Tartu circular transition arena engaged local circular actors

About the process

The Circular Transition Arena process was connected with drafting of the Tartu County Roadmap of Circular Economy affecting 8 local municipalities. The arena process helped map all relevant civil society and small business actors that are already working for the circular transition and get their views and recommendations to the roadmap process.

The process consisted of four workshops and a wider public event. The first workshop was used to map the current state of the circular economy in Tartu County, using the X-Curve visual tool aimed at creating a common understanding of the current circular economy dynamics. Based on this understanding of trends, a joint vision was created. The second workshop was used for mapping the things that are stopping the local actors from moving faster and the things that could support them and the society as a whole. The third workshop focused on formulating concrete suggestions to the roadmap. At the final workshop, the participants voted on actions and planned collaboration and new projects for the future. The ideas and recommendations and their connection to the Circular Economy Roadmap were discussed in a wider event with local authorities and other stakeholders.

Who was involved?

Four workshops were carried out with around 18 representatives of social enterprises and NGOs including neighborhood and advocacy organisations and foundations. A wider event for introducing and discussing the results was organised with 60 participants including representatives from municipal governments, business sector, NGOs and the general public.

Results and how they will be utilised

For the first time the process brought together local actors leading the change in sustainability in different sectors, creating a possibility for forming a local network. The public discussion and engagement event for the roadmap tapped into wider interest in what the municipalities are planning and a possibility for the municipalities to get a feel of expectations from the interested public, before the final draft of the roadmap.

The transition arena group provided feedback and 34 concrete proposals to the draft of the roadmap, focusing on 4 key areas of impact: 1) community involvement and co-creation, 2) recycling, 3) sustainable food systems, and 4) the monitoring of roadmap outcomes. Half of the proposals were taken into account by officials in the final roadmap.

As the final workshop, transition arena group was brought together with the policymakers to discuss possible cooperation. Following future cooperation plans were discussed together with Association of Municipalities of Tartu County:

• A plan to start an annual networking meeting of circular economy stakeholders and promoters as proposed by our arena group, to exchange information, hear about the year’s progress, ask questions, make plans and find partners for further activities in implementing the roadmap.
• Focusing specifically on waste reform starting 2025, developing cooperation formats between local authority recycling stations and points and REuse organizations.
• In cooperation with experts in relevant fields (e.g. behavioral sciences) designing science-based interventions in people’s behavior to introduce and deploy REuse models.
• Mapping of existing circular initiatives and updating of contact information, as well as mapping of effective promoters in communities (schools, libraries, community centres, cultural centres, churches, etc.).

In addition to those mutual plans, 12 organizations got to synchronize their plans for 2025 and engage new partners to empower their activities.

Programme Manual Online

Choose