from The Strategic Foresight Book by IFRC Solferino Academy…Effective strategic foresight is an ongoing process. Developing the ability to monitor trends, understand how they interact and influence each other, and imagining
how they might develop over time, is a powerful addition to our strategy design and decision making. Foresight should also be deeply participatory, drawing on our
connections to communities all around the world to ensure that the projects, plans and organisation we aspire to be reflects their hopes for the future.
The impossible math of philanthropy
by Hans Taparia and Bruce Buchanan in The New York Times…With one hand they generate supernormal profits by plundering society, and with the other they dole out a few crumbs to “save the world.” But they never will. The math simply doesn’t work.
Resilience revisited 011: Resilience as ‘capacity to embrace uncertainty’
by Tamzin Ractliffe on LinkedIn…Perhaps true resilience emerges when we stop asking “How certain are we?” and start asking “How adaptively can we respond?”
What should philanthropy do about the US freeze on aid?
by Benjamin Bellegy in Alliance Magazine…We can worry that some philanthropies might reorientate their giving to align with the new zeitgeist, for instance divesting from issues such as climate or social justice.
An emerging third option: Reclaiming democracy from dark money & dark tech
by Otto Scharmer in Medium…In short — the key to the profound changes that our current polycrisis is calling for lies in the cultivation of the social soil. Every one of us can be (and is) a gardener or farmer of that soil. In our forthcoming book Presencing we outline the core practices for doing so.
Yuen Yuen Ang argues that we need a fundamentally different way of thinking about our biggest global problems
by Yuen Yuen Ang in Interest.co.nz…The polycrisis is paralyzing only for those who are attached to the old order. For those who are not, it offers what I would call a “polytunity” to usher in new paradigms that invert the way we think about the development process, the sources of solutions, and the role of the state.
A ‘second tree of life’ could wreak havoc, scientists warn
by Carl Zimmer in The New York Times…Research on so-called mirror cells, which defy fundamental properties of living organisms, should be prohibited as too dangerous, biologists said.
The hunger gap
by George Monbiot in his blog…A gulf in public understanding prevents us from seeing how and why our food supply is at risk.
Climate models can’t explain what’s happening to Earth
by Zoë Schlanger in The Atlantic…Global warming is moving faster than the best models can keep a handle on.
Leadership in the polycrisis: How UK defense training can help us navigate a future of unprecedented environmental disruption
by Laurie Laybourn and Matt Ince in the Center for Climate and Security…Explicit investments in the development of emerging as well as current leaders must be considered a core element of building resilience within the context of the deepening climate and ecological crisis. Better leadership—at all levels—will support decision advantage under more challenging conditions. A failure to make these investments in leaders is likely to significantly undermine the effectiveness of societies to handle growing systemic risks and, in turn, to ensure that collective sustainability efforts meet the critical threshold needed to avoid catastrophic runaway environmental change.
More in this tag
Jul
06
2023
Global polycrisis: The causal mechanisms of crisis entanglement
by Dr. Michael Lawrence at The Cascade Institute….. In this framework, a global crisis arises when one or more fast-moving trigger events combines with...
May
09
2025
The planetary politics of everyday life
by Nils Gilman in Small Precautions…In conclusion, the analysis provided by La Fabrique Écologique powerfully argues that the ecological transition in France, and...
May
02
2025
Casual Loop Diagrams handbook
by Michael Lawrence…Like many other forms of systems diagrams (and network diagrams), CLDs are composed of elements and connections. But unlike many others, CLDs...
May
01
2025
“Putting America First” — Undermining health for populations at home and abroad
by Christopher P. Duggan, M.D., M.P.H., et al. in The New England Journal of Medicine…In the initial months of the Trump administration, numerous executive orders...
May
01
2025
Climate crisis on track to destroy capitalism, warns top insurer
by Damian Carrington in The Guardian…Action urgently needed to save the conditions under which markets – and civilisation itself – can operate, says senior...
Apr
30
2025
Bioregionalism in practice: Weaving local solutions in a global context
Webinar hosted by Regenerosity…This webinar kicks off a new series of bioregional conversations, designed to deepen understanding, improve practice, and expand...
Apr
29
2025
If you want peace, prepare for war—an ancient lesson Canada must remember
by Thomas Homer-Dixon at The Cascade Institute…If you want peace, prepare for war. This ancient Roman aphorism is starkly relevant to Canada’s situation today, no...
Apr
28
2025
Welcome to the chaoscene
by Rupert Read in aeon.com…The climate crisis is here. In order to thrive in these dangerous and precarious times, we must build resilient communities.
Apr
25
2025
Bioregioning: the defining practice of regenerative cultures
by Daniel Wahl in Medium…..Bioregions define the appropriate scale for regional self-reliance, responsible environmental action and human participation in the...
Apr
24
2025
Systems Thinking For Social Change
A Practical Guide to Solving Complex Problems, Avoiding Unintended Consequences, and Achieving Lasting Results Systems Thinking for Social Change enables readers to...
Apr
24
2025
DAY ZERO
One City's Response to a record-breaking drought Day Zero is an opportunity to capture some of the perspectives and experiences of the various sectors as the water...