention to external (socio-economic) factors or
lack of exposure. By simultaneously raising awareness and political
acceptance for sustainable development in a specific area and by
developing more coherence, cooperation and strategic capabilities at
the level of the innovations, a structured process of social
experimentation and learning can evolve that gradually leads to
fundamenta!
l structures in our societal systems.
The central instrument for transition management is the transition
arena: a scientifically underpinned operational model for
coordinating and structuring transition management processes
(especially in the predevelopment phase). The transition arena is a
mental, physical and institutional space for experimentation,
envisioning and network-building that is legitimized by regular
policy. In the transition arena, different types of innovators with
various backgrounds, perspectives and ambitions are brought together
and develop shared long-term perspectives and a transition agenda
that increasingly will influence regular policy. This approach has
been introduced into research and policy in the Netherlands in 2001
and since then successfully applied in areas of sustainable energy,
mobility, agriculture and housing . It has also been adopted as a new
paradigm and approach in multi-disciplinary research . This book
covers offers insight into the first five years of development of theory and practice of transition management in the Netherlands. As
such, it is a unique account of an innovative experiment in policy
theory and practice that is highly relevant for sustainable
development in the international context
