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Our approach revolves around a simple idea: building upon the organization's strengths - by providing skills and confidence to develop a framework for planning and implementing change and developing energy for that change. One of the fundamentals of our success is utilizing the existing talents and resources of the organization to enhance customer satisfaction, business goals, and full engagement.

Successful community collaboratives require resources and support for their infrastructure needs, as well as the opportunity to engage with like-minded practitioners to share ideas that will amplify their collective impact. To address this need, and build on the work of the White House Council, the Aspen Institute launched the "Aspen Forum for Community Solutions," chaired by Melody Barnes, former Assistant to the President and Director of the Domestic Policy Council for President Obama. Stephen Patrick - formerly with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation - is the Executive Director and drives the mission of The Aspen Forum for Community Solutions.

Stephen Kearney (CEO) and Nick Gardham (Projects Director) introduce RSLM as an educative process for systematic neighbourhood change RSLM™  or Root Solution - Listening Matters™, is the process for democratic engagement and civic renewal developed by Action to Regenerate Community Trust (reg. charity no. 1078551) over the past 25 years. It is a community engagement framework, strategy and process which is at the heart of the effective animating and organising of communities, groups and organisations. It has been proven to: develops trust, respect and relationships engages local people in conversations that lead to networks and action supports established and independent organisations and service providers to collaborate with communities in meeting their needs and aspirations. demonstrates a model of practice that may be utilised by existing and new project partners and communities. RSLM techniques allow trained Community Animators and Organisers to listen and to explore things that people love about their area that they can build on, things that concern them most - their motivations and their ideas for action , whilst focusing on and drawing out solutions.

This topic forms part of the Systems Thinking knowledge area (KA). It identifies systems principles as part of the basic ideas of systems thinking. Some additional concepts more directly associated with engineered systems are described, and a summary of system principles associated with the concepts already defined is provided. A number of additional "laws" and heuristics are also discussed.

Sharitories is a global project with a very practical scope: to create a Collaborative Territories Toolkit for local policy-makers around the world who wish to implement collaborative or sharing initiatives in their local areas and help them thrive. Sharitories was born in June 2014 through OuiShare, a global community and think and do-tank with the mission to build and nurture a collaborative society by connecting people, organizations and ideas around fairness, openness and trust.

OuiShare is a global community and think and do-tank. Our mission is to build and nurture a collaborative society by connecting people, organizations and ideas around fairness, openness and trust. We believe that economic, political and social systems based on these values can solve many of the complex challenges the world faces, and enable everyone to access to the resources and opportunities they need to thrive. OuiShare activities consist of building community, producing knowledge and incubating projects around the topics of communities and the collaborative economy, as well as offering support to individuals and organizations through professional services and education. Started in January 2012 in Paris, OuiShare is now an international leader in the collaborative economy field. A non-profit organization which has rapidly evolved from a handful of enthusiasts to a global movement in dozens of countries in Europe, Latin America and the Middle East, our network of expert Connectors engage hundreds of members and contributors worldwide.

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.

This book is about effective change. It describes methods for changing "whole systems,"that is, change based on two powerful foundation assumptions: high involvement and a systemic approach to improvement. High involvement means engaging the people in changing their own system.It is systemic because there is a conscious choice to include the people,functions,and ideas that can affect or be affected by the work.Whole system change methods help you initiate high-leverage, sustainable improvements in organizations or communities. "High-leverage" is emphasized because in any improvement effort,we want the highest possible value for the effort invested. We believe that involving people in a systematic way is a key to high leverage and that the methods in this book can provide this leverage for you.You'll need to determine the one(s) best suited to moving your organization or community to the culture you want.We wrote this book to support your efforts. 

New America is dedicated to the renewal of American politics, prosperity, and purpose in the Digital Age. We carry out our mission as a nonprofit civic enterprise: an intellectual venture capital fund, think tank, technology laboratory, public forum, and media platform. Our hallmarks are big ideas, impartial analysis, pragmatic policy solutions, technological innovation, next generation politics, and creative engagement with broad audiences.

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. Traditional approaches to using arts as a revitalization tool tend to focus on building large institutions, districts or just 'doing projects.' Creative placemaking starts with building effective partnerships. Our approach to creative placemaking is based on six key elements: Building diverse and productive partnerships in communities and with local leadership to implement ideas. Enhancing quality of life for more people in communities Increasing economic opportunity for more stakeholders in communities Building healthier climates for creativity and cultural expression Engaging existing assets (both physical and human) as much as possible Promoting the best and distinct qualities of a place Our work is guided by the teachings of reflective practice, double-loop learning, asset-based community development, fifth level leadership, arts-based community development, communicative practice, environmental justice, and other current and cutting-edge philosophies of practice.  

ProgrammingLibrarian.org provides the resources, connections and opportunities libraries need to fill their role as centers of cultural and civic life. It is a place for library professionals to share, learn and be inspired to present excellent programming for their communities. Through resources, ideas and professional development opportunities, we seek to help libraries fill their role as cultural and civic hubs in their communities.

The mission of the Donella Meadows Project is to preserve Donella (Dana) H. Meadows's legacy as an inspiring leader, scholar, writer, and teacher; to manage the intellectual property rights related to Dana's published work; to provide and maintain a comprehensive and easily accessible archive of her work online, including articles, columns, and letters; to develop new resources and programs that apply her ideas to current issues and make them available to an ever-larger network of students, practitioners, and leaders in social change.

Resilience.org aims to support building community resilience in a world of multiple emerging challenges: the decline of cheap energy, the depletion of critical resources like water, complex environmental crises like climate change and biodiversity loss, and the social and economic issues which are linked to these. We like to think of the site as a community library with space to read and think, but also as a vibrant café in which to meet people, discuss ideas and projects, and pick up and share tips on how to build the resilience of your community, your household, or yourself.

Welcome to The Edge, a free social platform committed to finding, sharing, curating and creating the boldest and most innovative new ideas in health & care. We've created an explorable library of content designed to incite and inspire fresh thought: new ways of solving old problems; news ways of realising potential; new ways of making change happen.

The Laundromat Project believes art, culture, and engaged imaginations can change the way people see their world, open them up to new ideas, and connect them with their neighbors. When artists have the opportunity to build and contribute their unique skills and perspectives to the needs of their neighborhoods, they can be invaluable assets in furthering community wellbeing. 

This is our topic for today: the way things move and spread, somewhat chaotically, across a network. Some examples to whet the appetite: Infectious diseases jumping from host to host within a population Memes spreading across a follower graph on social media A wildfire breaking out across a landscape Ideas and practices diffusing through a culture Neutrons cascading through a hunk of enriched uranium

In the business world, there is an obsession with scaling. Investors repeatedly ask "How are you going to bring your idea to scale?" Environmentalists often ask a related question by seeking to change the minds of large audiences - by increasing awareness of ecological problems in the hope that this will lead to policy actions in the future.

Memes are to culture what genes are to biology: the base unit of evolution. The term was originally coined by the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book, The Selfish Gene. Dawkins writes, "I think that a new kind of replicator has recently emerged . . . It is still drifting clumsily about in its primeval soup, but already it is achieving evolutionary change at a rate which leaves the old gene panting far behind." He goes on, "Examples of memes are tunes, ideas, catch-phrases, clothes fashions, ways of making pots or of building arches. Just as genes propagate themselves in the gene pool by leaping from body to body via sperms or eggs, so memes propagate themselves in the meme pool by leaping from brain to brain, via a process which, in the broad sense, can be called imitation."3

We are a collegial, peer-driven community of foundation and nonprofit communications professionals who share ideas, evidence, and lessons about how smart communications improve lives. Through meetings and events, publications, social outreach, and an online community, we elevate the role of communications across the social sector. We help our members build relationships, skills, and confidence to navigate a shifting information landscape and to be a voice for change that benefits both individuals and society.

Collaborative Community is an enabler of transformational change in corporations, local government, social movements, and not-for-profit organisations. Wherever there are people that want to strengthen the communities they are part of, we can help. The manager trying to improve collaboration in her team. The support officer tasked with a community engagement initiative. The business owner wondering where the idea for their next product is going to come from. The environmental manager hoping to embed a culture of environmental awareness in their organisation. To these, and others, we say 'draw on our expertise and experience in fostering collaborative communities'.