Universities Undergoing Climate Transition: Developing MLP tools from a context- specific and critical standpoint

Knowledge gaps persist in the emerging field ‘Design for Transitions’ (DfT). Our research builds on the ‘multi-level perspective’ (MLP), a core concept in DfT and the wider Transition Studies field, and we address critiques of the MLP in terms of social practices, agency and power. Grounded in a ‘Research through Design’ approach and learning from our prior work, we have carefully adapted and designed MLP tools. We elucidate design considerations for MLP tools from within our 'live' climate transition of a UK university – research conducted within a university about the university. Contributing to DfT, we present six ‘design criteria’ for MLP tools, which are critically discussed in terms of context-specificity and general MLP critiques. Towards advancing DfT, this paper addresses the question: What are some key design considerations in adapting the MLP in ways that are theoretically-grounded and widely applicable yet responsive to a particular context?

• https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.1119
• https://doi.org/10.58129/61zw-rt13