Building agency, capacity and capability across Australia for transitions

By Dr Michelle Miller, Research Scientist focused on Designing for Sustainability Transitions.

We know that transitions are hard, that they involve difficult changes for people and communities — and that we are working toward transitions at a scale, pace and level of ambition that we have not attempted before. But we have also heard that transition is an opportunity, an economic opportunity as well as an opportunity for imagination and reinvention. The economic opportunity is a significant motivator, but what will inspire us is the opportunity to engage our collective creativity in imagine a future that we want. 

 In my work I ask: How? How might we build collaboration with diverse stakeholders and communities – including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples — across disciplines and with industry, science, technology, and all government levels? How might we experiment in small and safe ways? How might we develop tangible and doable ideas that enable action? 

Transitions have happened and are happening around the world, and in Australia as well. There’s a lot we can learn from these transitions. We know, for instance that: 

1. Context matters 

2. We need to transition well 

3. And that focusing on opportunity is critical 

Context matters

The history of Australia and culture here matters. The structure of our industries and resources shape the pathways available to us. And the way forward will differ by community. 

We need to transition well. Industries come and go, and that is part of change. But it can leave communities with long term economic difficulties. So, in transitions, we need to simultaneously focus on building a strong and diverse economy, environmental sustainability, thriving communities and regions, and just and equitable social outcomes.  

Opportunity inspires and motivates

We have a chance for communities and industry to envision futures for their region together, and to chart a way forward to meet their most pressing needs.  

There is more we can learn about the Australian context and what it means to transition well, in ways that work for context, and how to leverage the opportunity that is transition. 

When we look beyond the technology and innovations that we so urgently need for transitions, like for energy transitions, we can see that there are other shared challenges. We have a shared need to develop processes for dialogue, in ways that foreground the range of needs and values and makes use of the best available information and modelling (scientific, technical, and economic). We have a shared need to create the conditions for transition through policy, coordination, and investment. And we need to research what works and doesn’t work in a given context.  

The Industrial Regions Network is an example of a project we are working on with diverse actors to share their knowledge about how to progress transitions specific to places. We are developing a hub for sharing learning and collaborating. The network has participants from across Australia, from community, industry, and government, from NSW to the Pilbara, from central QLD to south west WA. The network is simultaneously sector or value-chain based and place-based. 

In our first year of the network (FY23-24), we held events in person and online, including roundtables, whole network events, and focused topic discussions. In our second year we will be looking to grow the network, including establishing working groups focused on action. We will research with and for the network, and support the network with knowledge, resources, and tools. We will look to learn about what’s needed, what works, and for whom in order to inform policy and coordination to develop the conditions. And we will look to share what is learned more broadly. 

The network offers a window into what is needed to navigate complexity constructively so that we build agency, capacity and capability for transition. We seek to do this through robust collaboration, knowledge sharing, collective creativity, problem solving, practical solutions, and coordination – across boundaries -so that decisions can be informed by science, evidence, multiple perspectives, and exploring options together in order to make change real.