Transition as a Social Technology

Transition as a Social Technology

https://www.resilience.org/stories/2026-01-30/transition-as-a-social-technology/

Publish Date: 2026-01-30 04:56:00

Source Domain: www.resilience.org

After nearly two decades deeply engaged in this field, the organizing model developed by the international Transition Towns Movement is still the most holistic, accessible, and effective social technology I’ve found for cultivating more resilient, equitable, sustainable, and regenerative local communities from the bottom up. Based on the experience of thousands of Transition groups worldwide, it’s an open-source methodology that anyone can pick up, use, and adapt to their community’s needs, interests, opportunities, and culture, regardless of whether or not they consider themselves part of the Transition Movement.

As I’ve come to understand it, there are two primary dimensions of this model. One is the Seven Essential Ingredients of Transition, which point out the most important aspects of changemaking we need to pay attention to at every stage of the process. The other is the Five Stages of Transition, which describe how these Ingredients typically evolve over time.

While several different versions of the Essential Ingredients have been proposed over the years, below is the version I used for my book, The Regeneration Handbook: Transform Yourself to Transform the World (2024), as well as the self-directed, online Transition Launch Training I recently produced with a dozen experienced Transition Trainers from around the world:

1. Context: Understanding the most important challenges we’re currently facing and how they’re all interconnected as part of an unprecedented global environmental, economic, and social polycrisis.

2. Vision: Imagining a better future beyond the Great Unraveling of the Industrial Growth Society and identifying key strategies that will help us get there.

3. Inner Transition: Engaging in the inner work we need to do to become the leaders we need to be.

4. Healthy Groups: Learning valuable practices and processes for effective collaboration and conflict transformation.

5. Community Engagement: Establishing a base of support and…

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