1. Flemish Transition Network
Sustainable Materials Management
C2CNetwork Transfer Workshop Governance
Maastricht (NL), July 12th 2011

2. Plan C mission
“Plan C creates
real breakthroughs towards a
sustainable materials economy
and society in Flanders
and takes an exemplary role
in Europe.”

3. Transition(s) in waste management
The waste management system, such as developed during
80s-90s, is under pressure.
Plan C, as a policy process, was introduced in 2006 by
OVAM with the goal of reorienting its waste policy towards
sustainable materials management.
The approach that is followed to innovate waste policy
was inspired by “transition management” (introduced in
the NL since 2011).
All activities for facilitating the process, communication,
expertise, studies, etc. were supported by OVAM.

4. Inspired by transition management 1.0
Source: Saartje Sondeijker, 2009.
TM 1.0 or DRIFT approach is one of all efforts to influence
socio-technical systems (transition governance)

5. Plan C building blocks
Envisioning Adaptive network Experimenting
“Vision” is best thought Adaptive systems are Society is challenged by
of as "future orientation" complex in that they are the question how to to
fulfill societal needs in a
or Leitbild. It shows the dynamic networks of
more sustainable way and
importance of a guiding interactions and overcome persistent
vision and leadership in a relationships not problems (…). Because
process. Visions are aggregations of static there’s much uncertainty
capable (...) to provide a entities. They are about both problems and
solutions, it requires
degree of “congruence” adaptive in that their
experimentation on a
in the actions of various individual and collective small scale. Small-scale
individuals and behaviour changes as a experiments are a key
organisations. result of experience and instrument in stimulating
learning. sustainable transitions.

6. Building a Transition Arena
Problem/system structuring and moving to a transition agenda:
envisioning the future and pathways to get there
Transition Arena

7. Expanding the network
Transition Arena
Transition Team(s)

8. Envisioning

9. Lessons learned
With the start of Plan C 5 years ago, OVAM showed its early
awareness of these new upcoming developments. The transition
management approach that was used to initiate Plan C was
successful in creating a “policy niche” with some distinctive
characteristics:
• a new discourse for Flanders about sustainable materials management,
based on the contributions of frontrunners working under new interaction
rules between government and societal actors,
• starting a (learning) network that, certainly until 2008, was the main voice in
Flanders on sustainable materials management.
The financial means came from traditional governmental funding
sources.
Transition management as a form of policy
innovation. A case study of Plan C, a process in
sustainable materials management in Flanders.

10. Experimenting
No classical innovation projects Why experimenting?
A transition experiment is an Society is challenged by the
innovation project with a societal question how to to fulfill societal
challenge as a starting point for needs in a more sustainable way
learning aimed a contributing to a and overcome persistent problems
transition. (…).
Type of steering requires more than
managing internal aspects of Because there’s much uncertainty
innovation projects, it is also about about both problems and solutions,
managing interactions between it requires experimentation on a
projects, managing interactions small scale. Small-scale
between experiment and niche or experiments are a key instrument in
broader societal context and stimulating sustainable transitions.
((inter)national developments.

11. Shake up the idea box! (and see what comes out)

12. Urgent need for tailor-made tools/process

13. Urgent need for tailor-made tools/process

14. Idea management, risk and IP management

15. Central mechanisms to which experiments
contribute to sustainable transitions
1 Deepening [learning as much as possible in a specific context]
2 Broadening [linking and repeating in different contexts]
3 Scaling up [embedding the experiment in (new) dominant
ways of thinking (culture), doing (practices) and
organizing (structure)]

16. Adaptive network

17. Interconnection virtual office and website
Plan C Virtual Office Plan C Website

18. Smart use of social media
Plan C on LinkedIn Plan C on Twitter

19. Some spearheads
FISCH
Enhanced
Landfill Mining
INNOMATIK Eco Clusters

20. Lessons learned
Huge challenge to keep the position of the first 2 years.
Partly explained by problems in the internal functioning of the network:
• the trial-and-error process of organisation and content development has
been hindered by a lack of funding to support the process and the
development of experiments,
• a search by involved actors (government, industry, knowledge sector, ngo’s)
to define their role and position vis-a-vis each other,
• the difficult translation of the discourse into action,
• uncertainty about the future status of the network.
At least equally important for explaining the current position of Plan C
are developments in the context: pressures at landscape, regime and
niche level lead to a situation where different kind of actors in different policy
domains (waste/materials, socio-economic innovation) are catching up with
Plan C and threatening to overrun it.
Transition management as a form of policy
innovation. A case study of Plan C, a process in
sustainable materials management in Flanders.

21. Lessons learned
Transition management as a form of policy
innovation. A case study of Plan C, a process in
sustainable materials management in Flanders.

22. Current challenges
Towards Plan C 2.0
(Re) involve business (sector) and
other societal entrepreneurs

23. Current challenges
Adaptive financing mechanisms
for experiments and projects
Embedding in political context

24. Current challenges
Improving the building blocks and toolbox
Partnering with regional and international
innovation and research networks

25. Can we learn from each other?
Creating transnational (interregional) networks

26. What about transferability?
“One of the lessons of policy analysis research is that the context in
which new policy processes like Plan C has to perform is of
immense importance for explaining success and failure”
“Transfer” as reproducing practices in a
new context. It is clear that characteristics
of the transfer and/or local re-
development process affect results
considerably. What is the intended
degree of transfer?
[Perspective Study Governance and C2C]

27. We are very much interested to learn from ...

28. Thank You !
Questions? Need more Information?
Feel free to contact us.
Presentation by
Walter Tempst (OVAM)
Karel Van Acker (KUL)
Contact
info@plan-c.eu
www.plan-c.eu
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29. Challenge for the network to survive