Reframing for Transitions: a theoretical model to support designing for transformative design interventions

Societal transitions are inherently comprised of wicked problems, requiring new systemic problem-solving approaches. Framing lies at the core of problem- solving, as it connects a specific problem to a promising solution space. In our study we look at reframing in the context of societal transitions, which is the practice of developing an original frame, to open up new routes for transformative design interventions. Based on literature from the fields of design and transitions, we have developed a theoretical model of a ‘Transition Design Frame’ (or TD frame), which can serve as a foundational stepping stone in the process of designing interventions to foster societal transitions. The TD frame model proposes four components that marry societal problems with behavioural solutions: 1) a societal issue, 2) a transition strategy, 3) a systemic lever and 4) a behaviour change mechanism. Through workshops with experts from three innovation agencies in the Netherlands we evaluate our model by applying it to their existing transition design cases, each addressing a different societal transition, and assess how the model can best support their reframing practice. This report presents work in progress (WiP), as we are currently collecting the data for our study with the agencies. At RSD12 we expect to be able share the results of the study and discuss their implications for both research and practice.