Engaging with complexity : the Transition network

The Transition movement is based on building resilience in local communities in response to the challenges of climate change, peak oil and economic crises. Central to the Transition ethos is the recognition that each group needs to be responsive to its local conditions; Transition is organised, therefore, as a network of unique initiatives connected by local, national and international networks. The Transition model is derived from the principles of permaculture, a design system based on an ecological world view of interdependence and interconnectedness. As such, Transition provides an evolving, adaptive framework for an integrated and multi-dimensional approach to transformational change situated at a local community level. This approach is resonant with complexity theories, and this paper discusses features of complexity such as emergence, self-organisation, uncertainty and co-evolution in relation to Transition, in order to better understand how the movement is organised and to explore whether the organisational behaviour of Transition is congruent with its intent.