The Transformations Community: Transformative Thought and Action

Bruce Goldstein, an Associate Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, partners with designers and facilitators of transformation initiatives to build trusting relationships and develop innovative solutions to social and ecological challenges. He also leads the Transformations Conference Series and Community of Practice, preparing for its seventh conference in 2025.

What is the Transformations Community?

The Transformations Community (TC) is a global consortium of action researchers and reflective practitioners committed to fostering transformations toward equitable, sustainable, and regenerative futures. Since its inception in 2013, the TC has become a place for transformative thought and action, engaging members from diverse sectors and disciplines. These range from academic programs and initiatives focused on sustainability, to government bodies and non-profit organizations, to consulting firms.

Global Reach and Collaborative Initiatives

The TC regularly organizes dialogues and workshops aimed at translating transformation-oriented ideas into tangible actions. It has held biennial conferences in various locales, including Norway, Sweden, Scotland, Chile, and a virtual conference in 2021 due to the pandemic. The 2023 conference, with the theme “Partnerships for a Better Future,” took place in Sydney, Australia, with additional hubs in Prague, Czechia, and Portland, Maine, and online. This event featured over 250 sessions, engaged 700 attendees from more than forty countries, and highlighted insights from 400 distinguished organizers and presenters. The 2025 conferences are tentatively slated for Kruger National Park, South Africa, York UK, and online.

At the Crossroads of Potential and Challenge

The TC stands at a crossroads of immense potential and challenge. As an eclectic group of forward-thinking sustainability researchers and systems change practitioners, the TC’s unique strength lies in its commitment to transdisciplinary theories and practices that cross traditional boundaries of discipline, profession, and context. Over twelve years, the TC has navigated the varied terrains of global conferences from Norway to Chile and the ever-evolving digital landscape. These gatherings have focused on understanding complex social-ecological crises and catalyzing transformative change, redressing historical injustices, and fostering introspection and development.

Who are Transformations Practitioners?

TC members are distinctly transdisciplinary and even metadisciplinary, integrating knowledge from different disciplines and beyond academia to address complex systems challenges. As action researchers and reflective practitioners, they aid communities in actualizing systems change. Many members have faced significant challenges that led them to question conventional roles and institutions, often experiencing isolation and frustration. This shared experience shapes a collective desire to be part of a community of like-minded peers.

Members engage communities in co-design, participatory diagnosis, and knowledge co-production. They are committed to social equity and redressing historical injustices, intertwined with a desire to support personal change through transformative learning experiences. Many members’ own transformative journeys were spurred by interactions with non-Western cultures, adding depth to their understanding and approach.

Statement of Principles: The 4Ts

The heart of the Transformations Community’s purpose lies in the Four Ts: Temperance, Transdisciplinarity, Translocalism, and Transformative Learning. These principles guide the TC’s work, ensuring alignment and powerful impact.

Temperance: Striking a dynamic balance between individual expression and collective power, enabling members to contribute their unique strengths within a shared “pracademic” identity.

Transdisciplinarity: Crossing disciplinary boundaries to pursue holistic solutions to complex challenges, fusing knowledge from diverse fields and beyond academia for real-world impact.

Translocalism: Embracing the power of connection and the wisdom of place across geographies and cultures, weaving together knowledge to cultivate local solutions while enabling innovation to travel globally.

Transformative Learning: Crafting spaces that challenge hearts and minds, facilitating deep shifts in understanding and perception, and supporting members in questioning their deepest assumptions.

What are the current priority projects for the TC and how can others get involved?

The Transformations Community AI Project

In April 2024, the TC launched its new AI project, exploring the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to support sustainability transformations and tackle global challenges. This initiative aims to cultivate a collaborative community centered on participatory co-design in sustainability AI, exploring useful AI tools, real-world applications, and the broader implications of AI in driving sustainability transformations.

TC’s exploration into AI for sustainability is just beginning. Insights from initial sessions will shape future dialogues, case studies, tool demonstrations, and more. A workshop at the Sustainability Research and Innovation Congress earlier in June disseminated these perspectives. For those interested in getting involved and staying updated, find out more at the Transformations Community AI Project.

Moving Forward

The Transformations Community’s mission is to ignite sustainability transformations by uniting diverse sectors and disciplines to tackle complex systemic challenges. Guided by Temperance, Transdisciplinarity, Translocalism, and Transformative Learning, the TC continues to challenge boundaries, embrace interconnectedness, and catalyze transformative change.

Visit the Transformations Community for more information and to join this global movement for a sustainable future.

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