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RESEARCH	ON	INNOVATION	AND	
TRANSFORMATION		FOR	PEOPLE	
AND	THE	PLANET	
		
Per	Olsson	
	@perserudsper	
	
Stockholm	Resilience	Centre
Per Olsson Transformation lecture
Per Olsson Transformation lecture
Per Olsson Transformation lecture
TextText
A safe and just space for humanity
Source: Oxfam
TextText
A safe and just space for humanity
World Social Science Report 2013
Photo:	Kaj	Török
Adaptability and Transformability
•  ADAPTABILITY is the capacity of a SES to adjust its
responses to changing external drivers and internal
processes and thereby allow for development
within the current stability domain, along the
current trajectory.
•  TRANSFORMABILITY is the capacity to create new
stability domains for development, a new stability
landscape, and cross thresholds into a new
development trajectory.”
Walker et al. 2004, Folke et al. 2010
Per Olsson Transformation lecture
“…some now consider it easier to accept
future temperature increases of up to 4 °C or
more within this century (along with other
environmental and social changes) than to
pursue transformative strategies to avoid
such changes.”
O’Brian (2012)
Outline	of	the	rest	of	the	day	
1.  TransformaKon	
Exercise		
2.  Scaling	
Exercise	
3.  Agency
1TransformaKon
Per Olsson Transformation lecture
Transforming	
bureaucracies	
	
InsKtuKonalising		parKcipatory	
approaches	and	processes	for	
natural	resource	management
LimitaKons	with	exisKng	frameworks	
•  Tends to miss the ecological dimension of
such shifts addressing only the social
dimension will not be sufficient to guide
society toward sustainable outcomes. 
•  Societies may undergo major transformations
without improving their capacity to learn
from, respond to, and manage environmental
feedback from dynamic ecosystems
Olsson	et	al.	2014
Understanding	transformaKons	
in	social-ecological	systems
ConKnuity	
Change	
Macro	
Meso	
Micro	
Drawing	on	mulKple	approaches	and	
lenses	in	SES	transformaKon	studies
Per Olsson Transformation lecture
Prepare
	
Window of Opportunity
Navigate Stabilize
Per Olsson Transformation lecture
Per Olsson Transformation lecture
Preparing for transformation
•  Engage stakeholders to
identify dysfunctional
states and raise awareness
of problems
•  Identify thresholds,
plausible alternative
states, pathways, and
triggers
•  Identify the barriers to
change, potential change
agents, and strategies to
overcome barriers
•  Build strategic networks
Navigating the transition
•  Identify potential crises
and use them as
opportunities to initiate
change
•  Maintain flexible
strategies and
transparency
•  Foster institutions that
facilitate cross-scale and
cross-organizational
interactions and
stakeholder participation
Building resilience of the
new regime 
•  Create incentives and
foster values for
stewardship in the new
context
•  Initiate and mobilize
social networks of key
individuals for problem-
solving
•  Foster interactions and
support of decision
makers at other levels
M.	Leach	2012
Olsson et al 2004
Triggers
Transformations in a water management regime in
the Tiscza River, Hungary
Per Olsson Transformation lecture
Transformations in a water management regime in
the Tiscza River, Hungary
Sendzimir	et	al	2008
Shadow networks
Olsson	et	al.	2006	
•  Characterized by political independence
and out of the fray of regulation and
implementation 
•  Incubators - places to develop alternative
policies, dare to learn from each other, and
think creatively about how to resolve
resource problems
•  Their ability to link in to the formal political
arenas and networks at different levels
Exercise
Macro/Landscapes	-	geographical	posiKon	of	the	
land,	climate,	available	resources,	poliKcal	
constellaKons,	economic	cycles,	and	broad	societal	
trends	
	
Meso/Regimes	-	dominant	rule-sets,	social	networks	
and	organizaKons,	prevailing	infrastructures	
	
Micro/Niches	-	small	protected	spaces	in	which	new	
pracKces	can	develop,	protected	from	harsh	selecKon	
criteria	and	resistance	from	prevailing	regimes	
Three	scales
Fig.	2	
Macro	
Meso	
Micro
Per Olsson Transformation lecture
Per Olsson Transformation lecture
NavigaKng	transformaKons	in	governance	
of	Chilean	marine	coastal	resources
Per Olsson Transformation lecture
Gelcich et al. 2010
Phases	of	transformaKon	
Gelcich et al. 2010
Exercise	
•  Apply the transition management framework to create a
timeline of the development of the governance
transformation in Chile
•  Identify significant events and transition points. Think
about political, social, cultural, economic, and ecological
aspects.
•  Observe and analyze relationships across time and scales
- success or failure at one level might be explained by
opportunities or barriers at other levels – alignment,
breakthrough or falling apart, accomplishments, crisis,
failures, etc.
2Scaling
Per Olsson Transformation lecture
Copyright	Policymic	
Photo:	©2010	Bruce	R	Mitchell
Per Olsson Transformation lecture
Per Olsson Transformation lecture
Per Olsson Transformation lecture
Per Olsson Transformation lecture
Per Olsson Transformation lecture
Copyright	Policymic
Changing the system dynamics that
created the problem in the first place
A	social	innovaKon	is	any	iniKaKve,	product,	
process,	program	or	design	that	challenges	
and,	over	Kme,	changes,	the	defining	
rou$nes,	resource	and	authority	flows	or	
beliefs	of	the	broader	social	system	in	which	
it	is	introduced.	Successful	social	innovaKons	
have	durability,	scale	and	transformaKve	
impact.
Social-ecological innovations
Any	iniKaKve,	product,	process,	program	or	
design	that	challenges	and	over	Kme	changes	
the	defining	rouKnes,	resource	and	authority	
flows	or	beliefs	of	the	broader	social-ecological	
system	in	which	it	is	introduced.	Successful	
social-ecological	innovaKons	have	durability,	
scalability	and	transformaKve	impact.		
	
They	fundamentally	changes	human-
environmental	interacKons	and	feedbacks.		
	
They	enhance	the	capacity	of	Earth’s	
ecosystems	to	generate	essenKal	services.	
Olsson	and	Galaz	2012
Veta la Palma - Integrated Fish Farm
Introducing	CBRM	in	Solomon	Island
Per Olsson Transformation lecture
Abernathy,	Bodin,	Olsson	et	al	2014	
Spread	of	CBRM	in	Solomon	Islands
Per Olsson Transformation lecture
Photo:	Garth	Cripps	/	Blue	Ventures
Bricolage - drawn from the junk
collectors in France and defined as
making creative and resourceful use
of whatever materials are at hand -
regardless of their original purpose
Recombining existing and new ideas
to form something novel (Levi-
Strauss 1962)
Spread	of	CBRM	in	Solomon	Islands
Spread	of	CBRM	in	Solomon	Islands	–	bricolage
Merrie	and	Olsson	2014
Big	Picture	Boaom	Up	InnovaKons
Exercise!
What	is	the	social	innovaKon	in	this	film	–	is	it	product,	
process,	program,	design	or	all	of	these?	IdenKfy	as	many	of	
the	elements	as	you	can,	and	how	they	are	connected.	
	
Has	the	innovaKon	scaled	out?	Why?	Has	it	scaled	up?	In	
other	words,	to	what	extent	do	you	see	the	iniKaKve	as	
having	an	impact	on	the	flows	of	resources,	power/authority,	
rouKnes	and/or	beliefs	that	created	the	problem	in	the	first	
place?	
	
Do	you	see	paradoxes	that	the	Barefoot	College	seeks	to	
resolve?		
	
Exercise	-	Barefoot	College
Per Olsson Transformation lecture
3Agency
Per Olsson Transformation lecture
Per Olsson Transformation lecture
Westley,	Olsson	et	al.	2011	Westley	et	al.	2011,	Westley,	et	al.	2013
Photo: www.flickr.com/photos/37365478@N03/3465479992/
Key	Actors	
•  Malaysia,	Indonesia,	Philippines,	Papua	New	Guinea,	Timor	Leste,	Solomon	Islands	
•  ConservaKon	InternaKonal,	CI,	WorldWildlifeFund,	WWF,	Nature	Conservancy,	TNC	
•  Asian	Development	Bank,	ADB	
•  Asian	Pacific	Economic	CooperaKon,	APEC	
•  Global	Environment	Facility,	GEF	
•  United	States	Agency	for	InternaKonal	Development,	USAID	
Coral	Triangle		
IniEaEve	(CTI)		
an	internaKonal	agreement	and	
partnership	for	ecosystem-
based	management	of	coastal	
and	marine	resources	in	the	
Coral	Triangle.	
Nexus	–	climate	change,	
biodiversity	and	food	security
Rosen	and	Olsson	2013
‘‘Aeer	9/11,	and	later	the	Bali-bombings,	it	
became	a	key	objecKve	to	support	poliKcal	
stability	in	Southeast	Asia.	The	structure	
provided	by	the	CTI	provided	a	good	
opportunity	to	increase	poliKcal	presence	in	the	
region’’	(Interview32).	
Rosen	and	Olsson	2013
‘‘Illegal	fishing	in	Australia’s	northern	waters	has	
increased	dramaKcally	in	the	past	five	years.	
More	than	240	foreign	vessels	–most	of	them	
Indonesian	–	have	been	apprehended	this	year	
for	fishing	illegally…	Illegal	fishing	depletes	fish	
stocks	and	poses	serious	environmental,	
quaranKne	and	security	risks	to	Australia’’	[56].	
Rosen	and	Olsson	2013
per.olsson@su.se	
	@perserudsper	
	
Subscribe	to	our	newsleaer	
www.stockholmresilience.org/subscribe	
Thank	you!	
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Per Olsson Transformation lecture