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Scaling and Sustaining Social and Organisational Innovation

Submitted by George Por on August 12, 2008 - 16:33.

Tim Merry wrote in email to some friends on July 25, 2008:

"I saw the tip of the iceberg in terms of some new thinking about Communities of Practice and how it relates to what is cooking in the Art of Hosting / Participatory Leadership field. I would love to explore that together, as it is a critical piece in our long term vision for Public Health in Nova Scotia. I know that George Por and Toke have already begin this conversation ...

One of the core question I carry is:
What are the forms that sustain action arising from collective meaning and purpose?

I feel we have much knowledge on how to build the containers for meaningful relationship, conversation and clarity and the edge for me is how for that to manifest into sutained action for the common good .....

Would folks be interested in connecting and exploring this further?

If so, I am happy to set up a couple of calls from now and going into the fall ..."


10 of us responded with yes and agred on the date of a conference call, Sept. 1. In preparation to that call, Phil, Ria, Tim, Toke, and myself had one on 1 August, with the purpose “to identify some constructs about scaling and sustainability that could be put on the table as raw material for a broader conversation with more folks drawn to these questions.” There’s a report that Ria and I put together, in which we’ve attempted to identify key patterns of meaning that emerged from that conversation, which may be useful to review before our next call. It is posted here:

 

This forum topic is for continuing and deepening that inquiry with your questions, reflections, and inspirations...

Why community matters?

Submitted by Ria Baeck on September 15, 2008 - 17:47.

Immediately my spontaneous reaction is: Why does identity matter?

To me it is the same questions from the other flip-side. The answer to your question Chris is that we are social beings in essence, in nature. We can't help it. But our Western worldview has made us believe that somehow identity, 'the me' is more important than 'the we'. But I think they can't survive on their own.

In long ago times there was community, tribes, gangs which had hardly or no words for this 'I' (and there are still communities like that these days). In the mean time our Western world learned to separate things and study them in depth, and along the same line we developed a very strong sense of individuality. Now we go slowly back to the other side, - of community - but now with integrating this higher level of individual development. Which will result in a synergy, a new kind of community which didn't exist before.

In its deepest essence I think community is about belonging, and the other functions you mention Chris come on top of that. There is a book out these days from Peter Block, Community. The structure of Belonging. It talks a lot about what is implicit in our AoH community. I recommend to read it. 

Community transforms

Submitted by Helen Titchen Beeth on September 4, 2008 - 20:09.

Chris, I love the way you are a living inquiry. It's so juicy.

 

I wouldn't presume to have an answer for you - but something came to me anyway, as I read your question. It's an answer that comes from my own experience:

 

Community is essential to the work that we do because the field that holds people who love and respect each other transforms us. It moves people from stuck places into movement. It thaws rigid and suffering worldviews, it cracks the armouring around beating, vulnerable hearts and opens us up to the reality that without community, we cannot survive.

 

So being in community actually brings us back into alignment with the reality of our true nature as evolutionary beings that are really like lumps in gravy. We cannot be separated out from the field of we-ness without losing all meaning. What use is a gravy lump without the gravy?

 

Erm... it doesn't look as poetic as it felt flowing through me, but that's gravy for you! Kiss

My questions

Submitted by Chris Corrigan on September 4, 2008 - 19:25.

I am in a simple kind of first principles sort of question, and that is why is community essential to good work?

 

In a recent design conversation with a client\s community of practice  we talked about the need for the face to face events to do three things: work with content, develop relationships and host co-learning.  This is a wise set of principles for practice, but I'm still wanting to have a satisfying answer to the question of why community actually matters.  

 

That is my inquiry at this point. 

Harvesting this converation

Submitted by Helen Titchen Beeth on September 4, 2008 - 18:40.
I was sorry not to be able to participate - I was too technologically challenged after my house move. Will there be some kind of harvest so that those of us who weren't there can learn what transpired and contribute to the ongoing conversation?

Further inquiry - posting your questions

Submitted by Ria Baeck on September 4, 2008 - 15:36.

On September 1, 2008 some people joined for another conference call on this topic. We experimented with Webinar (and didn't have an audio report - so no transcript).

It was a juicy conversation and participants agreed to post the questions they have in this forum. Please join this conversation if this topic is part of your life and work too.