About

This site is one output from our ongoing efforts to map an emerging ecosystem. The ecosystem is still emerging and ill-defined. Reflecting this there is no clear name for it and we have settled for now on the title "state of sensemaking".

We emphasize our work here is clearly highly preliminary and is limited by both resources and our own knowledge. Based on snowball sampling starting from our contacts it necessarily and obviously display clear biases e.g. geographically to Europe versus the rest of the world, thematically in terms of areas chosen etc. We welcome feedback and contributions to correct and improve it.

The ecosystem as we have mapped it is quite broad – even disparate. However there are commonalities. Emerging organizations and individuals are opting towards β€˜teal’ style collaboration and community building in order to maximize resources as a generalist, lateral way of operating comes into view as a more effective way of tackling systemic problems.

There is a focus on systems, emergence, coherence, sovereignty, sensemaking as buzzwords, along with activism, governance, and regenerative culture. This is characterized by a strong lean towards spirituality (mindfulness) and the relationship between inner and outer life. At a higher level, we have identified three core thematic areas which tie together the varied groups in the space: collectivism, (w)holism and counterculturalism and culture-making. We will expand on these in the report.

Beyond this thematic overlap we have identified four major areas of activity: physical spaces, research, media/publishing and events. Nonetheless, it has been notable that many organizations have shifted to multi-channel working across a number of these (e.g. producing media content as well as running retreats and events).

Browse the full list of profiles to find out more about selected organizations in the ecosystem.

Context: the Larger Ecosystem Mapping Project

Mapping the ecosystem so that it becomes (more) self-aware, interconnected, resourced and effective.

A newly emerging ecosystem of individuals, organizations and initiatives around the world has in recent years begun to form. We know that many of them are trying to create change, often by shifting how we make sense of the world, by how we engage with one another β€” in short, by engaging in sense-making and culture-making.

But that is more or less all we know about this newly emergent space, and, as such, it calls for exploration. What are its defining characteristics? How do organizations differ, and how are they similar? What is this space? What are the other ecosystems to which it is interconnected? And how will it evolve? These are some of the things we are hoping to find out.

Finally, there is purpose beyond simply exploration: understanding can lead to self-awareness and self-understanding making the ecosystem more known, interconnected, resourced and effective. You can access our 2020 report below.

What

This project seeks to map the emerging ecosystem around social change for a new paradigm. We're seeking to provide an overview of the organizations in the space and better understand what they focus on, by what means, and what ties them together. We hope from this we can start to give a more coherent shape, name and set of key terms to the space.

Why

We want to make the ecosystem visible to itself. We hope in doing this the actors in the space will better be able to connect and collaborate with one another, as well as situate themselves and their work in a broader context to inform their strategies and approaches.

We also hope that, by helping to create a more coherent identity for this ecosystem we can create a more united front when engaging with outside actors, boosting the credibility and effectiveness of our shared efforts.

How

We are undertaking research to gather information on organizations, communities and individuals that are potentially part of this ecosystem – as well as the connection to nearby spaces. The first stage of the project involves the creation of a repository, outlining the types and areas of focus of these organizations. Over time we will conduct more in depth analysis to map the ecosystem and chart how actors relate to one another across a number of dimensions.

Disclaimer

We emphasize our work here is clearly preliminary and is limited by both our resources and knowledge. Based on snowball sampling starting from our contacts it necessarily and obviously display clear biases e.g. geographically to Europe versus the rest of the world, thematically in terms of areas chosen etc. We welcome feedback and contributions to correct and improve it.

Specifically, we are doing our best to give as accurate a representation of each organization we have listed. However, like everyone we make mistakes. If you believe the listing for your organization should be changed then please contact us via the contribute page and we'll correct it as soon as possible.