Fostering Sustainability Transitions in Rural Areas: A Participatory Futuring Process

Abstract In recent years, policies have increasingly emphasized the need to support sustainability transitions. Aligned with this focus, scholars consider the circular economy a valuable strategy for advancing sustainable development. It is widely argued in the literature that overcoming the traditional approach of addressing individual environmental issues with specific policies can be achieved through the adoption of a policy mix. Moreover, a complex problem like sustainability transition, defined by specific characteristics, requires a solution with those same traits. In the literature, a policy mix is often presented as a solution to support sustainability transitions. To this end, the study wants to support evidence-informed policymaking by offering a multistage method based on participatory futuring to identify barriers and key actions for a policy mix formulation towards a circular economy. Specifically, implementing a backcasting approach allows for identifying key actions and actively integrating stakeholders' perspectives involving visions and pathways of system transformation. In particular, the process was divided into different stages: i) formulation of a circular economy scenario, ii) exploration of barriers, and iii) delineation of key actions to implement the scenario. This paper contributes to the literature on policy mix, employing a hybrid approach that combines backcasting and focus group techniques, using rural areas as a case study. This approach supports the idea that identifying future scenarios is a prerequisite for sustainable development and could be a strategic tool for encompassing environmental, social and economic spheres.