Local and regional authorities have a crucial role in driving resilience – societal ability to adapt and react – but due to complexity of the ecological and social sustainability challenges, they need to mobilise all levels of society to develop and implement solutions that enable a needed change in our traditional ways of doing things. 

Various civil society actors – such as NGOs, associations, social entrepreneurs, cooperatives, communities, individuals – have an important role in helping public services to cope with external disturbances. Local authorities, however, lack efficient methods for systematic interaction with civil society actors. A key challenge is to integrate civil society actors in innovation efforts and adapt the support structures to encompass also the eco-social dimension on the side of economic dimension. 

We make transition! -project will engage a great number of regional and local authorities, civil society and other innovation actors from the Baltic Sea region to learn, pilot and adapt a so-called Transition Arena method – a strategic tool of transition management. In this project the method is adapted to co-create a transnational inclusive sustainability vision, and at local levels pathways, concrete steps and initiatives to foster sustainability transitions focusing on the role of various civil society organisations. 

Each partner region will pilot (in cooperation with local authorities) local transition arenas that will focus on various eco-social sustainability topics, such as sustainable consumption, circular and sharing economy, biodiversity, food, mobility and sustainable work. The project will raise awareness among regional and local authorities on transition management and how to utilise the elements of Transition Arena co-creation process as a tool of engaging actors from different levels of society. The project aims also to empower civil society actors and improve the understanding of their role and potential in making transitions.