Relational visioning and the emerging future: Transforming towards a sustainable local society

The Earth is currently facing unprecedented anthropogenic impacts. In this context of widespread environmental degradation and climate anxiety, there is an urgent need to reimagine our approaches to sustainability. This paper explores how a relational framing of sustainability can be applied to visioning exercises to foster transformative actions in local governance. While relational approaches are increasingly recognized as important to spark transformative change, their benefits and practical applicability to visioning are still under-explored. Drawing on findings from a multi-stakeholder workshop in a Norwegian municipality, we make two main contributions to the existing literature. First, we demonstrate how a relational visioning process can be carried out, identifying three key elements for establishing a relational foundation that can catalyse effective sustainability transformations: 1) the act of listening deeply, 2) integrating values, and 3) defining direction. Second, we contribute with new insights concerning the benefits and practical application in local sustainability governance contexts, highlighting the need for facilitating incremental (yet radical) changes in existing governance frameworks that are sensitive to available bureaucratic resources. •Mobilizing local communities to envision desired futures is a key starting point for sustainability transformations.•We discuss our experiences with hosting a multi-stakeholder vision workshop in a Norwegian municipality.•Relational visioning is about facilitating spaces of interconnectedness and the unleashing of human potential.•We found that listening deeply, connecting to values and defining direction are critical elements for establishing a relational foundation that can catalyse sustainability transformations.