Social Relations – Transition Design Seminar CMU

Transition Design argues that stakeholder relations are the “connective tissue” within wicked problems, and and these nuanced “systemic relations” must be ‘mapped’ and analyzed to serve as the basis for problem resolution

This new, emerging paradigm emphasizes empathy, relationship, participation and self-organization, calls for new mindsets and postures of openness, speculation, mindfulness and a willingness to collaborate.

the hierarchy of caste is not about feelings or morality. It is about power—which groups have it and which groups do not. It is about resources—which caste is seen as worthy of them and which are not, who gets to acquire and control them, and who does not. It is about respect, authority, and assumptions of competence—who is accorded these and who i... See more

Stakeholder relations of conflict and opposition always require the greatest investment of time and energy to resolve, but relations of affinity, agreement and alignment (that are always present) often go unseen and acknowledged. Transition Design argues that relations of affinity and alignment are the “low hanging fruit” in a system and show us wh... See more

Identifying stakeholder beliefs, assumptions and cultural norms: Although some traditional problems-solving approaches consider user preferences and motivations, they seldom consider the ways in which individual and collective stakeholder beliefs, assumptions and cultural norms have contributed to the problem.

The roots of many wicked problems are connected to relations of conflict and power imbalances among stakeholder groups. These complex stakeholder relations are also barriers to societal/organizational transitions

Transition Design argues that living in and through transitional times calls for self-reflection and ‘new ways of being’ in the world in order to act as a catalyst for societal transition. This will call for self-reflection and learning which lead to new mindsets and postures.

Uneven power relations among stakeholder groups: The distribution of power (socio-economic-political) among stakeholders affected by a wicked problem is almost always unequal and systemic in nature