Award-Winning Research: Organizing for Sustainability Transitions

In this Q&A, Natalia Lyly describes her award-winning research, including her research questions, methods, and key findings.  She also shares what motives her to do this important work.

1. What is your research question?

My research explores how we can organize and govern sustainability transitions, to create meaningful change across society. For my PhD, I studied transitions in the context of urban mobility. The COVID-19 pandemic showed us that we can significantly reduce the impact of human activity, such as transportation, on the environment. Yet the question remains: will such change occur through design or disaster?

Most cities have been designed around private passenger cars—often at the expense of collective and planetary wellbeing. Even though we have solutions to replace passenger cars with more sustainable, collective, and active mobility modes, system change remains elusive in many cities. My research investigates how purposeful, organized efforts can drive (or fail to drive) this type of change.

2. How did you study that question?

To explore this, I’ve taken a multi-faceted approach. On the one hand, I examine policy designs and institutions, and how altering the ‘rules of the game’ can mobilize and direct collective efforts. On the other hand, I look at what happens in practice when new rules are introduced: the complex, sometimes unpredictable responses that shape the actual outcomes. To capture this complexity, I’ve primarily relied on qualitative methods. My research involves conducting interviews with key actors, observing and documenting evolving practices, and analyzing policy and strategy documents to understand both intentions and impacts. This combination allows me to unpack not just the formal mechanisms of change, but also the lived realities and adaptive strategies that emerge in response.

3. What are 1-2 of your most interesting findings?

One of the most interesting findings from my research is that purposeful efforts to change a system don’t always lead to intended outcomes. Policies and interventions are often designed with clear objectives in mind, but the reality is that actors—such as government authorities at different levels, businesses, and citizens—inevitably interpret and respond to new rules in different ways. By anticipating these dynamics and considering how different actors may steer the nature and pace of change, we can design strategies that are more inclusive and more likely to achieve the desired results. Understanding these underlying relationships doesn’t just help avoid unintended consequences—it opens up new pathways for creating transformative and lasting change.

4. Who outside of academia needs to know this? What should they do differently?

To drive system change, politicians and other change-makers should not just wait for the right moment to act, but also actively create the conditions that build momentum for change. Engaging in system change also means recognizing that there are multiple pathways to make a difference. In the end, successful change depends on the coordinated efforts of different actors. By understanding and embracing these differences, we can develop strategies that take into account local complexities and bring about meaningful transformation.

5. What motivated you to do a PhD in this area?

I decided to study systems change because I wanted to build a career that I could feel good about in the long term. My research allows me to move beyond passive concern, and contribute constructively to the issues I care about. As individuals, it’s easy to think that the scale of today’s problems makes positive change impossible. Through research, however, I’m able to directly engage with these problems and play an active role in searching for solutions, hopefully helping to move society in the right direction. This sense of purpose motivates me.