| dc.description.abstract | This study aims to get a better understanding of how community engagement and resilience can be built through the Transition movement by focusing on a case study of Norwegian initiatives and the success criteria and obstacles they experience in their daily operations. Norwegian initiatives part of the network Bærekraftige liv Norge (BLN) are examined. The case study employed a triangulation of several research methods. First, a desk study was carried out. Second, an interview with an expert from the international Transition movement was conducted. Third, an online survey targeting core group members from Norwegian Transition initiatives was carried out. Survey data includes answers from 17 core group members from 11 initiatives. The findings indicate that Norwegian Transition initiatives aim to build community engagement and have an impact on their community’s social resilience. Several strategies to reach the aim are in place, although the extent varies greatly among initiatives. Identified criteria leading to an initiative’s success are often simultaneously experienced as obstacles. This research identified people aspects such as the time capacity, motivation, and skills of engaged individuals and further aspects such as the initiative’s access to resources, the ability to reach new people and built and maintained relationships as criteria impacting the initiative’s success. To effectively build community engagement and resilience the findings of this research imply that Transition initiatives could benefit from improving their ability to reach the whole spectrum of citizen within their community and strengthening relationships with all community sectors. Furthermore, initiatives could benefit from building out their strategies that aim to influence the local government’s processes with the potential to impact the local community.
Keywords: transition movement, grassroots movement, Bærekraftige liv Norge, community resilience, community engagement, volunteerism | |
