About us
Ecological upheavals are steering us towards a profoundly different society. If we want this transition to be not solely endured but, to some extent, chosen, we must make dramatic and systemic changes as soon as possible. This societal transformation calls on all those who are active in various sectors of society.
Faced with this rapid and complex transition, Université de Montréal and Espace pour la vie have joined forces to launch Chemins de transition. The aim of this major project is to bring together the academic community and the driving forces of Quebec society to tackle together the most complex challenges of this transition.
2020-2022: mapping out trajectories to address 3 major challenges
Over a 3-year period, this project brought together over 1,000 people, drawing on a diversity of knowledge and expertise from academia, research, and civic organizations, including citizens, and focused on 3 challenges:
- the digital Challenge explores how the digital and ecological transitions can converge (Executive Summary in English). Full report in French
- the food Challenge asks how we can work together to accelerate the socio-ecological transition of Quebec’s food system by 2040 (Version FR)
- the territorial Challenge looks at how to inhabit the Québec territory in a frugal and resilient way by 2042 (Version FR).
The aim is to collectively choose the most desirable future possible for each of these challenges, and map out at least one transition trajectory to get us there. These trajectories identify the main steps to be taken (called “milestones”) to link the current situation to this desired future, as well as the hurdles that will need to be overcome along the way.
Foresight as a method for mapping out trajectories
Even if it may seem counter-intuitive to take the time to think long-term in the face of the urgency of the crisis, the foresight approach seems more relevant than ever. Faced with the scale and speed of the changes we need to make, this enables us to best orient our actions today, so that they bear the seeds of the future we want to build. To meet our 3 major challenges, we have used foresight as a tailor-made method to stimulate the participation of a diversity of knowledge. This method, comprising the following 4 stages, was used successively for each of the 3 challenges (Digital first, followed by Food, and finally, Territorial), enabling us to test and reinforce it over time.
THE 4 STAGES
POSSIBLE FUTURES
DESIRABLE FUTURE
TRAJECTORIES
SHARING KNOWLEDGE
Exploring possible futures
In this first stage, the aim is to broaden our perspective to explore what we can already anticipate as possible futures. To achieve this, a collaborative effort has been launched, mobilizing experts across various fields to scour literature for possible evolutionary trends. The findings were then shared with diverse groups of specialists, thus combining different evolutionary trends to craft 4 distinct possible futures for each challenge at hand. These scenarios were then transformed into short narratives.
Defining a desirable future
These 4 short narratives were used in a series of workshops that allowed participants to delved into different possible Quebec in transition. By pinpointing the key elements of a desirable future and identifying the points of tension to resolve, these sessions culminated in a collective decision-making process that enabled us to select, among numerous possible evolutions, the future that seemed most desirable to us by 2040.
Writing the transition trajectories
In this stage, the aim is to chart trajectories that bridge the current situation to the desired future. A diverse array of experts were invited to list key milestones—intermediate steps that need to be taken between 2020 and 2040 to link the present to the desired future. A committee then identified the links between these milestones, in order to create domino effects, strategically placing them in the timeline. These trajectories were then tested against potential future risks, and broken down by stakeholder to facilitate their dissemination.
Sharing knowledge and expertise with key stakeholders in Quebec
The Chemins de transition team organizes a variety of activities to share the content of the trajectories, in order to help concerned stakeholders position themselves on the transition chessboard, understand the other stages of the trajectories that are linked to their actions, and anticipate the “hurdles of the future” that could hinder our collective progress. The team also shares its foresight method with territories or groups wishing to tackle other major challenges of the socio-ecological transition.