Scaling Transformative Change
Join an inspiring learning journey that will explore how to scale solutions to climate change, biodiversity loss, and the global polycrisis in a manner that is ethical, equitable, and effective.
The climate crisis challenges us to think, organize, and act differently.
How do we scale with integrity, so that humans and nature can thrive?
This online course will focus on different approaches to scaling and explore how fractal agency can help us think and act differently.
Participants will connect their values – what they deeply care about for all, to actions that shape the world across the practical, political, and personal dimensions of transformation.
Building on research, each two-hour session will focus on a theme that helps participants to see how we can individually and collectively repattern the world.
Building on the groundbreaking work of Karen O’Brien, this 6-week course will change the way that You think about the scale of solutions.
How can we scale transformative change for a just and sustainable world?
At a time when environmental policies and practices are facing strategic push-back and resistance, we need to think and engage differently with scaling transformations for an equitable and thriving world.
This six-week course is aimed at people who are deeply committed to a just and sustainable world and open to new perspectives on scaling social change. Framed within the context of the global challenges facing us today, we’ll consider different approaches to scaling transformative change.
By the end of the course, participants will understand how to repattern systems, structures, and cultures at all levels.
Each week will focus on a relevant theme and make the connection between theory and practice. Going beyond “local/global” and “top-down/bottom-up” dichotomies, we will work with frameworks, tools and practices that approach scaling not as an abstract, mechanistic goal, but as a process that involves everyone.
We’ll start by exploring the meanings of scale and some of the implicit assumptions behind everyday understandings of scaling.
The notion of “fractal agency” will be introduced in relation to the three spheres of transformation, and we’ll consider examples of fractals of change. Drawing on the concept of quantum social change, we will look at how and why small changes can have large impacts.
Participants will be encouraged to work with a project of their choice to directly engage with scaling transformative change.
What you will experience
The virtual course is a research-informed, transformative learning program that brings together powerful knowledge, deep dialogue, and experiential learning
•Week 1: Scaling transformative change
•Week 2: Visioning a sustainable world
•Week 3: Social tipping points
•Week 4: A fractal approach to scaling
•Week 5: The role of agency in transformative change
•Week 6: Beyond scale: Why you matter
This course equips participants with the knowledge, skills, and practical tools needed to understand and accelerate transformative change toward sustainability.
New Perspectives on Scaling Change
Explore innovative approaches beyond traditional top-down and bottom-up models.
Practical and Action-Oriented
Apply concepts directly to your own real-world project throughout the course.
For Committed Changemakers
Designed for those committed to advancing a just and sustainable future.
Contribute to Systems-Level Impact
Learn how small, strategic actions can drive transformative change at scale.
Participants will develop
•Familiarity with diverse frameworks and approaches to scaling change
•An understanding of social tipping dynamics and how systemic shifts occur
•Insight into key barriers to sustainability transformations
•Understanding agency, including the role of imagination, narrative, and storytelling in driving change
Participants will strengthen their ability to
•Apply scaling frameworks across different dimensions and types of sustainability transformations
•Critically assess and compare approaches to scaling change
•Use methods that cultivate imaginative capacity — in themselves and others — to support transformative action
•Apply theories of change to their own research, professional practice, and everyday life
Karen O`Brien
Karen O'Brien is a human geographer whose work focuses on the social and human dimensions of environmental change, particularly in relation to climate change.
She is currently the Zennström Visiting Professor in Climate Change Leadership at Uppsala University, and a Professor Emerita of Human Geography at the University of Oslo, Norway.
She is also co-founder of cCHANGE, an organization that works with society to promote transformative change for a just and sustainable world.
She is interested in integrative approaches to sustainability that bring together the practical, political, and personal spheres of transformation.
Karen’s current research explores fractal approaches to scaling transformative change and the potential for quantum social change. She has participated in four IPCC reports and was co-chair of the International Science-Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Transformative Change Assessment. In 2021 she was co-recipient of the BBVA Foundation's Frontiers of Knowledge Award for Climate Change. She is a member of Academia Europea and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Practical details
Schedule
Start: Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026
End: Wednesday, May 26th, 2026
Time: 14:00–16:00 PM CET
Sessions: April 22th, April 29th, May 6th, May13th, May 19th, May 26th
Please note that in week 21, the session will take place on a Tuesday instead of Wednesday (Tuesday, 19 May 2026).
What Is Included in the price
Six live online sessions (6 × 2 hours each)
One year of access to the learning materials and Videos.
Upon completion of this program, you will receive a digital certificate.
An international learning experience held with care and intention.
Investment
Early bird rate until March 31: €90(NOK 995,- )
Early bird rate until April 6: €150 (NOK 1700,- )
Regular: €225 (NOK 2500,-)
Student:€45(NOK 500)
If the price is an unsurmountable barrier for you, please contact us.
Who this course is for
This program is for anyone who wants to navigate today’s complex world with greater clarity, and integrity. No prior background is required — only curiosity, openness, and a willingness to engage.
•Committed to creating a just and sustainable world and want fresh perspectives on how to scale meaningful change.
•Professionals, researchers, and changemakers seeking practical ways to connect theory with real-world transformative action.
•Anyone working on social or environmental initiatives who wants to understand how systemic change happens — and how small actions can create large-scale impact.
•You want academic knowledge and theory translated into practical, everyday tools for scaling change
•You are drawn to learning that integrates knowledge, lived experience, reflection, and dialogue
•You feel overwhelmed by the complexity of our times and want stronger capacities to navigate it
•You want to engage more skillfully across differences and perspectives
•You seek greater alignment between your values and how you live and work
