The role of agency in positive social tipping processes

Positive social tipping processes – nonlinear, transformational change that improves long-term sustainability and well-being of people and planet – have recently witnessed growing interest in socio-ecological research. In addition to structural and systemic changes, shifts in prevailing social norms and worldviews are key for accelerated societal transformation. Enabling conditions include human agency - the capacity or ability to influence the outside world. Drawing on literature from different disciplines and an expert elicitation, an agency in social tipping framework is presented that examines the notion of agency and its determinants, the relationship between individual and collective agency, and how collective agency can trigger social tipping points, potentially leading to large societal transformation towards a sustainable future. The framework and a case study of a school gardening program is used to illustrate the role of agency in positive social tipping processes.

– Franziska Gaupp, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research