Final KSI Conference was a great success!

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KSI proves itself to be a frontrunner in transition research

18/06/2010

"What can you do with ten million euro's, the equivalent of one tenth of a promille of the Dutch natural gas revenues in 2009? Well, you can renovate an old steamship into a magnificent conference centre. You probably need some more money, but you'll come a long way. You can also finance a research programme for transitions to a sustainable society. Ten universities and TNO actually achieved much more than de targets we set at the start of the programme." With this kick-off Jan Rotmans proudly opened the final conference of the Knowledge Network for System Innovations and Transitions (KSI) at 3 and 4 june 2010 in Rotterdam.
>> Read more
Read also the book 'Verbreden, verdiepen, opschalen [...]' written by Diederik van der_Hoeven.

Nederlandse transitiepraktijk 'stroomt over' van inspirerende ideeën en initiatieven

18/06/2010

"Het duurzaamheidperspectief vraagt om een heroriëntatie op het goede leven. De vraag naar wat goed leven is, moeten we opnieuw beantwoorden met een nieuwe set van inzichten, kennis, technologie en oriëntaties." Aldus Herman Wijffels in zijn openingstoespraak tijdens de tweede dag van de eindconferentie van het Kennisnetwerk voor Systeeminnovaties en Transities (KSI) op 4 juni in Rotterdam. Wijffels werd op zijn wenken bediend met een baaierd aan vernieuwende ideeën, technieken, inzichten en praktijkvoorbeelden die de revue passeerde tijdens drie debatten over de thema's Zorg, Mobiliteit en Bouw.
>> Read more
Read also 'Transitieagenda voor Nederland [...]' written by Jan Rotmans.

New website: transitions explained to practitioners

11/06/2010

As one of the final outputs of the KSI programme, a website with hands-on information for practitioners has been launched (in Dutch). This is the first website of its kind. State-of-the-art knowledge, based on KSI-research results, is now ready available to any programme manager or project leader touching on transitions. The unhidden objective is to help lead the Dutch society towards a sustainable future.
On the address www.transitiepraktijk.nl you can get an objective answer to almost any question you may ask yourself about transitions.

Transitieagenda voor Nederland

04/06/2010

Jan Rotmans publiceert 'Transitieagenda voor Nederland: Investeren in duurzame innovatie'.
Het boek kan besteld worden door een mail te sturen naar drift@fsw.eur.nl.
>> Download

Verbreden, verdiepen, opschalen

04/06/2010

Diederik van der_Hoeven publiceert 'Verbreden, verdiepen, opschalen: KSI tussen wetenschap en transitiepraktijk'.
Het boek kan besteld worden door een mail te sturen naar drift@fsw.eur.nl.
>> Download

Rockstudenten en wetenschap hand in hand voor een duurzame wereld


04/06/2010

Muzikanten van de Rock Academy in Tilburg en wetenschappers samen op de bres voor duurzaamheid. Dat is het idee achter 'The Transition Song' die begin juni uitkomt. Het nummer is in opdracht van KSI (Kennisnetwerk voor SysteemInnovaties en transities) geschreven door Bas Trippe en Ivo Schot.
Deze nieuwe tak van wetenschap bestudeert wat er nodig is op alle niveau's binnen ons maatschappelijk systeem om een omslag te maken naar een duurzame samenleving. 'Transition' (opgenomen met sessie-muzikanten van de Rock Academy) is de muzikale vertaling van deze wetenschappelijke inzichten. Het nummer komt op een CD-single die wordt gepresenteerd op de eindconferentie van KSI op 3 en 4 juni op het Stoomschip de Rotterdam.
Hier kan de 'Transition' vrij worden gedownload. De single wordt opgenomen in het boekje Transitieagenda voor Nederland geschreven door Prof. dr. ir. Jan Rotmans dat ook wordt gepresenteerd op bovengenoemde conferentie.

KSI presents first volume of new series of books about sustainable transitions


21/05/2010

More then hunderd scientist, practioners, journalists, students and professionals were present at the KSI debate about transitions towards sustainibility at the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam at the 18th of May. The debate was part of the presentation of the first volume of a new series of five scientific books, a co-production by KSI and The English publisher Routlegde which is titled Sustainability Transitions. The first volume Transitions to Sustainable Development, New Directions in the Study of Long Term Transformative Change is edited by the three KSI-director John Grin, Jan Rotmans and Johan Schot, with the collaboration of Derk Loorbach and Frank Geels.
In that book they address the issue of how to understand the dynamics and governance of various major transitions in the past in order to ensure sustainable development in the future. The first speaker at the debate at the home base of the KNAW (Royal Dutch Society of Science), prof. Stefan Kuhlmann of the University of Twente, finds it encouraging that the legacy of KSI becomes more and more 'academic mainstream'. 'It's a typical Dutch style-based approach to innovation and large scale transition', where his words. Prof. Wim Hafkamp, director of the NICIS Kenniscentrum Grote Steden, caracterised the book from his fellow scientists as ' a milestone that fills the gap between transition theories and practice.' The next four books of the series of Routledge and KSI are published next year and focus on the domains of healthcare, energy, automobility and food.
At the end of the debate in Amsterdam the site www.sustainabilitytransitions.com was launched. The site is a platform for further discussions about transitions, innovation ans sustainability and contains interviews with the authors, and blogs, tweets, reviews en previews about the book series. Also it is possible to order the bookseries om the site.

Final KSI Conference

29/04/2010

During the last six years the Knowledge Network on System Innovations and Transitions (KSI) examined what is needed to make a transformation towards a sustainable society. Dozens of scientists from Dutch en foreign universities and research institutes participated at this quest. That search for innovations and transitions resulted in several successful and pioneering projects and programs. Because in August 2010 KSI ends, it is time to provide a state of the art.
What is the legacy of KSI for the academic world and our society?
This question highlights the Final Conference of KSI that takes place at 3 and 4 June 2010 in Rotterdam.

Read all about it on the Conference website.

Energietransitie: te veel praten, te weinig doen

06/04/2010

`Er ligt een plan om in tien jaar de hele woningvoorraad van Nederland energieneutraal te maken. Er is geen enkel beletsel om het niet te doen, maar we doen het niet.? Deze woorden van prof. Jan Rotmans schilderden meteen een van de dilemma?s die vijf maart centraal stonden op het mini-seminar Tussenbalans Energietransitie op de Erasmus Universiteit in Rotterdam. Hier werd het conceptrapport De Netwerkstructuur van de Nederlandse energietransitie gepresenteerd. De achterliggende studie schetst een beeld van hoe de betrokkenen bij de energietransitie elkaar zien en het proces waar ze gezamenlijk deel van uitmaken waarderen. Volgens Matthijs Hisschem?ller (VUAmsterdam), een van de samenstellers van het rapport, bevindt dat proces van energietransitie zich op een kruispunt. Er zijn tal van veelbelovende, projecten, plannen en netwerken die zich met dat thema bezig houden, maar het stokt in de concrete uitvoering. `We hebben het te weinig over de doelen en te veel over de middelen. En we zijn niet goed in concurrentie en sturing.?
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Johan Schot lid van de KNAW

18/05/2009

On Friday 15th May the Dutch Royal Academy of Sciences (KNAW) announced they had chosen 28 new members. On of them is Johan Schot, co-founder and director of KSI.
Congratualations for this recognition of his scientific merit. It is encouraging -especially for the young researchers of our network- that this honour can fall upon a scientist who spent most of his career on societal research questions.

Power to the Cows!

20/03/2009

Sustainable dairy husbandry is very well possible, provided we think and act differently. A very high standard of animal wellfare can be combined with considerable ecological improvements without compromising economic feasibility. That is the conclusion of the report 'Kracht van Koeien', presented to the Dutch minister of agriculture Gerda Verburg on March 17.

'Kracht van Koeien' is a system innovative research project in which KSI researcher Bram Bos participates. Read more about the project or download the full report (Dutch) on the cow project website at Wageningen University.

Braungart on new chair in Rotterdam

18/03/2009

Prof. dr. ir. Michael Braungart will come to the Netherlands for the newly established Chair: 'Cradle to cradle in relation to sustainable system innovations and transitions in theory and in practice'. He will be based at DRIFT, Erasmus University Rotterdam.

On April 7th (16:00-19:00) an introductory symposium will be held. We hereby invite you to attend it, see programme. On this occasion Prof. Jan Rotmans will explain 'How to transit from current paradigms to a new industrial revolution?'
Please register by sending an email to drift@fsw.eur.nl with the subject line C2C, and simply indicating your first and last name and affiliation (deadline: March 31).

Special issue 'Technological Forecasting and Social Change'

02/2009

As a co-production of IHDP-IT and KSI, this month a special issue of TFSC on transitions in Asia has been released.
Reference: Volume 76, Issue 2, Pages 215-290 (February 2009).

  1. Sustainability transitions in developing Asia: Are alternative development pathways likely? [Link]
    Frans Berkhout, David Angel, Anna J. Wieczorek, Pages 215-217
  2. Asian development pathways and sustainable socio-technical regimes [Link]
    Frans Berkhout, David Angel, Anna J. Wieczorek, Pages 218-228
  3. Environmental rationalities and the development state in East Asia: Prospects for a sustainability transition [Link]
    David Angel, Michael T. Rock, Pages 229-240
  4. A hard slog, not a leap frog: Globalization and sustainability transitions in developing Asia [Link]
    Michael Rock, James T. Murphy, Rajah Rasiah, Paul van Seters, Shunsuke Managi, Pages 241-254
  5. Enabling sustainability transitions in Asia: The importance of vertical and horizontal linkages [Link]
    Xuemei Bai, Anna J. Wieczorek, Shinji Kaneko, Shaun Lisson, Antonio Contreras, Pages 255-266
  6. Socio-metabolic transitions in developing Asia [Link]
    Heinz Schandl, Marina Fischer-Kowalski, Clemens Grunbuhel, Fridolin Krausmann, Pages 267-281