During the ESCH-R DRIFT Transition Training on May 20th 2026, ESCH-R PhD’s and Postdocs explored the principles of transition thinking and action research in the context of circular healthcare. This session was organized by ESCH-R Researcher Sanne Jansen in collaboration with DRIFT for transition.
Sanne: “A few years ago, I read Embracing Chaos by Jan Rotmans, which introduced me to the idea that societal transitions go through a necessary period of uncertainty and disruption before new systems can emerge. Inspired by this perspective, I followed the four-day Transition Maker training last year. The course helped me better understand my role within broader societal transitions, put my PhD into perspective, and identify opportunities for collaboration. I thought it would be valuable to share these insights with the ESCH-R PhD community and explore potential connections and synergies.”
Together with Roel van Raak and Ties van Daal from DRIFT, our PhD’s and Postdocs reflected on the broader societal transitions currently taking place; from linear to circular systems, from optimization to systemic change, and from isolated innovations to long-term transformation.
Using concepts such as the Multi-Level Perspective and the X-Curve, participants examined how transitions develop over time and how innovations, policies, societal developments, and institutional structures interact. The training also highlighted an important challenge within healthcare: balancing the need for transformation with the stability and reliability required in a system centered around human lives.
A recurring insight during the training was that transitions rarely happen overnight. Systemic change requires collaboration, reflection, experimentation, and the ability to connect individual research projects to a broader societal vision. The value of coming together to tackle these complex challenges was reflected in one of the takeaways from the day: “It was great that we were all thinking together about how we could help each other and the project forward. It was great to learn to think about the bigger picture and tackling wicked problems together.”
Ultimately, the discussions returned to a shared ambition: “To transform healthcare, we have to transform the structure, culture and practice of healthcare towards sustainability.”
Sanne: “A few years ago, I read Embracing Chaos by Jan Rotmans, which introduced me to the idea that societal transitions go through a necessary period of uncertainty and disruption before new systems can emerge. Inspired by this perspective, I followed the four-day Transition Maker training last year. The course helped me better understand my role within broader societal transitions, put my PhD into perspective, and identify opportunities for collaboration. I thought it would be valuable to share these insights with the ESCH-R PhD community and explore potential connections and synergies.”
A special thank you to Sanne Jansen for organizing the training, and to all ESCH-R researchers who contributed their perspectives and experiences throughout the day: Jasper Klasen, Jan Tsai, Jacopo Parma, Yifan Yang, Ayşegül Özçelik, Heidi Annala, Paula Götz, Joek van der Zwaan, Yuanyuan (Alice) Wu, Alanya den Boer and Cecile Cuijpers.
