Natalie Laurence

One of the biggest challenge when working in sustainability transitions is knowing how, when, and where to intervene in systems to accelerate change. The paper ‘Exploring thresholds for a double acceleration movement in sustainability transitions’ by Kejia Yang and Johan Schot offers a structured, practical framework for understanding, tracking, and shaping the acceleration of sustainability … from Navigating the acceleration of transitions: a strategic framework for investors and policymakers

The future promises to be unpredictable, complex and volatile. Yet the current NGFS (Network for Greening the Financial System) climate scenarios used to stress test investment portfolios are limited: based on unrealistic assumptions, often understating the economic damage of climate change and failing to provide a holistic view of impacts (such as risks, conflicts, migrations, … from Climate scenarios expansion project

In Deep Transitions (DT) theory, interventions are defined as “particular areas in the socio-technical system or its environment where the application of appropriate [interventions] would likely facilitate transformative change in the system’s directionality” (Kanger et al., 2020: 4). Interventions are actions taken by actors to influence different parts of a system. We initially developed a … from Taking action that drives systems change: an introduction to Interventions

Niches are new ways of driving change. They are protective spaces for innovations within society and organisations. They are alternative configurations of technology, institutions, practices, and discourses that embrace new ways of thinking and doing. Niches are driven by innovations (social and technological), but should not be conflated with them. We use innovations/initiatives/alternative practices as … from How we transform our world: an introduction to niches

This tool is all about mapping where new ways of doing things are emerging and how we can practically challenge our unsustainable systems. You’ll be introduced to the DT concept of niches and work in a group to map and grow niches so they are capable of disrupting our current systems. You’ll learn theory and … from Tool: Mapping where change is emerging

With this interactive Miro tool, you will become familiar with segments of the DT theory. You will experiment with the future worlds, niche building and interventions. These are all critical elements to building resilient pathways. You will think about what alternatives there are to our unsustainable practices and what actions you can take to move … from Tool: Moving towards sustainable futures

This interactive Miro board tool will help you understand how change happens in a system, help you identify what you want to change and what direction to go in to nourish that change.   … from Tool: how to change a system

The Gulf of California faces interconnected challenges across food production, fisheries, tourism, conservation, water management, and coastal development. While many promising initiatives exist, they often operate in isolation and struggle to influence the systems that drive environmental degradation and social inequity. The challenge is not to fund more projects, but to create the conditions for … from Creating transitions pathways with CO – Case Study

Seeds of the futures: creating pathways to a better world is a game created from DT theory where teams step into the role of world-builders to create long-term pathways toward sustainable and just futures. The game is designed for policy makers, investors, researchers, system thinkers – anyone working at the frontier of sustainability and transitions … from Game – Seeds of the future: creating pathways to a better world

This guide for the facilitators of the game: Seeds of the future, creating pathways to a better world. Read through this guide first, and then you can either play with the physical board and cards or use the online game which can be found here: https://tipresourcelab.net/resource/game-seeds-of-the-future-creating-pathways-to-a-better-world/   … from Seeds of the future: Facilitator game guide

Baillie Gifford, an independent investment manager, introduced their Positive Change Fund team (aiming to deliver attractive long-term returns and a positive change by contributing towards a more sustainable future) to the Deep Transitions Lab. The group conducted an experiment together, which took place over two segments. The first focused on the PCF portfolio (exploring DT … from Baillie Gifford experiment case study

In this exercise, you will use a transitions theory called the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) to understand how change happens in a socio-technical system – e.g. an energy, health, food or water system – and identify opportunities to influence these dynamics through your investment strategies. Part 1 helps you to create a theory of change for … from Tool: Multi-level theory of change (Investor version)

This short blog describes the characteristics of a transformative bundle, one of four types of experiments conducted by the Deep Transitions Lab. You’ll learn what bundles are, how they differ from blended finance models and the challenges to making these a success. The authors introduce how transformative bundles can provide an innovative approach to financing … from Introducing transformative bundles

This tool is designed to help you assess the transformative potential of your current investment approach. You’ll learn about the principles of Transformative Investment and which activities can be developed or stretched to orientate strategies towards deep systemic change. The Transformative Investment Philosophy has 12 principles within four categories: goal setting investment strategy investment process … from Tool: Transformative Investment insight report

Researchers observe that change happens through surges of development. Resources, technologies, policies, and ideologies form the core of each surge, and the direction each surge takes is altered by our society. The Deep Transitions Lab aims to unmake and remake the rules driving today’s unsustainable systems. These rules have been built up through surges. This … from Tool: Surges of development

Deep Transitions are profound societal transformations, driven by interconnected system changes. These slides take you through the basics of Deep Transitions theory, as an academic framework for understanding and investing in system change. They introduce: characteristics of the First Deep Transition, which started with the Industrial Revolution; the notion of socio-technical systems, which provide for … from Deep Transitions foundational thinking

This tool is designed to help you visualise a system that you are seeking to effect change in through your investment portfolio. As you complete the exercise, you will build a picture of the ingredients in a system that maintain its stability and functionality over time – and consider the niches (alternative practices) that might … from Tool: Pentagonal map for system analysis (Investor version)

This blog introduces the story behind the development of Transformative Investment for systems change. It explains the rationale for convening investors to develop and implement an approach to Transformative Investment.  This post argues that the Second Deep Transition – a radical shift towards sustainability comparable in scale to the industrial revolution – will require substantial … from Our journey towards Transformative Investment

If we understand the Deep Transitions concept of rules that underpin our unsustainable systems, we can target these through investments and work towards building a sustainable future. Here, you will learn what a rule is and how the concept is useful to your practice and strategies. Our current socio-technical systems (such as energy, food, and … from Tool: Understanding rules and their application for investors

The Good Investors, an investment collective focused on driving systems change, took part in an experiment with the Deep Transitions Lab to explore how investments can accelerate multi-system transformations. This organised learning journey, rooted in Deep Transitions research, aimed to refine goal-setting, investment strategies, and processes to generate new insights and shift mindsets. The experiment … from Case study: The Good Investors experiment

How do we guide transformative investments towards achieving both monetary and non-monetary value, such as societal and ecological resilience? This digested read of a pivotal Deep Transitions Lab paper summarises key research findings for investors seeking to advance transformative impact. In it, the authors argue that to address the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and inequality, … from New rules for financing transformative change

Presentation setting out the urgent need for a ‘Second Deep Transition’ to a more sustainable and just society. The authors argue we are at a watershed moment, where investors have a crucial role to play. Investing in system optimisation will not be sufficient to address the complex, interconnected challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and … from Slides: Introducing the Deep Transitions Lab