Mapping Transition Readiness

Abstract

Designers are increasingly tackling complex societal challenges and fostering system transitions. Transitions are long-term, multi-level, multi-phasal system changes involving numerous actors, requiring innovations that develop new relationships within the system. Therefore, the process of designing for transitions requires new ways of bridging system analysis and system synthesis. This paper explores the concepts of ‘transition readiness’ and ‘value conflicts’ as valuable indicators to bridge this gap and support designers in fos-tering system transitions. Synthesizing insights from literature and previous experience, we propose a first step towards an integrative model for mapping a system transition in a way that inspires design. Our model, called the Transition Readiness Profiles, anticipates the dynamics of a system transition and helps identify how and where design can inter-vene to accelerate the transition. It analyzes the transition at the individual-, organization-, and system level to understand the system dynamics and reveal what organizations can bring forward to foster the transition relative to others. The Profiles capture the relational dimension of a transition by mapping readiness, value conflict, and stakeholder relation-ships and dependencies.