CIPI - The Collective Intelligence Practitioners Initiative

What it is and why

10-15 people out of an email based invitation list of 20 people meet regularly each 4 weeks for one day's continued inquiry into collective intelligence – a CIPI Salon. And now we have also held a CIPI Retreat.

The idea is to support the emergence of a field of collective intelligence amongst us - a field where practices, insights, principles, etc. of collective intelligence can be evolved in ways that have not happened so far.

We use the field of collective intelligence engaged amongst us to inquire into the nature of collective intelligence it self.

Each of us have to put ourselves in service of that inquiry and (ideally) let go of any personal agendas for engaging the work.

The format of the meetings has since Feb. 2006 settled into this:

9-10 meditation for those who want to and come early
10 breakfast and check-in (not formal)
lunchbreak at some point
18 close; some stay and hang out

So far the form has mostly been dialogue in the circle, applying sensing into the middle or inquiring from the middle in an informal, selfguided way.

Since the July 29, 2006 Salon we started experimenting with harvesting insights and learnings from the meetings.

Who

The people on the invitation list are mostly situated in or around Aarhus, Denmark. There is no special professional profile, although in early incarnations of the initiative it was thought to be for people in the field of process consulting and related professional fields.

A practioner in this context is one who engages any specific area of skill or competence and while doing that holds the perspective of the entire social field that is impacted by the specific activity.

For instance a DJ, doing what a DJ is doing, and at the same time holding the perspective of the entire dancefloor of people as one field, is understood to be a practioner in the field of collective intelligence.

Likewise, a chef, cooking for a wedding party, and while working in the kitchen holding the perspective of the quality and energy of the entire social field of the party (including the chef herself), is in this context understood to be a practioner in the field of collective intelligence.

Principally the invitation list is open for anyone, but we have agreed to only add names to the list after one has attended at a CIPI Salon, invited by someone on the list. In this way everyone is  responsible towards the whole for only bringing in new people who has been briefed well, and who wants to participate on an ongoing basis.

We see the initiative as not single events but as a continued inquiry, and it reguires commitment to participate and willingness to contribute for the sake of the overall purpose of the initiative rather than for individual purposes. The nature of the inquiry is sensitive to people showing up just to check out what is happening.

What we do

1. Rules, experiences, guidelines, practices.

It is counter intuitive to think about CIPI as run by rules. But definitely a body of experiences has built and can be shared. These experiences can then be transformed into guidelines and practices.

Guidelines are ways of behaving towards specific tasks. Practices are intended ways to be and act under all circumstances.

For instance, we have established these guidelines regarding inviting new participants:
•    If you have participated in at least a couple of CIPI meetings, and think you are fairly grounded in an understanding of what CIPI is about, then you can invite new participants that you think would fit in well in the ongoing inquiry. Bring only one new at a time. Make sure that your invitee is well briefed about the purpose and the expected forms of the meetings. After the meeting: Clarify with your invitee whether he or she wants to be added to the invitation list, make sure that he or she understands the wanted commitment to respond to the list (not just hang around as a passive observer), and make sure that all on the list gets the added email-address.

We have come to understand some practices as useful. To the degree that this is so, the practices are put to use – unless we forget about them for some reason.

•    The format of the CIPI Salon – 9-18 – starting with meditating for an hour, breakfast, at some point a focussed inquiry starts, at some point a lunch break, careful attention on having completed the circle and done any announcements before 1800, so that people are free to leave at that point.
•    Invoking a short period of silence while in an inquiry by anyone choosing to ring a bell.
•    Having some kind of talking piece in the center. Anyone taking it indicates that he or she asks for time to share whenever what is going now is done. In addition to that it may also indicate a call for slowing down the exchange in the circle.

2. Social Practices that maybe can be established now

These are ideas and thoughts about practices that we now may have the experimental basis for being able to establish if we choose to. They may not all apply at all times, but can be evoked as needed.
•    Starting each period of inquiry with some time to sense into the middle. As a deepening to this practise there can even be a period of sharing what one senses.
•    Clarifying a question or theme for inquiry. In addition to that maybe also clarifying on the format of the inquiry.
•    Decision making based on clarity. When we know that we know what we want, it gets acted upon immediately. Otherwise the unclarity – whatever form it takes – points to something about what is said or done or called for being not completely connected to the field of the inquiry, and the search for clarity must continue.

3. Personal Practices that we may expect from each other

These are ideas to identify personal practices that we may expect each other to at least be aware of and over time more and more able to live up to:
•    Leaning in, taking risk, avoid holding back. Respond to something if you want to, or let it go – but don’t sit with an impulse to act that you don’t follow up. It is holding the entire field back.
•    Talk about or show what is present now. Don’t talk about what was or in your opinion has to come.
•    Avoid abstractions, generalizations, explanations, making evaluations about what is as compared to something else that could be
•    Be the change you want to see – do it, don’t talk about doing it
•    Take responsibility for what you do. Don’t ask for permission. Allow the collective field to direct you by the feedback you get.
•    Do what you do with the intention of serving the whole rather than yourself.

4. Formats of the inquiry

How we are doing it, what forms and formats of inquiry, whether to use circle conversation, breakout groups, singing, dancing, writing etc. is actually part of the very inquiry itself.

5. The need for all aspects of the human experience

This is continuing the question that has surfaced in several forms: What is the relationship between different modalities of inquiry when it comes to our purpose – speaking from the middle, sharing, dancing, eating, laughing, feminine expressions and masculine expressions (add more yourself). Are they of equal importance? Are some paving the way for others? Is their usefulness dependent on a specific context? Do they cross-fertilize each other?

6. The afterglow

It seems to be a pattern that about one third hangs out afterwards, and that the talks there for a couple of hours becomes an outlet for the momentum build during the day. From a process design perspective, it is important to be attentive to the possibility of such an after party to be able to take place.

History

The initiative was called by Finn Voldtofte in april 2005 to a broad invitationlist. In its first 9 months two CIPI Weekends and two CIPI Cafés were held. The experiences from these activities led in february 2006 to a focusing of the invitation list to those committed to the ongoing inquiry. The format of CIPI Salons held on Saturdays in Aarhus was also decided.

Prior to CIPI was a yearlong inquiry into practices around engaging collective intelligence. It took place under the name ”The Flag Ship” and was called by Peter Kahr Greve and Finn Voldtofte in an effort to find new ways for leadership training.

A vision seen in august 2005 of a First International Collective Intelligence Practitioners Adventure (FICIPA) transformed some months later into the extension of an invitation for the gathering Moving The Edge, held in March 2006. Many of the people now on the CIPI invitation list participated in Moving The Edge.