Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

Sustainability transition experiments: The case of the health sector

This project explores how new forms of cross-organizational collaboration take shape within the health sector, to foster transformational change and progress towards sustainability. The study focuses on the “Sustainable Health System Community of Practice”, which unites 14 academic hospital systems and seven health science faculties at the University of Toronto in pursuit of collaborative, low carbon practice change. 

Our specific objectives are to: (1) Document the aggregate portfolio of the sustainability transition experiments (STE) experimental projects that design and trial new socio-technical configurations; (2) Analyze the dynamics within and between these experimental projects that enable mutual reinforcement and multi-scalar impact; and (3) Evaluate the ways in which the experimental projects, and the STE as a whole, identify and challenge incumbent regime rules and behaviours, to support transformational change.

The proposed work will yield important developments in scholarship and has the capacity to motivate socio-technical and regime change within the health sector.