On 18 May, Karen O'Brien, Derk Loorbach and Steve Waddell participated in a discussion called "What is 'Transformation' and why is understanding its qualities important?" Follow their conversation to learn about how academics view and study the concept of "transformation."

1. What is “Transformation” and
why is understanding its
qualities important?
Karen O’Brien
Dept. of Sociology and Human Geography
University of Oslo, Norway

2. Transformation: Physical and/or
qualitative changes in form, structure, or
meaning-making.
2

3. The Three Spheres of Transformation
(Based on O’Brien and Sygna, 2013; Sharma 2009) 3

4. Leverage Points for Systems Change
http://www.donellameadows.org/archives/leverage-points-places-to-intervene-in-a-system/

5. • What is the relationship between individual change and
collective change?
• What role do creativity and empowerment play in
transformation processes?
• In what ways do political agency and collaborative
power promote transformations?
• How can the transformation of scientific paradigms
contribute to social transformations?
5