Waring co-authors new study on how to scale up societal change

Research co-authored by Tim Waring on what goes into scaling up societal change was recently highlighted by UMaine News. Waring is an associate professor of social-ecological systems modeling in the School of Economics and the Mitchell Center.

The study examines the need for both behavioral and policy change, and how the two interact to create transformative social change in the face of complex challenges such as the climate crisis. Brian McGill, professor in the School of Biology and Ecology and the Mitchell Center, is a co-author on the study.

“Our model is unique because it combines behavioral change and policy change in a single system, and encourages us to think about social change in a richer way. Large-scale social change is not just policy or behavior, but the emergence of a new self-reinforcing system that combines both,” says Waring.

New research shows what it takes to make society change for the better