About
Transition means change — a shift from one way of living to another. The Transition Movement, which began in Britain and Ireland in 2006, has since grown into an international network of communities spanning 67 countries. It envisions a world where every individual can become part of a supportive community, feeling safe, welcomed, and empowered to thrive.
It is only at the level of community that we are able to imagine and create resilient and thriving living conditions that actually work within a turbulent transition era. We can’t rely on others anymore.
Transition emphasises local, community-led actions. It explores new ways we can work together to create communities that are fair, strong, and healthy for everyone.
In practice, Transition groups create renewable energy projects, support local food production, encourage new businesses, bring nature back into cities, and build strong connections between people and organisations.
Each Transition group chooses activities based on what local people need and want. This helps make sure the activities are useful and relevant for each community.
Transition groups and communities usually share these characteristics
- Engage with the need for change
- Co-create motivating and imaginative narratives and visions
- Connect and care for each other
- Support inner transformations
- Address injustice
- Apply Living Systems Design
- Take practical actions
- Contribute to a wellbeing economy
- Broaden and deepen participation
- Energise networks and alliances
To find out more about the characteristics please see our Practise website
Transition. It can mean different things to different people. Here’s what it means to some of the many local changemakers involved in our movement – and why it’s important.
Local groups
Transition groups are the heart of the Transition Movement. They are made up of local people who come together to make their communities more sustainable, resilient, and connected. Each group is different because it responds to the specific needs of its area, but they all share common goals—reducing dependence on fossil fuels, strengthening the local economy, and fostering a sense of community.
Some groups focus on practical projects like community gardens, repair cafés, or local food initiatives, while others work on broader issues like renewable energy, sustainable transport, or education.
Hubs
To support these local groups, there are regional and national hubs in many countries. These hubs help groups share knowledge, resources, and inspiration. They provide training, organise events, and connect groups with funding opportunities.
The hubs also act as a bridge between local groups and Transition Network International team, ensuring that grassroots efforts are supported at a wider level. Some hubs are well-established with paid staff, while others are run by volunteers, but they all play a key role in strengthening the movement and helping communities learn from each other.
Transition Network International
Transition Network is a charity that supports this movement. It has recently started describing itself as Transition Network International
It provides guidance, inspiration, and resources to help people set up and run their own local Transition groups. The charity connects communities and hubs around the world, sharing ideas and experiences so that people can learn from each other.
It also works with other organisations to influence policies and spread the message of positive change on a wider scale.
While each Transition group is independent, Transition Network International supports this work by offering training, advice, and a sense of connection between communities working towards the same goal.
Transition Network International Work
The Practising Transition project
The Cultural Transformation project
Training services and community
A multilingual community space
A monthly newsletter and news site
The Transition Together project in the UK
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See the impact of this work
How Transition Network International organise
Transition Network International and most of the work at the international scale is organised in a sociocratic way.
Sociocratic is a fancy word for a way of organising groups. Normally, whoever is the boss makes all the big choices. But in sociocracy, everyone has a chance to talk, listen, and suggest ideas equally.
Decisions aren’t just made by voting (where the biggest group gets their way), but rather by checking if anyone has serious objections. The idea is that people cooperate, everyone feels respected, and good ideas aren’t ignored just because they’re from quieter or shy members
For more information about how we do Governance please see these governance resources or these governance articles to chat to people doing shared governance join the Practising Transition community
Transition Network International Team
You can meet the people currently working at Transition Network International on our community space
Transition Network legal structure
Transition Network is a charity registered in England trading as Transition Network International.
To see our annual reports and accounts please check the charity commission website
Our Trustees meet regularly you can read the notes (minutes) of their meetings below
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Principles
Transition is an approach rooted in values and principles. These are described slightly differently in different parts of the movement, but broadly:
We respect resource limits and create resilience – The urgent need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, greatly reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and make wise use of precious resources is at the forefront of everything we do.
We promote inclusivity and social justice – The most disadvantaged and powerless people in our societies are likely to be worst affected by rising fuel and food prices, resource shortages and extreme weather events. We want to increase the chances of all groups in society to live well, healthily and with sustainable livelihoods.
We adopt subsidiarity (self-organisation and decision making at the appropriate level) – The intention of the Transition model is not to centralise or control decision making, but rather to work with everyone so that it is practiced at the most appropriate, practical and empowering level
We pay attention to balance – In responding to urgent, global challenges, individuals and groups can end up feeling stressed, closed or driven rather than open, connected and creative. We create space for reflection, celebration and rest to balance the times when we’re busily getting things done. We explore different ways of working which engage our heads, hands and hearts and enable us to develop collaborative and trusting relationships.
We are part of an experimental, learning network – Transition is a real-life, real-time global social experiment. Being part of a network means we can create change more quickly and more effectively, drawing on each other’s experiences and insights. We want to acknowledge and learn from failure as well as success – if we’re going to be bold and find new ways of living and working, we won’t always get it right first time. We will be open about our processes and will actively seek and respond positively to feedback.
We freely share ideas and power – Transition is a grassroots movement, where ideas can be taken up rapidly, widely and effectively because each community takes ownership of the process themselves. Transition looks different in different places and we want to encourage rather than unhelpfully constrain that diversity.
We collaborate and look for synergies – The Transition approach is to work together as a community, unleashing our collective genius to have a greater impact together than we can as individuals. We will look for opportunities to build creative and powerful partnerships across and beyond the Transition movement and develop a collaborative culture, finding links between projects, creating open decision-making processes and designing events and activities that help people make connections.
We foster positive visioning and creativity – Our primary focus is not on being against things, but on developing and promoting positive possibilities. We believe in using creative ways to engage and involve people, encouraging them to imagine the future they want to inhabit. The generation of new stories is central to this visioning work, as is having fun and celebrating success.
Funders
Most of Transition Network’s work is funded by grants from Charitable Trusts and Foundations, or by donations. We also generate some income from books, films, events, training and fees for talks and presentations. We are very grateful indeed for the vision and generosity of the following funders:
- TN has received long-term funding from a charitable foundation, set up by a member of a family who is redirecting wealth accumulated through past extractive economic activity towards regenerative activity across the planet. The foundation prefers a lack of fanfare, recognising that money is just one of many contributions to the great transformation we need, and avoids public announcement of its grants. This is not particularly comfortable for Transition Network since we generally seek to be transparent even about issues which many organisations would keep confidential. However, we have a long term relationship with this anonymous foundation and a deep trust in their values, principles and practices. We therefore respect their request for anonymity. The foundation has provided some reflections about its request for anonymity here.
- The National Lottery Community Fund, Growing Great Ideas fund, for really significant and long-term funding to help us grow infrastructure, networks and capacity for Transition in Britain https://tn24.loc/news/growing-great-ideas
We would also like to honour previous support from funders and donors who have ensured that Transition Network could continue and develop our work:
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- Ecclesiastical Insurance Group
- Tudor Trust
- Roger Ross of Lots Road Auctions
- Open Society Initiative for Europe
- A Network for Social Change individual
- V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation
- Fondation Charles Léopold Mayer pour le Progrès de l’Homme
- Friends Provident Foundation
- Polden-Puckham Charitable Foundation
- Pete Yeo, through the Rainmaker Foundation
- Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust
- The Roddick Foundation
- The Primrose Hill Trust
- The Bromley Trust
- The European Economic and Social Committee Civil Society Prize
- Ashoka
- Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
- Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
- John Ellerman Foundation
- The Marmot Charitable Trust
- The Holly Hill Trust
- Artists Project Earth
- The Arts and Humanities Research Council
- The Nominet Trust
- Lush Charity Pot
- Good Energy
- The Keep the Land Foundation
- The Prairie Trust
- Anna Hughes
- KR Foundation
Other individual donors to whom we are very grateful.