Towards sustainable and resilient societies through an empowered civil society and collaboration-based innovation
Our societies are facing complex ecological and social challenges. Regional and local authorities play a vital role in enhancing resilience – society’s ability to adapt and respond – but to enable a sustainable transition, they must mobilise all levels of society.
Various civil society actors play an important role in helping public services to cope with external challenges. However, local and regional authorities lack effective methods for systematic bottom-up engagement with various civil society actors to help them enhance society’s resilience and sustainability.
The main challenge is to integrate civil society into innovation efforts and to adapt support structures so that they also encompass the eco-social dimension. To address this issue, the project is engaging a wide range of regional and local authorities, civil society and other innovation stakeholders from partner regions and beyond, to learn, experiment and adapt
The project is co-funded by the EU’s Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme. The project’s total budget is 3.3 million euros, of which 2.5 million euros is co-financed by the European Union.
This project is being carried out in collaboration with the British Council in Estonia to support social cohesion as part of the People to People Cultural Engagement programme. Further information on the British Council’s work in Estonia: www.britishcouncil.ee
the so-called ‘transition arena’ method – a strategic tool for transition management.
This project adapts the method for co-creating a transnational, inclusive vision of sustainability, as well as pathways and concrete steps towards sustainability at local level, with a focus on the role of civil society organisations. The project offers regional and local authorities in the partner regions practical experience on how to apply the Siirdeareen method in participatory strategies and transition processes, as well as in innovation processes.
In Estonia, the aim is to strengthen cooperation between local authority staff, civil society (including Russian communities) and local businesses, with a view to facilitating the transition to an ecologically and socially sustainable society. Cooperation will be strengthened by preparing and organising transition forums in two pilot regions and by supporting the implementation of initiatives arising from these forums.
