Thank you for participating in IST 2019!
The results of the IST 2019 best paper and poster award competition can be found here.
The slides from the IST 2019 NEST session have been added to the crash course.
The video recordings of the keynote presentations have been released.

Welcome to IST 2019 – Carleton University!

Accelerating sustainability transitions: Building visions, unlocking pathways, navigating conflicts

Sunday, June 23 to Wednesday, June 26, 2019 CARLETON UNIVERSITY, OTTAWA, CANADA

Over the past few decades the damage being done to global ecosystems by established development trajectories has become increasingly evident. In many sectors and regions sustainability transitions are gathering pace as new technologies, business models and social practices begin to transform existing systems of social provisioning. Yet the current political context is difficult. And in some areas there is increasing resistance to transformative change that promotes sustainability. Above all, progress remains slow when compared to the scale of damage being done to ecosystems and the climate.

The theme of IST 2019 – Accelerating sustainability transitions – seeks to address this challenging context by encouraging researchers and practitioners to examine obstacles to transitions processes and strategies to speed up the transformation of systems of production and consumption. It points to the importance of visions — of improved mobility systems, agricultural and food systems, buildings, cities and rural communities – to coordinate efforts and mobilize change. Raises the challenge of mapping out concrete pathways that can link the present with desirable futures. And emphasises navigation of the inevitable conflicts that accompany any serious efforts at societal change.

This 10th Anniversary event will mark the first time the IST conference has been held outside Europe. It will provide an occasion to highlight the achievements of international transition studies, to introduce researchers who are not yet familiar with transitions literatures to this vibrant community, and to explore complementarities with related research perspectives and approaches.


IST 2019 is hosted by the School of Public Policy and Administration at Carleton University in association with the Sustainability Transitions Research Network (STRN).

With generous support from:

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