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A potential danger in a systems approach is that there is a risk of overjargonizing and getting lost in complex terminology, maps and paralysis by analysis. One of the key themes that emerged from the discussion is that many people are starting to experiment with systems thinking but that it can be daunting or confusing to explain, operationalize or find common agreement. Does system thinking imply a rigorous and dynamic mapping of key actors, power relationships and other factors in a community (Yes)? But then how does systems thinking differ from a solid context analysis (still needs more explanation)? A potential danger in a systems approach is that there is a risk of overjargonizing and getting lost in complex terminology, maps and paralysis by analysis. One of the key themes that emerged from the discussion is that many people are starting to experiment with systems thinking but that it can be daunting or confusing to explain, operationalize or find common agreement. Does system thinking imply a rigorous and dynamic mapping of key actors, power relationships and other factors in a community (Yes)? But then how does systems thinking differ from a solid context analysis (still needs more explanation)? 

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.   

An international team of scientists has published a study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) showing that even if the carbon emission reductions called for in the Paris Agreement are met, there is a risk of Earth entering what the scientists call "Hothouse Earth" conditions.

It is often assumed that the public have to rely on professionals to deliver public services because in the economic jargon there is an information asymmetry: the doctor or teacher knows more than the patient or pupil. Yet the families of these children have fine grained knowledge about what they really need: when they need two carers to support them and when only one will do; what risks to take on a trip out to the zoo and so on. The In Control initiative draws out this latent, tacit knowledge of users that is largely kept dormant and suppressed by the traditional delivery approach to services in which professionals are largely in control, assumed to have all the knowledge and so consumers are largely passive because they are assumed to lack the capability of taking charge of their own care, health, learning or tax.

Climate Interactive is a not-for-profit organization based in Washington DC. Our team helps people see what works to address climate change and related issues like energy, water, food, and disaster risk reduction. For example: We're long-time partners with the U.S. State Department and analysts for the Chinese government. Our tools have helped them assess and communicate the impact of their government strategies. We've helped NGOs and businesses improve their thinking and communication in the UNFCCC climate negotiations. We're helping development agencies in East Africa design better strategies to reduce the number of people displaced by extreme events and slow onset disasters, like droughts. We work alongside the scientific community to build an understanding of what climate change means for society and the impacts our actions have on finding solutions.

Climate Interactive is a not-for-profit organization based in Washington DC. Our team helps people see what works to address climate change and related issues like energy, health, food security, and disaster risk reduction. Our easy-to-use, tangible, scientifically-grounded tools as well as our programs for engagement help people see for themselves what options exist today to shape the future they want to see.

Company Overview The Carbon Tracker Initiative is working to align the capital markets with climate change objectives through a number of workstreams: 1. Assessing Systemic Climate Change Risk 2. Challenging Valuation Assumptions 3. Accounting for Impaired / Stranded / Sub-prime assets 4. Investigating the Capital Raising process 5. Exploring the contradiction between climate policy and markets

The PLACE Program fosters policy change that supports healthy, safe, and active environments for all Los Angeles County residents. We recognize that the design and structure of our cities, communities, neighborhoods, work sites, schools, and streets can impact how much physical activity we get, what we eat, the safety of our streets, and the quality of the air we breathe. How we choose to design or improve various aspects of our environment plays an important role in preventing injury and many chronic conditions - such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes and asthma - whose risk factors include physical inactivity, poor nutrition and exposure to air pollution. As more Angelinos face the threat and reality of developing these chronic conditions, the PLACE Program supports the development of healthier communities by fostering policy change that improves the places where people live, work and play.

The closing keynote at the Economist Conferences Event, "Creating tomorrow's liveable cities", presented byProfessor Jan Gehl, founding partner of Gehl Architects,Copenhagen. This video provides a good deal of information on the benefits bicycling and walking have on a livable community when integrated into the community landscape.

GIIRS, a project of the independent non-profit B Lab, assesses the social and environmental impact (but not the financial performance) of companies and funds using a ratings approach analogous to Morningstar investment rankings or S&P credit risk ratings

Art VULUPS is the result of a ten-year assemblage of relationships encompassing geography, environmental science, land use planning, sustainability, art and creativity concepts. During this time, many individuals have contributed with ideas, suggestions and time; they have also helped define the meaning, purpose and scope of this project. Its realization has only been possibly by the genuine embrace of a number of progressive, community-based institutions. Certain elements such as adventure, risk, careful observation and reflection have played an instrumental role in providing for the necessary inspiration, momentum and excitement that all together form the concept of Art as a Vehicle to Understand Land Use Planning and Sustainability Project.

We believe knowledge sharing is most valuable when it's powered by people closest to the challenges. We seek to elevate the voices of changemakers who have the greatest insights and the most at stake. Advancing economic, environmental and social justice today requires iteration, openness, adaptability and risk-taking. We embrace these values within our own work and aim to celebrate others who do the same.

The Santa Fe Institute is a nonprofit, independent research center that leads global research in complexity science. SFI scientists seek the shared patterns and regularities across physical, biological, social, and technological systems that give rise to complexity-in any system in which its collective, system-wide behaviors cannot be understood merely by studying its parts or individuals in isolation. Insights from complexity science are increasingly useful in understanding questions far beyond the boundaries of traditional academic disciplines-urban sustainability, disease networks, and financial risk, to name a few.