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Group model building (GMB) is a participatory approach that is widely used to build the capacity of practitioners to think in a systems way. However, it is a resource-intensive approach that requires high-level buy-in and the investment of time. We discuss the evidence, including a systematic review of the literature examining the effectiveness of GMB approaches across a wide range of contexts. The results of the review are generally positive and suggest that GMB improves problem understanding, increases engagement in systems thinking, builds confidence in the use of systems ideas and develops consensus for action among diverse stakeholders.

IISC provides consulting services to organizations, communities, networks, and others that build their capacity for more effective, equitable and inclusive social change. And we offer workshops that provide participants with the opportunity to learn and practice the skills and tools of collaboration for social change so that they can do everything from designing meetings to building and running organizations and networks with greater social impact.

There is, however, one small problem with this. Governments cannot create community, no matter how hard they try, and they cannot build social capital. At best they can create policy environments which assist individuals and institutions in civil society to do these things, or at least, do not stifle their efforts or make their task more difficult. To acknowledge this is not to suggest that governments should simply sit back and hope social capital will grow before them. On the contrary, it is to advocate a radical re-invention of government and a wholesale move away from the old service delivery paradigm in the human services so as to remove some of the key governmental obstacles to civic engagement, responsibility and reciprocity at grass-roots levels of our society.

From our homes and smartphones to the electricity running our local grocery stores, clean energy is not only possible - it's already happening. Solutions Project accelerates the transition to 100% clean energy by championing a movement that is more inclusive, more collaborative, and more celebratory. Through storytelling, grantmaking, and capacity building, we honor clean energy leaders, invest in promising solutions, and build relationships between unlikely allies. Together, we can make renewable energy a reality for everyone - 100% for 100%.

Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE) builds grassroots power to create social and economic justice for low-income, women and women identifying, immigrant, black, and brown communities in Los Angeles. To do this, SCOPE organizes communities, develops leaders, collaborates through strategic alliances, builds capacity through training programs, and educates South L.A.'s residents to have an active role in shaping policies that affect the quality of life in our region. Justice, respect, responsibility, integrity, and voice: These are our core values.

Learn more about the system dynamics lab at Washington University in St. Louis. We are experts in developing simulation models of problems facing complex social systems. A resource for students, professionals, and researchers, we help build the capacity of those who want to learn and apply system dynamics in order to understand and address specific problems within an organization and community. Our Research Our research includes a focus on understanding the role of social determinants at the community level, identifying strategies for reducing disparities, and informing implementation, scale-up and sustainability of evidence based interventions. Application areas include community responses to intimate partner violence, mental health, natural resources, obesity, cancer, child and maternal health, financial inclusion, K-12 education, and juvenile/criminal justice. Community Engagement We are actively involved in advancing participatory group model building (GMB) methods in diverse communities including both international and domestic settings. Teaching We are invested in building capacity in system dynamics among the next generation of researchers, policy makers, and social innovators. The lab offers a sequence of graduate level courses that prepare students to tackle dynamic social problems with innovative, design-driven, transdisciplinary solutions.

EmcArts Inc. is a social enterprise for learning and innovation in the arts. We serve as a nonprofit intermediary for many arts funders, and as a service organization for the arts field around innovation. We exist to strengthen the capacities and effectiveness of nonprofit arts and cultural organizations, serving their needs in the design and management of innovative change, and assisting them in building their adaptive capacity.

The step-by-step framework outlined in this section describes a model Heart & Soul process using four phases and eleven steps. Each phase is built around specific learning, capacity building or engagement goals, and together they lead to the overall project goals.

We are a newly formed Social Enterprise established to improve the way that service providers stimulate and support the development of the Big Society concept. By Big Society we mean everything from building the capacity of volunteers to supporting organisations to work better together with the community. We have a strong history in participatory democracy and have developed out of a commitment to 'practice what we preach'. Our raisen d'etre is to empower organisations and communities to reconnect within the social space that lies between the state and the individual. Ultimately, we aim to promote participatory democracy and increase social capital, for the mutual benefit of all.

Design Impact collaborated with the Tarsadia Foundation, Newport Beach, CA in 2013 to launch the publication Design and the Social Sector: A Guide to Partnering. Funded by the Tarsadia Foundation, the purpose of this guide is to provide practical insights, tips and tools developed specifically for designers interested in working with non-profits on social design projects. It includes a wealth of information on building healthy relationships, evaluating your own capacity, setting realistic expectations, and developing strong collaborative goals.

The National Consortium for Creative Placemaking (NCCP) was created to build capacity for sustainable and cost-effective creative placemaking. Creative placemaking is a new way of making communities more livable and prosperous through the arts, and making them better places for the arts. Creative placemaking is about more than public art or performing arts centers. It is about making places better for everyone.

Grassroots Grantmakers is a network of place-based funders in the United States and Canada who are working from a "we begin with residents" perspective - supporting active citizenship and building civic capacity at the block level in their communities with scale-appropriate grants, a highly relational style of grantmaking, and a learning orientation. Funders in our network are working to strengthen resident-controlled associations, and help people that come together because of a shared interest in improving their block, their neighborhood, or their community to be a stronger voice for change and community vitality.

Purpose The Delaware Complete Communities Planning Toolbox aims to help build local government capacity to develop: complete-communities planning approaches, community-design tools, and public engagement strategies.

The Waters Center for Systems Thinking is an internationally recognized leader in system thinking capacity building. We are dedicated to providing the tools and methods that help people understand, track, and leverage the connections that affect their personal and professional goals.

We build capacity among individuals, teams, communities to deal with the complexity of day-to-day existence. In public and private Adaptive Action Labs, we guide clients through innovative design, implementation, and assessment cycles to find breakthrough responses to intractable issues. In research and writing we create and disseminate perspectives, models, and methods for thriving in the 21st century.

Atlas of Care connects personal and professional scientific inquiry with community-based development theories and practices. We design experiences and practical tools that help people see, connect, and collectively inquire about their care (giving and receiving) activities in everyday life. Though care is central to our ability to thrive in our lives, it is often not seen or recognized. By learning how to see the invisible - visualizing care ecosystems and other aspects of living - people can be more intentional about how to build, strengthen, and expand the capacity of the various lived communities.

The Cultural Evolution Society is a professional scientific society that advances the theory and practice of cultural evolutionary studies. Our goal is to build capacity for researchers, educators, and practitioners to coordinate efforts.

About Vibrant Planet Vibrant Planet is building a global adaptive management system to accelerate natural carbon drawdown, while mitigating immediate climate change impacts. The team's initial focus is restoring Western US forests to mitigate wildfire risk while stabilizing carbon, water reliability, and biodiversity through a critically-needed data foundation and tech platform that supports better decision making at the ground level. The platform addresses other related issues, including wildland-urban interface risk mitigation and land use planning.   

Animating Democracy places high value on learning from and building capacity and visibility for practitioners' work on the ground. At the same time Animating Democracy brings to bear Americans for the Arts' strengths in research, policy, professional development, visibility, and advocacy specifically to advance and elevate arts for change work on field, cross-sector, and national levels. Animating Democracy routinely connects and collaborates with other organizations and field leaders working at the heart of arts for change in order to draw on expertise and different perspectives in the planning and implementation of our programs and services.