What stimulates change?

Systems-emergence solutions are nonlinear and decentralized; change requires finding places to experiment within subsystems to shake them up and cause ripple effects (Boulton et al., 2015). Systems-emergence work does not attempt to describe the characteristics of a healthy system, but it often does describe the outcomes the system should be able t... See more

the human heart—and the process of the human heart returning—not a human heart who understands everything and holds all the seeds of wisdom for the new world and the new era inside of it. No, that’s arrogance. But a human heart who is learning again how to be. Because we as individuals, we as human hearts, we as spiritual hearts, we can be like tim... See more

For humans to be in right relationship, we must practice accountability—being intentional about how we take up space and resources, attending to our role in the world and our impact on others, shaping what we can touch, and being able to repair and set boundaries, especially as conditions change.

an invitation to step more and more into experience. We cannot change the world through a mental construct. We cannot change the world through words alone

A recent academic article by Jewlya Lynn and Julia Coffman called

Passing in the Dark: Making Visible Philanthropy’s Hidden and Conflicting Mental Models for Systems Change

Describe two mental models for systems change

Systems dynamics approach: (the most common mental model in philanthropy)

Understand the system and its dynamics

Identify leverage poi... See more

That future is growing already within the hollow core of the old world. It is a future for humanity collectively, and it is a future for each of us individually, and for every level of society between and outside those poles: intimate relations, community relations, political relations, ecological relations. The work before us is to weave a new bro... See more

With the systems-emergence model, a general operating grant might be tied to a partner who shares an interest in systemic change, is values-and vision-aligned, and is working in adaptive ways.

Engage with those affected by problems in disruptive processes to surface innovations (e.g., through games, alternative histories to explore the past, or futures exercises). • Strengthen the reach and influence of narratives that emerge from communities, including through communications and mobilization (which differs from engaging in communication... See more