Mid-Range Transition Arenas as Catalysts in a Circular Economy

Abstract

Transitions towards a more circular economy (CE) require governance across various domains, and collaboration between actors with potentially conflicting interests. Transition management (TM) provides a promising approach to both assess and mediate different positions in promoting CE transitions. A core aspect of TM is the transition arena (TA), a knowledge co-production process that engages societal stakeholders to develop a future vision and pathways that cut across policy sectors, as well as suggestions for policy actions and experiments. This chapter focuses on the mid-range adaptation of the TA process, and provides three cases in Finland with connections to the CE: one national level counter-agenda on energy and climate policy, and two on regional level transformative visions for the blue bioeconomy. We analyse the key aspects in adapting the mid-range TA in different contexts by explicating variances in design choices and interactions, as well as in the implications of the work. Based on our findings, we suggest that for the CE context, the mid-range TA methodology can offer both a heuristic method to support policy development, as well as a catalyst to operationalise and revise agendas in specific spatial settings.