We make transition!
The We make transition! – Towards sustainable and resilient societies through empowered civil society and collaborative innovation project brought together associations, residents, and municipal employees to develop solutions to ecological and social sustainability challenges. The goal was to accelerate fair local sustainability transitions and to strengthen and help identify the role and value of various civil society actors in sustainability work.
What was done?
The project supported the creation of networks and collaborative activities among local sustainability transition advocates, conducted international future visioning work, and produced knowledge and materials to support joint sustainability work between municipalities and civil society actors.
During implementation, two long-term pilot processes were organized, applying the transition arena method to strengthen sustainability cooperation between municipalities and civil society actors. The transition arena is a research-based method developed to accelerate systemic sustainability transitions.
The pilot processes were implemented in Kemiönsaari and Uusikaupunki. In Kemiönsaari, the theme was building a sustainable future for and with young people. In Uusikaupunki, the focus was on resident-driven promotion of biodiversity and the creation of collaborative approaches to support it. As part of both pilot processes, jointly conceived sustainability experiments organized by various actors were implemented in the localities. Through these experiments, concrete actions promoting fair local change that had been planned in the process workshops were initiated.
The project created space for different voices to be heard, for people to come together and collaborate, and for sustainability work that reflects the unique character of the localities and their civil society actors. Additionally, the activities increased understanding of the value and role of civil society in building sustainable well-being. The project also produced a publication on case examples of sustainability cooperation between municipalities and civil society actors and strong change agency.
Both pilot localities participated in the project’s joint future work for civil society actors across the entire Baltic Sea Region. The international cooperation supported networking among pioneers and produced a shared vision for a sustainable future among civil society actors in the region.
The lessons learned from the pilot implementations were compiled for use by all municipalities and civil society actors in Southwest Finland. The project offered coaching to those interested in utilizing the tools. Coaching activities included meetings with interested municipal representatives and two workshop series: one to support Raisio’s nature and climate program work and one to support the sustainability agency and municipal cooperation of Ruissalo resident activists.
The participatory and systemic sustainability work tools and materials developed during the project are openly available to all interested parties. You can find them in the dropdown menu on this page, in the Southwest Finland Regional Council’s Material Bank, and on Valonia’s website.
The project was co-financed by the European Union’s Interreg Baltic Sea Region program. The project’s total budget was 3.3 million euros, of which the EU co-financing share is 2.5 million euros. The project implementation period was January 1, 2023–December 31, 2025. Learn more about the project on the Interreg Baltic Sea Region program website.
The sustainability transition is made together!
Tools and materials
Project final publication
Guide to applying the participatory transition arena method to promote cooperation between municipalities, civil society, and small businesses in sustainability work is an abbreviated Finnish-language version of the entire international project’s final report. It describes the starting points and methods of the project’s work and presents the transition arenas implemented in Finland within the project framework. The abbreviated version is also available in Swedish.
The English-language version of the final publication, Practical use of the Transition Arena method to enhance cooperation between local authorities, civil society and business actors toward sustainability, includes all transition arenas implemented in the project from Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Germany, and Norway in addition to Finland.
Webinar and video recordings
The project organized three webinars, the recordings of which are available in English on YouTube.
The role of civil society in the sustainability transition
Transition arena as a tool for participatory governance and sustainability transition
Using alternative economic models in building a thriving society
Event video from the Kemiönsaari and Uusikaupunki transition arena workshops
Development work outputs
The project’s publications offer municipalities, organizations, associations, residents, and businesses concrete tools, perspectives, and support for co-developing local sustainability transitions. The publications compile the expertise and experiences generated in the project and help translate lessons into practice in different operating environments.
All publications, materials, and other content produced during the project have been compiled in a material bank. The material bank provides an easy way to explore the project’s results, revisit key themes, and utilize materials in one’s own work, development, and decision-making even after the project has concluded.
