Lecture 6 (Gijs Diercks)

Question 1

What are transitions?

Answer 1

• Society is organised around certain societal functions (energy system, finance system, healthcare system…) that get optimised all the time
• at a certain point, persistent issues arise and optimisation is no solution but becomes part of the problem
• pressure becomes to great and erratic system change occurs

Question 2

What are the 4 key insights?

Answer 2

1 Transitions take a long time to materialise

2 Transitions are not a technological substitute

3 Change rarely occurs from within the system

4 Transitions are patterns of built-up and break-down

Question 3

Upwards dynamics

Answer 3

Experimentation

Acceleration

Emergence

Institutionalisation

Stabilisation

Question 4

Old system

Answer 4

Optimisation

Destabilisation

Chaos

Break-down

Phase-out

Question 5

Multi-level perspective

Answer 5

Macro Niveau - landscape
(exogenous macro-developments)

Meso Niveau - regimes
(dominant structures)

Micro Niveau - niches
(spaces for innovation, new ideas)

Question 6

What are challenges the CE is currently facing?

Answer 6

• CE is struggling to get past recycling
• Destabilisation becomes somewhat visible, but hardly any chaos
• Phase-out policies only find small place on agenda (even though the work: free plastic bag ban)

Question 7

What are positive developments in transition to CE?

Answer 7

• broad recognition that linear economy is under pressure
• many activities around “new normal”
• servicefication of Economy continues

Question 8

Transition management philosophy

Answer 8

Cannot “command and control” transitions but one can trigger and accelerate them by…

• playing into existing dynamics of change in society
• taking complexity as an opportunity
• gaining insight into system dynamics