2023 Conference Proceedings
Transformative Partnerships
Proceedings of the Transformations Conference ‘23, serves as both a roadmap for action and an invitation to join a collective transformation journey.
Dive into the Transformations Community’s conference proceedings, featured in our third annual special issue of the Social Innovations Journal. This edition, born from our 2023 conferences in Sydney, Prague, Maine, and online, presents 28 insightful articles.
This special issue, centered on five key themes, presents a diverse array of people, ideas, and initiatives from a global community dedicated to advancing sustainable and regenerative futures.
Sensemaking and States of the Field
The first article, “Sensemaking the Transformations Community’s Future,” captures ideas and insights from a day-long post-conference gathering in Prague to explore the emerging potential of the Transformations Community. It begins by presenting four principles that unite the Community: Temperance, Transdisciplinarity, Translocalism, and Transformative Learning. These principles are tied to a way forward for the Transformations Community, integrating decentralized conferences, digital resource-sharing platforms, collaborative workspaces, and strategic partnerships to amplify our collective impact. This article is followed by a review of the “State of the Transformations Community,” conducted by former conference organizers as an international hybrid session. The section continues with four “State of the Field” articles, which share ideas about the following domains of professional practice within the transformations field:
- “Network Leadership Development” traces the intricate dance between individual agency and collective impact, reframing leadership as a networked and collaborative process;
- “Systems Education” casts education as a crucible for nurturing empowered, reflective changemakers;
- “Financing Systemic Transformation,” reimagines traditional financial models to align with the complexities of global challenges; and
- “Evaluation and Assessment of Transformation” sheds light on adaptive evaluation methods crucial for deepening our understanding of transformative impacts.
Transformative Partnerships
Six online sessions at the Transformations 2023 Conference are analyzed by participants from each session, each focusing on one of five topics related to the conference’s main theme of “Transformative Partnerships for a Better World”:
- Inner transformation and wellbeing
- Transformative policy and paradigms
- Engaging new narratives for a transformed future
- Transformative leadership
- Transformative policy, institutions, and organizations
The lead article in this section, “Partnerships in Transformations: A Synthesis,” interlaces key aspects of the session syntheses that follow, highlighting the fluidity of transformative leadership, the continual journey of transformation, and the vital role of inclusive communities.
Transformative Policies and Practices
Robin Krabbe begins by considering how community basic income in Tasmania addresses social pathology and precarity. Louis Klein and Karima Kadaoui explore metamorphic transformations in social ecosystems, emphasizing the role of humanizing societies through co-reflection. Sarah Velten and her team highlight the importance of multi-level partnerships for biodiversity conservation in agricultural landscapes. Sunny Goddard and colleagues’ research on ‘Research Pods’ within complementary medicine illustrates a paradigm shift towards more holistic and resilient healthcare methodologies. Bryan Jenkins focuses on the adaptive cycle for ecosystem recovery, and Tani Khara’s study on ‘Voluntary Simplicity’ in urban India offers insights into sustainable dietary practices, emphasizing the transformative role of individual choice. Collectively, these articles underscore how integrated strategies can promote transformations.
Co-producing Transformative Knowledge
Samuel Wearne begins this section by challenging the academic status quo and advocating for knowledge systems that are more plural, contextual, and inclusive. This theme of challenging existing paradigms is echoed in Soli Middleby’s work, which critically examines power imbalances in development practices, advocating for a shift towards more equitable and transformative approaches. The concept of relational transdisciplinarity, proposed by Farina L. Tolksdorf and colleagues, further underscores the necessity of collaborative, reciprocal learning processes in sustainability research. Similarly, Lily van Eeden and colleagues utilize a participatory future visioning approach and the Appreciative Inquiry methodology, emphasizing the development of reciprocal relationships with nature to co-produce transformative knowledge for enhancing nature conservation policies and practices. Additionally, Luea Ritter and the team’s insights from the World Ethic Forum highlight the importance of inclusive and transformative learning processes rooted in an ecocentric worldview. These papers provide a mosaic of transformative ideas and strategies centered on learning and knowledge practices.
Transdisciplinary Collaborative Design
Justus Wachs and Luea Ritter begin this section by delving into immersive practices for understanding and embodying systemic dynamics, highlighting the creation of spaces for deep relational engagement. Felix Beyers and colleagues discuss the intricacies of shaping transdisciplinary spaces, focusing on the reflective processes essential for navigating complex stakeholder relationships. Roxanne Henwood and colleagues examine the creation of equitable and collaborative spaces in the context of indigenous and colonizing histories. Sydney Hay and colleagues offer insights into the design of participatory labs for bioregional stewardship. Lastly, Rita Golstein-Galperin and colleagues assess the evolving landscape of academic institutions as spaces for transformative innovation. Together, these sessions underscore the significance of carefully designed collaborative spaces and processes in driving systems change.
Articles in this issue
State of the Transformations Community
Bruce Evan Goldstein, Kim Sensener, Karen O’Brien, Ioan Fazey, J. David Tàbara
State of the Field Panel on the Evaluation and Assessment of Transformation: A Case Study of Response to the Polycrisis
Glenn G. Page, Sam Buckton, Mark Cabaj, Ian Goldman, Kate McKegg, Mutizwa Mukute, Michael Quinn Patton, Hailey Rizzo
State of the Field of Systems Education
Bruce Evan Goldstein, Kim Sensener, Marilyn Mehlmann, Jayne Bryant, Debbi D. Brock
State of the Field of Network Leadership Development
Bruce Evan Goldstein, Kim Sensener, Liz Weaver, Russ Gaskin, Nono Sekhoto, Kerstin Tebbe
Sensemaking the Transformations Community’s Future
Bruce Evan Goldstein, Sam J. Buckton, Vicki Nichols Goldstein, Julianna Gwiszcz, Christopher D. Ives, Curtis Ogden, Carlos Alvarez Pereira, Joel Onyango, Luea Ritter, Niko Schäpke, Karen Spiller
State of the Field: Financing Systemic Transformation
Bruce Evan Goldstein, Kim Sensener, Steve Waddell, Magdalena J. Schneider
Summary of Online Panel: Transformative Policy & Paradigms
Sofia Maniatakou, Nathalie Sänger, Jorge Martín Motta, Simone Sandholz, Laura Arévalos
A Personal Backstory to a T-Practice Workshop: Moving Beyond Boundaries - Opening to the Power of Metaphor
Marcelle Holdaway
Inner Transformation and Well-being: A Transformations Community Dialogue
Kira Jade Cooper, Therese Asplund, Pål Dobrin
Partnerships in Transformations: A Synthesis
Mariana Zafeirakopoulos, Bruce Evan Goldstein, Nick Graham
Addressing Social Pathology and Precarity via A Community Basic Income in North-West Tasmania
Dr. Robin Krabbe
The Transformative Role of ‘Voluntary Simplicity’ in Encouraging Meat Reduction in Urban India
Dr. Tani Khara
Research Pods: A Paradigm Shift Within Complementary Medicine Research
Dr. Celeste Salter, Sunny Goddard, Linlee Jordan
Facilitating Evaluation of Metamorphic Transformation in Social Ecosystem
Louis Klein, Karima Kadaoui
The Transformation Process as an Adaptive Cycle Illustrated by Recovery from Desertification in Shinyanga
Bryan Jenkins
The Transformative Potential of Future Visioning and Reciprocity For Nature Conservation Policy and Practice
Lily van Eeden, Christina Renowden, Fern Hames, Sarah Bartlett, Emma Pearson, Michael Dunlop, Maryella Hatfield, Sky Hugman, Katharina-Victoria Pérez-Hämmerle, Kate Lee
Inquiry into Inclusive, Transformative Learning Processes for Knowledge and Wisdom Creation on Underlying Root Issues in Sustainability: Insights from the WorldEthicForum Convening 2023
Luea Ritter, Marco Gyger, Dr. Anaïs Sägesser, Marie-Pascale Gafinen
Are We Practicing What We Preach? Scaling Out Knowledge System Infrastructure for Sustainability Transformations. Place-Based Publications: A Provocation and Proposal.
Samuel Wearne
Relational Transdisciplinarity: Five Reflexive Steps for Embodying Relational Ontologies in Transdisciplinary Learning Contexts
Farina L. Tolksdorf, Claire Grauer, Bagele Chilisa, David Manuel-Navarrete, Zainal Abidin Sanusi, Sophie Rühl, Daniel J. Lang
The Role of Relationships, Respect, and Self-determination in Creating Equitable Research Partnerships: The Case of Revitalise Te Taiao
Roxanne Henwood, Oriwa Tamahou, Heather Collins, James A. Turner, Simon Stokes
Simply Different Fashion: The Balancing Act of Designing a Transdisciplinary Space
Felix Beyers, Alina Lebherz, Thomas Bruhn
Academic Social Innovation Centers: A Proposed Framework for a Theory of Change
Rita Golstein-Galperin, Stav Bar-Shany, Maayan Agmon
Experiences from the Deeper Sense of Place T-Lab: Transforming Coastal Stewardship Action in Casco Bay, ME
Sydney Hay, Glenn Page, Hailey Rizzo
Systems Sensing for Transformations Organizations: Lessons from the Transformations Conference 2023
Justus Wachs, Luea Ritter
The Transformative Potential of Future
Lily van Eeden, Christina Renowden, Fern Hames, Sarah Bartlett, Emma Pearson, Michael Dunlop, Maryella Hatfield, Sky Hugman, Katie Moon, Katharina-Victoria Pérez-Hämmerle, and Kate Lee
Partnerships in Transformations: A Synthesis
Mariana Zafeirakopoulos, Bruce Evan Goldstein, Nick Graham
Transformative Policy, Institutions and Organizations
Glory Dee Romo and Mariana Zafeirakopoulos
Summary of Online Panel: Transformative Policy & Paradigms
Sofia Maniatakou, Nathalie Sänger, Jorge Martín Motta, Simone Sandholz, Laura Arévalos
Evaluation and Assessment of Transformation
Glenn G. Page, Sam Buckton, Mark Cabaj, Ian Goldman, Kate McKegg, Mutizwa Mukute, Michael Quinn Patton, and Hailey Rizzo
Scaling out knowledge system infrastructure for sustainability transformations
Samuel Wearne
Relational Transdisciplinarity
Farina L. Tolksdorf, Claire Grauer, Bagele Chilisa, David Manuel-Navarrete, Zainal Abidin Sanusi, Sophie Rühl, and Daniel J. Lang
State of the Transformations Community
Bruce Evan Goldstein, Kim Sensener, Karen O’Brien, Ioan Fazey, J. David Tàbara
State of the Field of Systems Education
Bruce Evan Goldstein, Kim Sensener, Marilyn Mehlmann, Jayne Bryant, Debbi D. Brock
Sensemaking the Transformations Community’s Future
Bruce Evan Goldstein, Sam J. Buckton, Vicki Nichols Goldstein, Julianna Gwiszcz, Christopher D. Ives, Curtis Ogden, Carlos Alvarez Pereira, Joel Onyango, Luea Ritter, Niko Schäpke, and Karen Spiller
State of the Field of Network Leadership Development
Bruce Evan Goldstein, Kim Sensener, Liz Weaver, Russ Gaskin, Nono Sekhoto, Kerstin Tebbe
Insights from the World Ethic Forum convening
Luea Ritter, Marco Gyger, Anaïs Sägesser, Marie-Pascale Gafinen
State of the Field: Financing Systemic Transformation
Bruce Evan Goldstein, Kim Sensener, Steve Waddell, Magdalena J. Schneider
SIJ Meet the Authors Symposium:
Welcome to the recorded session of the SIJ Authors Symposium, an integral part of the Transformations Conference ’23. This event brought together thought leaders, practitioners, and researchers in the field of sustainability and social-ecological transformation.
About SIJ
A key event for the Transformations Community, the Symposium highlights new insights in sustainability and transformation research, promoting knowledge exchange and collaborative action.