Co-Designing Transition Experiments
Co-Designing Transition Experiments is a card-guided process for designing a small real-world experiment in a specific place that should teach something about a larger sustainability transition. It was developed by Guido Knibbe and the placemaking team at the University of Amsterdam for the Transition Makers Toolbox, drawing on the concept of transition experiments from transition management research. A deck of question cards walks a team, then a peer team, then real stakeholders through six criteria: radical, strategic, supported, mobilising, feasible and measurable.
Facilitation script
- 1
Engage with the place-based project: read the background, identify at least three stakeholders with their needs and plans, and sketch how the place has changed over twenty years.
30 min - 2
First brainstorm on the worksheet: at least one experiment idea, the long-term goals it serves, how it fits stakeholder and municipal plans, and residents' needs.
20 min - 3
Work through the card deck from top to bottom. Answer each question on sticky notes and shape one experiment concept. Park questions nobody can answer.
40 min - 4
Peer co-design: pair two teams and run the deck on each other's concept, 20 minutes per concept.
40 min - 5
Stakeholder co-design session on location with the same deck and flip charts. Close by agreeing next steps and who takes them. Allow two to four hours.
180 min
Tips
Do not skip the first step; teams that have not looked at the place and its stakeholders produce answers to the 'supported' and 'strategic' cards that are guesses.
Treat a card nobody can answer as a finding and write it down as an open question for the stakeholder session.
Hold that session on site and outdoors where you can, because passers-by and residents join in a way they never do in a meeting room.
Ask early who might carry the work on after the experiment ends.
Common pitfalls
Designing the experiment before studying the place: the concept reflects the team's preferences, and stakeholders spot this in the first minutes of the co-design session
Answering only the 'feasible' cards carefully: the result is a safe activity that changes nothing and teaches nothing about the transition it was meant to inform
Leaving the 'measurable' cards for later: the experiment runs, people enjoy it, and afterwards nobody can say what was learned
Presenting a finished plan at the stakeholder session: residents and officials are reduced to commenting, and the support the 'supported' criterion asks for never forms
Ending without naming who continues after the experiment: a one-off event raises expectations in the neighbourhood that no one is responsible for meeting
Variations
The original is a teaching format in which students organise and facilitate the stakeholder session themselves; with professional teams, the first four steps fit into a half-day workshop and the stakeholder session is scheduled separately. If you only have 40 minutes, use the deck alone as a review checklist for an experiment that is already drafted. For very small teams, the peer round can be done with one outside colleague asking the card questions. Online, put the card questions on a shared whiteboard in six columns and answer with digital sticky notes.
Where it fits
When to use it
A team has a long-term vision for a street, neighbourhood or campus and needs a first intervention small enough to run within weeks or months
Several parties with different plans for the same place, such as residents, a municipality and local businesses, need a shared structure for designing a pilot together
A pilot idea exists but nobody has asked how it will be monitored or who continues it afterwards
You want an experiment that differs visibly from the status quo and still fits existing plans, and need to check both in one sitting
Students or new team members need a guided way into stakeholder co-design
When not to use it
The work is not tied to a physical place or a wider system change: for product or service ideas, a Lean Canvas or a standard prototyping session fits better
No stakeholders are reachable or willing to take part: the method ends in a session with them, so without access use Stakeholder Map first to find a way in
The long-term direction itself is undefined: run Backcasting or a Future Workshop first, because the 'strategic' cards need goals to refer to
The intervention is already decided and funded: a co-design session that cannot change anything damages trust with residents
Related methods
Frequently asked questions
What is Co-Designing Transition Experiments?▾
Co-Designing Transition Experiments is a card-guided process from the Transition Makers Toolbox at the University of Amsterdam for designing a small, real-world experiment in a specific place. A team studies the place, brainstorms an idea, develops it with a deck of question cards, gets peer feedback and then co-designs it with real stakeholders. The cards check the idea against six criteria: radical, strategic, supported, mobilising, feasible and measurable.
What is a transition experiment?▾
A transition experiment is a practical, time-limited intervention meant to produce learning about a larger societal change, such as a shift in how a neighbourhood uses its streets. The term comes from transition management research, which the toolbox credits to Van den Bosch and to Loorbach, Rotmans and Kemp. It differs from an ordinary pilot in that the main goal is learning that can inform wider change, not just proving that one solution works.
What do the six criteria mean?▾
Radical asks how the experiment differs from the status quo and makes change visible. Strategic asks how it connects to existing plans and long-term change. Supported covers who backs it and who might continue it; mobilising covers what makes people want to join and stay involved. Feasible deals with timeline, resources, permissions and resistance, and measurable with what will be monitored and how.
How long does the process take?▾
The four preparatory steps take about 130 minutes: 30 for studying the place, 20 for the first brainstorm, 40 for the card deck and 40 for the peer round. The stakeholder co-design session adds two to four hours and is usually held on a separate day at the location.
Can I use the method outside sustainability work?▾
The card questions are written for place-based projects and refer to spaces, on-site research and local stakeholders. The six criteria carry over to other change pilots, but you would need to rephrase the questions. For work with no physical location, a general experiment-design or prototyping method is the simpler choice.
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Try it freeMethod descriptions on Workshop Weaver are original content written by our team, based on established facilitation practices. This method was inspired by work from Guido Knibbe and the UvA Placemaking team, Transition Makers Toolbox (University of Amsterdam).