Gene B. • @Helene, great initiative. Of the ones presented I seem to feel a connection to transitiontowns.org Not sure I can articulate exactly why though it feels akin to the group. The quote in managementexchagne.com "Suppose innovation was a result of the system rather than in spite of it?"

Brian L. • @Helene. Thanks for starting this discussion. I can't wait to see the responses. This feels to me like a VERY worthy and realistic endeavor.

I think that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of groups aiming at more intentional change. I'm in a dozen or so LinkedIn groups that are in this same community - in various states of focus and intentionality.

Do you think this group could describe the systems that drive change-focused groups to collaborate, and then engage those systems to accelerate the collaboration? What an accomplishment that would be! (@Gene - you started a change systems description, right? Do you also have a collaboration systems model? I would tend to start with a Causal Loop Diagram, ala Senge, I think - need to ponder this for a bit).

I will try to find some time and go through my records looking for such groups. I know that I have seen a few over the years. Just have to put my hands on them...and figure out if they are still alive.

Mary R. • Here are two in the aid world that I've followed with particular interest:

http://www.stonesintoschools.com/how-to-help/central-asia-institute/http://www.hildebackeducationfund.com/

Gene B. • @Brian, here's a recently initiated effort that might be of some utility for collaborative systemic intervention... http://bit.ly/eLBsmW

Helene F. • Thanks Mary, Brian, Gene.

Many of us are feeling the emergence of movements for change and for action on many fronts. Thought leaders are talking of silent revolution and empowerment. The idea is to gather examples and develop initiatives that are directly applicable in our immediate environments, initiatives to change the "system" from within that can inspire each of us to act individually and collectively, because it is easier when you know that your ideas are shared, that they have been experienced, that you are not alone to bring them forward.

@Gene. Probably transitiontowns.org speaks to you because it is typically very local/community based systems thinking and concrete solutioning that uses available talents and resources.

@Brian: IT collaborative platforms can help accelerate and multiply these movements. You are right: working on a collaboration model is a good idea. There may be some initiatives already existing out there, even if not as systemic as one would like.

@Gene, maybe we could work on "muscling up" the collaborative part of your systemic perspective development guide? I see the discussion on this subject has evolved since yesterday, maybe in this direction? Here is the link to the discussion:
http://linkd.in/hxGauo

@Mary. Education IS the key! I particularly like the Pennies for Peace initiative in your first example, because it has a double effect.

@all. I wonder if there are any "observatories of good practices" out there?

Gene B. • @Helene, might you elaborate a bit on the "muscling up of the collaborative part" phrase?

The iPB Developer, in which the process is defined, is completely collaborative meaning that the steps in the sequence can be developed and edited by multiple people and Insight Maker was chosen as the preferred diagram, model and simulation facility because it also is designed for collaborative use.

Though maybe there was a different implication of the phrase?

Helene F. • Yes Gene. I have just posted a comment on the appropriate thread. I am just wondering if there needs to be some "preparation" or a "preamble" before jumping into the description of a situation, especially when people who collaborate come from very diverse universes.

Gene B. • @Helene, I would expect such would be needed to set the stage for each specific situation worked by a group.

Anne Elliott M. • H Helene. Great idea! I am definitely sensing an emerging unease with the status quo and a search for more meaning, There are many different paths being explored but I think individuals need to be aligned to be effective.

I was introduced to several of these movements during a course in Biomimicry at Schumacher College which is located in Totnes,one of the Transition Towns. It was a life-altering experience. The library was amazing.

I was expecting a more cohesive movement in the UK, but it did seem like there was near universal support for many ecological concepts and practices, such as eating organic.

In the US I see the opposite. Personal efforts are still in the minority, but there will often be a support group, or even several around a cause.

Helene F. • Yes Anne, many very fragmented initiatives. I agree there aren't that many in the US, but I sense awareness has been growing big time in the past few years though -I lived there for a while-. Fragmentation and non alignment are not a problem per se if they aim to the same overall direction. Every drop counts! The idea here is to make them visible -uncovering the long tail of initiatives if you would like, or create an observatory/repository of ideas/support groups/push initiatives that people could just subscribe to or take "from the shelf" and apply to their school, community, organization, boardroom, stock portfolio, etc etc..

Don't hesitate to post examples if you have any! And to look for some out there with your eagle eye!

Nicolas S. • (following please ignore, I have unresolved local problems with javascript)

Mary R. • Just ran across this article on the difficulty of change. I think it provides some useful insight into the challenges we each face personally in realigning our thinking, our "systemic constructs", when faced with complex or even wicked problems...

http://lesswrong.com/lw/3rc/rational_repentance/

Steven A. • Local Rotary clubs, being a grass roots service organisation provide an ideal environment to foster social innovation, entrepreneurship and change with the ultimate goal of promoting world peace and understanding through though its five avenues of service: Community, International, Vocational, New Generations and Club Service. Please visit the Rotary International website www.rotary.org for more information and to contact your local club.

Mike S. • The Perpetual Education Fund provides something similar to micro-loans except these loans are used for educational purposes to lift people out of poverty. An individual repays the loan once the individual has finished his or her education and obtains a better career. 100% of donations to the fund are used for educational purposes. The church that runs the fund carries all the administrative costs. The PEF has helped over 40,000 people since 2001. As an example story: http://pef.lds.org/pef/brazil_vanderlei?locale=eng

The Employee Shared Ownership movement in the U.S. changes how organizations are owned and managed. The company I work for has 700 owners/stock holders rather than 3. Wealth is being distributed more broadly and employees across all disciplines and rankings are more involved in decision making. You can learn more about ESOPs at the following links.
http://www.esopassociation.org/http://www.nceo.org/

Helene F. • Thanks Mary and Steven.

@Mike. Thanks for sharing this. You shared some compelling stories about how this structure helps your company be more attuned to its employees. This allows to take a closer look.

Dan S. • copied from another discussion on population:

Right now, today, in this moment, as we chat, Samuel Nderitu is running his school with his wife. 15 years ago he went to a similar school run by a priest who had heard of the experimental garden near Occidental in N. California where they claimed to be able to produce food with much higher output than industrial agriculture, in much less space, using up to 90% less water, and open pollinated seeds, that after 3 years was completely self-contained, needing no further fertilizers, just what comes from the compost made from crops they grow themselves.

Today, right now, in this moment, Samuel, his wife have taught this method to thousands of families, and the soil of his region in Kenya, that had been destroyed in only 20 years by the forced introduction of industrial agriculture and the breakdown of the tribal social structures, leading to a precipitous drop in life expectancy, the soil, itself, is being renewed, naturally, at a tiny cost.

Today, right now, in this moment, Samuel, his wife and the 500,000 farming families who have adopted this technique are aiming to make Kenya the first 100% biointensive country within 10 years.

Today, right now, Samuel and his wife have created a simple system to provide fresh food to the poorest in the slums of Kenya, by taking bags of compost, slitting them and planting seeds.

Today, right now, in the mountains of Peru, volunteer agronomists are working with the poorest of the poor in the mountains to create biointensive mini-farms, and reclaim the soil lost to poor management. There is a lively organic market, run by the indians them selves, and they buy no fertilizer, make their own seeds, and pay for or barter for the vegetables in the market, growing everything from what is within a stones throw of where they are. Every farm first feeds the tribe who runs it, then sells any bumper crop at the market for some coin of the realm.

Today, right now, we could be doing something like this where WE live. It doesn't take much to go beyond recycling, to act locally and influence change. Farming for food in a way that requires nothing to be bought, after a few years, is a revolutionary act, but one that feeds people and gives them self respect and independence.

Today, in this moment, Boris is a biologist near Chernobyl, across the Russian border, he works for a group financed entirely without governement support, helping the poorest of the poor who could not leave the irradiated region around Chernobyl grow food that they can eat more safely. The biointensive method they use grows plants in balance with the bacteria in th soil, that in turn, somehow fixes the irradiation so many times less enters the plants and thereby gets consumed, saving the lives of the most at risk. A day does not go by without their running short of money.

Years ago the US sent tractors to India to try and help poor families not produce so many children. Instead they made more. For the poor, children are an insurance policy. When basic security, health care, food and education are provided, populations decline. So lets talk about how we can up the ante, and do something where we are, today, in this moment, like Samuel and his wife. All grass roots, all without government support: all in many different political landscapes. Why not help poor people where you are grow food in a soil and life enhancing manner in bags, boxes and abandoned land for a tiny amount of initial investment? Any more ideas and examples?

Links: http://bit.ly/ikf9SC SAmuel "invented" the idea used here
http://www.g-biack.org/ their website
http://bit.ly/fui5jb biointensive for russia
http://grobiointensive.com

T.A. B. • This is an inspiring talk on a project that can help provide the nurturing environment for young talent around the world.

http://blog.ted.com/2008/03/20/neil_turok/

Finding the next Einstein in Africa: Neil Turok's TED Prize wish on TED.com

Accepting his 2008 TED Prize, physicist Neil Turok speaks out for talented young Africans starved of opportunity: by unlocking and nurturing the continent’s creative potential, we can create a change in Africa’s future. Turok asks the TED community to help him expand the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences by opening 15 new centers across Africa in five years. By adding resources for entrepreneurship to this proven model, he says, we can create a network for progress across the continent — and perhaps discover an African Einstein.

Anne Elliott M. • Amazing talk. Thank you T.A. for bringing it to our attention. The maps showing relative conditions were sobering.

As Turok says, "there are just tons of bright kids in Africa, inventive kids, intellectual kids and starved of opportunity. And if Africa is going to get fixed, it’s by them, not by us."

These kids are not "excess." They are the hope for all of us. So maybe we need to wish and solve away the problems, not the kids.

Bryan W. • Nice post, Helene. Lots of inspiration, so much so that my own contribution is rather meek.

Permaculture Research Institute (http://permaculture.org.au/) has established a master plan that leverages off the notion of scalability, and marries the money and interest of the few with the context and needs of the many (well, that is my take on it). Worth a read.

Closer to home, a friend of mine and I set up a local group, The Crop Circle (www.crop-circle.org) where in a town of 8000 we have maybe 100 or so families who regularly meet to swap our surplus produce, compost, seeds, tools, time and most importantly ideas. In the 2 or 3 years since it has been going, there has been a tremendous shift in the 'conversation' within the town. Also, since many professional folk here are quite transient, they have taken the idea to their new communities and started it anew.

The other ideas that come to mind are two of my own business interests, and I share them from my bias against a reliance on non-profit organisations to do the good that needs to be done. First, Community Connections (www.community-connections.com.au) provides VoIP telephone services at competitive rates, but whereas telecomms might spend a heap on advertising to get subscribers, we allow subscribers to nominate a local organisation who then receives a third of the subscription in perpetuity.

Second, and building on the phone idea is the e-village (www.e-village.com.au) which we are launching soon. A virtual village, providing the benefits of economies of scales for all sorts of local organisations - webhosting, advertising and publicity etc. Fees from for-profit groups essentially subsidise the others.

Helene F. • Thanks @Dan, Bryan. Great references.
Local/distributed solutions that favor independence and adaptation, whether for food production as your examples, or water and energy (as per @Bill Williams in another thread) seem quite sensible. Increasingly I believe that thinking globally (systems thinking), acting/participating locally (individual empowerment and engagement at own pace and ) is the way to go...
@TA. Allow people to stand on their two feet, education -re Neil Turok, empowerment again to chose and act, be independent. Thanks for your example.