The ESRC STEPS Centre and its partners have published a new guide to T-Labs (Transformation Labs). The 40-page guide draws on lessons from the Pathways Network, a project investigating new approaches for transformations to sustainability. Since 2016, the Pathways Network has convened T-Labs to respond to social-ecological problems in six countries (Argentina, Mexico, Kenya, China,…
New publication: T-Labs: A Practical Guide
Endings and beginnings: project-based work within wider transformations
by Adrian Ely and Elise Wach Since 2016 we have been involved in a small-scale project, as part of the broader ‘Pathways Network’, that has explored how to move towards more sustainable agri-food systems in Brighton and Hove. The project’s focus has been evolving on the basis of changing circumstances, knowledge and ideas – a…
The Power of a T-Lab: Sharing lessons on water and justice in Gurgaon, India
by Dinesh Abrol, Pravin Kushwaha and Bikramaditya K. Choudhary, South Asia Sustainability Hub & Knowledge Network. As big cities change rapidly, people moving into them can struggle for access to basic services like clean water and sanitation. One such city is Gurgaon, a secondary city that’s experienced rapid urban transition over the last two decades….
How transformative are mobile payments for solar home systems in Kenya?
by Victoria Chengo and Kennedy Mbeva, Africa Sustainability Hub The second Transformation Lab workshop (T-Lab) organised by the Africa Sustainability Hub was held in June in Nairobi, Kenya – one of six study sites in the international Pathways Network. As part of a 3-year process, the workshop discussed what needs to be done to enable…
STEPS at the World Social Science Forum (WSSF) on 25-28 September
The STEPS Centre and its partners from the Pathways to Sustainability Global Consortium will be at the World Social Science Forum (WSSF) next week. This year’s event is held in Fukuoka, Japan. The WSSF’s theme this year is ‘Security and Equality for Sustainable Futures’. Convened by the International Science Council (ISC), the WSSF aims to…
Argentina’s ‘Bioleft’ project shares its first open source seeds
Seeds were transferred from researchers to farmers for the first time under a new kind of open source transfer contract, called Bioleft, .
Living Aulas: What connects ‘undisciplinary’ research on sustainability?
by Almendra Cremaschi and Rebecca Shelton, Pathways Network In the context of climate change and the rise of research about and towards transformations to sustainability, being an early career researcher has huge potential for learning and praxis but at the same time is filled with challenges and questions. New and deeper ways of reflecting and…
BioLeft: experimenting with open source seed innovation in Argentina
by Patrick van Zwanenberg and Anabel Marin (Conicet / Cenit / UNSAM) It is sometimes said that plant breeders breed their aspirations about how agricultural production systems ought to function directly into their seed varieties. Over the last three decades there has been a collapse in the diversity of seed breeders (and with it the…
Mapping a transforming world in the Sierra Huichol, Mexico
by Shiara González, Lakshmi Charli-Joseph, and Beth Tellman The Wixáritari communities, better known as Huichol, are mainly located within the Sierra Madre Occidental, north of Jalisco state, Mexico. These communities, like many others in the world, and particularly in the Americas, are subject to pressures from the ‘Western’ world which are the catalyst for many…
The Transformation Labs (T-Labs) approach to change
The PATHWAYS Network is exploring solutions to problems in six sites (in Argentina, China, Kenya, India, Mexico and the UK) where socio-ecological systems are transforming. To intervene in these transformations, the project is convening multi-stakeholder processes called ‘transformation labs’ (T-Labs) in order to foster change in the systems being studied by each hub.