Exploring the contribution of transitions management to inform regional futures

© 2018 the Australia and New Zealand Regional Science Association International Inc. (ANZRSAI). All rights reserved. Regions around the world are facing intersecting challenges associated with economic and industrial restructuring, demographic changes, urbanisation, and climate change. Regional development efforts have primarily focused on an economic agenda but, have struggled to fully integrate environmental and social concerns. Climate change requires an integrated approach to addressing multiple regional challenges. This paper illustrates how Transition Management (TM) can provide coherence and direction to the transformative efforts of regional actors. TM is an innovative governance framework for managing complex problems. Informed by theory and practice, it has achieved considerable policy success in Western Europe. Yet, TM has only begun to be explored in Australian contexts. Our paper considers what transitions theories can contribute to regional scholarship and practice in Australian regions experiencing major economic, social, and ecological restructuring.