These questions are at the heart of the new Ripple Effects Toolkit: How local actors can drive change from the in-between, opens an external URL in a new window, developed by partners in the SHARED GREEN DEAL project. The toolkit provides practical guidance for those working to support sustainability transitions by helping users identify and strengthen the connections between people, organisations and systems that enable lasting change.

Led by researchers from the Institute of Social Sciences at the University of Lisbon (ICS-ULisboa), with contributions from Anglia Ruskin University and Astrid Krisch from the Research Unit of Sociology at TU Wien, the toolkit translates research on the "in-between" spaces where local action connects individuals and wider systems into a series of practical exercises for practitioners, community groups, municipalities and researchers.

The toolkit was developed through a collaborative process that included online workshops in five languages during March and April 2026. A total of 123 participants from 17 countries contributed their experiences and feedback, helping to refine both the toolkit's concepts and exercises.

Introducing the concept of the "in-between", the toolkit guides users through exercises to map initiatives, explore connections and identify potential ripple effects. In doing so, it supports a better understanding of how local activities can influence wider practices, organisations and systems over time, while emphasising that meaningful change emerges through relationships, shared learning and collective action.

The publication also represents an important contribution to the emerging Shared Green Societies Forum, opens an external URL in a new windowas part of the Horizon-2020 SHARED GREEN DEAL project and is now available to download from the SHARED GREEN DEAL website., opens an external URL in a new window