Abstract
The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) advised: “climate change is a grave and mounting threat to our wellbeing and a healthy planet” (2022, p6). Unless organisations support the transition to a Circular Economy (CE) we will not achieve UN climate goals (Ellen Macarthur Foundation, 2021). The public sector has a significant role to play in supporting the transition to a circular economy as it employs 31.2% of the workforce (StatsWales, 2024), in Wales the location of this study, and spends over £8b on public procurement annually (Welsh Government, 2023). The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 (WFGA) has placed statutory obligations on Public Service Organisations (PSOs) in Wales, to make decisions cognizant of future generations. These challenges have highlighted the requirement for PSOs to enhance their innovation capabilities (Arundel et al. 2019). This paper reports on a regional intervention (executive education programme) delivered in Wales, the Circular Economy Innovation Communities (CEIC) project, funded by regional government. This paper presents empirical data from ninety-two questionnaires and twenty-eight thin cases studies collected from PSO practitioners that coproduced new service solutions that implemented circular economy principles through participation in the CEIC programme. The paper also presents quantitative data from surveys issued pre, during and after participation in the programme. The paper provides an analysis of the value of challenge led inter-organisational communities of practice as mechanisms to transform regions, the specific tools (content) introduced, and the pedagogical methods employed.