Transition Governance Capacities at the Local Level: Identifying Promising Combinations of Roles, Resources and Actors

Abstract

A polyphony of economic, welfare, climate and nature challenges call for transition governance at the local level. It is the governance level with closest proximity between problems and solutions, as well as representing an arena where relevant civil society, private and public actors meet. Transition governance at the local level depends on the leadership and active initiatives of three central agents of change: i) municipal actors embedded in traditional/bureaucratic local governments facilitating change through close interaction with citizens, businesses, including state actors at diverse scales with authority over policy instruments, procurement rules, land use, infrastructures and own investments; ii) intermediaries that fill gaps, bridge and actively link a wide range of public and private actors; and iii) individual change makers challenging existing structures and initiating new innovative practices together with other relevant actors. These actors jointly enhance overall capacity for transition by developing and exploiting diverse governance factors and enabling collaboration across responsible (public), affected (citizens), interested (civil society) and/or resource-controlling actors (experts and companies). The panel invites papers identifying key transition capacities at the local level. Of special interest is the exploration of promising combinations of governance resources, roles and actors enabling diverse forms of sustainable change.

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