The Transition Model Canvas: A practical tool to analyze socio-technical transitions

Intoduction Understanding sociotechnical transitions is complicated. This is especially the case for many practitioners, who are commonly not well versed in the language of transition studies, but who deal with transition problems on a daily basis. To make the academic knowledge on socio-technical transitions available to practitioners we introduce the Transition Model Canvas (TMC) as a tool to systematically map socio-technical transitions on a canvas. Based on the business model canvas from entrepreneurship and the multi-level perspective from transitions studies, the TMC is an accessible tool that allows transition practitioners, students and educators to evaluate and accelerate socio-technical transitions. Second, our canvas helps to further diffuse transitions thinking in society and to improve the quality of socio-technical policy making and strategy development. Thereby, our contribution is practical rather than theoretical. Theory According to the dominant multi-level perspective (MLP), a transition entails that a stable incumbent socio-technical system, consisting of many interacting elements (actors, institutions, and infrastructures), is disrupted and eventually replaced by alternative newly developing socio-technical system(s). The latter emerge from niches. This all takes place against a socio-technical landscape. Two processes need to take place in a transition: destabilizing the incumbent system, and developing one or more niches as replacement. We argue that strategies can be deployed from the incumbent system and the niche to accelerate or hinder each process. Analytically, we can categorize these strategies what system the strategy comes from and which system it targets. This gives four possible categories of strategies: • Defending the incumbent system • Inhibiting the niche system • Destabilizing the incumbent system • Strengthening the niche system The Transition model canvas The transition model canvas (TMC) maps the key-interactions in both socio-technical systems and helps to identify strategies to accelerate both transition processes. It can be used to design new transition processes, and to evaluate existing ones. Filling the TMC, just like the BMC, is an iterative process. Feedback from others, new insights from the field, or changes over time can easily be incorporated. The TMC consists of several blocks that are related to each other. At the top of the TMC there is room for the envisioned transition goal, which can be adapted and refined throughout the process. The body of the TMC represents the levels of the MLP: the socio-technical landscape, the incumbent system, and the niche. For the incumbent system and the niche, we have three sub-parts. First, there is the part that maps the elements and interactions that are required to keep the system functioning. These are called key-elements and interactions. Based on this, one can identify the strong and weak points of the incumbent system and the niche. Finally, one can use these strengths and vulnerabilities to devise a set of strategies based on the categories above. The niche part allows the user to identify strategic resources to execute these strategies. The reason we only added strategic resources to the niche block is that the TMC is intended for those who wish to further a transition. Conclusion & discussion The TMC serves as a practical outlet for the theoretical MLP perspective. To keep the TMC accessible, we did not include all concepts that have been developed around the MLP. These more advanced concepts lend themselves for follow-up tools that can be used if practitioners want to elaborate on the transition process under consideration. For now, we are confident that the tool we provided here forms a good starting point for practitioners Thereby, we believe that we have made transition studies a little less complicated.