Research - Transitions Research

Our Programs

We seek to understand societal decision making in face of normative and scientific uncertainty in transition processes in four major areas of change and challenge.

Low Carbon Society

Action on climate action is shaped by contradictory visions, needs and narratives of different social groups. Economy-wide low carbon transitions will create both winners and losers – impacting livelihoods, jobs and communities in the process. Greening systems may not make them any fairer, inclusive or just. We will identify principles and policies to affect low-carbon and climate resilient transitions in India with due attention to social justice. Policymaking will need to address the politics on ground, engage with plural perspectives, and contest institutionally practiced and dominant notions of building a green society.

Future Cities

Urban development across India is driven by technocratic visions of “smart” and “resilient” cities. Planning processes that prioritise investments in technology and certain types of urban infrastructure enhance a city’s attractiveness to investments and flows of global capital. However, these strategies neglect the needs of most residents, especially the most vulnerable and urban poor. India’s Future Cities require participatory processes and reflexive approaches to produce alternative urban futures and challenge the hegemonic and generic notions of contemporary cityness.

Digital Society

It has become increasingly evident how societies culturally, economically, and politically are grounded in, socially organized by, and reshaped with the increasing centrality and continued diffusion of digital technologies. Dominant imaginaries and discourses driving the diffusion of digital technologies often present digitalization in unproblematic terms. We understand digitalization as a continuous socio-technical process of change, which is conflictual and reflexive. Our work explores its implications for sustainability and livelihoods, and the choice of digital solutions and governance models that could lead to greater societal benefits.

Future of Food

Food systems are at the center of global environmental, social, and economic challenges such as resource scarcity, ecosystem degradation, and climate change. Food is a major part of all cultures and is strongly associated with many social interactions and remains intimately linked to identity. The production of food is the primary cause of biodiversity loss globally – driven by the conversion of land for agriculture and the intensification of agriculture reducing the quality and quantity of available wildlife habitats. Transition away from food production systems that deplete natural resources, pollute the environment and marginalize small farmers has never been more urgent.

Our Approach

We combine systematic foresight, Science and Technology Studies (STS), and ethnographic research to discover iterative solutions to real-world problems. We believe that good social science research can help change the world.

Imaginaries

Collectively held, institutionally stabilized, and publicly performed visions of the future are implicated in the way transition pathways are imagined. These imaginaries shape development narratives, policies, institutions, social choices and behaviour. How do we ensure that visions of both less and more powerful actors shape the transitions ? We use Foresight Groups - trend analysis, imagination workshops and scenario exercises to understand plural imaginaries, unpack underlying values and assumptions and identify pathways to sustainable futures.

Social Dimensions of Technology

Changes in technology are often at the core of transition processes and can have an important impact on the environment and people. Social dimensions of technology - how technologies are shaped, developed, used or contested remain less understood. How do we ensure that socio-technical innovation - from new devices to new social arrangements are inclusive and sustainable? We understand user sociology through ethnographies and pilot innovation in Living Labs to understand the design, development and governance of emerging technologies.

Human Choice & Behaviour

Choices made by individuals, households, communities specific to local contexts are critical for diffusion of sustainable lifestyles, technologies and practices. Behavioral insights need to inform policies and plans to ensure adoption of sustainable solutions by end users. How can we inspire, mobilise and mainstream people’s participation in transition pathways? We undertake Ethnographies to understand user practices and community decision-making to inform policies and design choice architecture for sustainable behaviour.

Anticipatory Governance & Policy

Predictive approaches to governance and policy making are ineffective in face of uncertainty and contradictory certitudes of social groups. Public debate and deliberation and reflexive approaches that expand scope of decision frames and anticipate alternate futures are needed. How do we govern transition processes when the very contours of the pathways remain uncertain and largely even unknown? We conduct Policy Labs and Monsoon Academy to understand plural perspectives, find iterative solutions and generate policy recommendations.