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Our theory of change

The purpose of all this work is not to generate new knowledge alone – but to make a positive difference in the world. What is the change we are intending to make – and how might we be able to measure whether that change is being realised?

A theory of change helps identify the issue(s) we will address, who is involved, the target audience, the context in which the programme will take place, and the strategies that will be enacted to achieve specific outcomes. At its most specific, a theory of change identifies: What actions, with what people, in what setting, will produce what outcomes?

Research note 5 – Emergence - outlines our current ideas on our theory of change. This is work in progress and we are powerfully interested in connecting with others working and thinking in this area.
We are working with an intergenerational network of practice colleagues in New Zealand and in working dialogue with leading players in the field of social innovation and profound change.

We have been powerfully influenced by a simple paper by Meg Wheatley and Debbie Frieze on “Taking Social Innovation to Scale Using Emergence”. This paper resonated with many of the examples and approaches explored in Westley et al, “Getting to Maybe”.

Theory U as articulated by Otto Scharmer and Generon Consulting has become the most comprehensive theoretical framing of the social technologies that underlie our work.

With Garrison Institute (New York) we are working to develop a foundational methodology for their program on Transformational Ecology.

Key Resoures

Meg Wheatley & Deborah Frieze: Using Emergence to Take Social Innovations to Scale. (On line)
The Art of Power by Thich Nhat Hanh (Hardcover - Aug 14, 2007) (Amazon)

Panarchy: Understanding Transformations in Human and Natural Systems by Lance Gunderson and C. S. Holling (Paperback - Dec 15, 2001) (Amazon)

Solving Tough Problems: An Open Way of Talking, Listening, and Creating New Realities by Adam Kahane and Peter M Senge (Paperback - Aug 1, 2007) by Adam Kahane (Author) (Amazon)

Presence: An Exploration of Profound Change in People, Organizations, and Society by Peter M. Senge, C. Otto Scharmer, Joseph Jaworski, and Betty Sue Flowers (Kindle Edition - Aug 16, 2005) (Hardcover) (Amazon)

Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations by Clay Shirky (Hardcover - Feb 28, 2008) (Amazon)

Theory U: Leading from the Future as it Emerges by C. Otto Scharmer (Hardcover - May 2, 2007 (Author) (Amazon)

Getting to Maybe: How the World Is Changed by Frances Westley, Brenda Zimmerman, and Michael Patton (Paperback - Aug 7, 2007) (Amazon)

Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future by Margaret J. Wheatley (Paperback - Jan 9, 2002) (Amazon)

Finding Our Way: Leadership for an Uncertain Time by Margaret J Wheatley (Paperback - Feb 13, 2007) (Amazon)

Learning and Practice Resources

Web based resources

Accidental Adversaries (System archetype) http://www.systems-thinking.org/theWay/saa/aa.htm
Koenraad Van Brabant. Organisational And Institutional Learning In The Humanitarian Sector: Opening The Dialogue. A Discussion Paper For The Active Learning Network On Accountability And Performance In Humanitarian Assistance ., ODI, Portland House, Stag Place, London, October 1997. (Sourced in pdf format from www).

The Generon Consulting: The U-Process:
http://www.generonconsulting.com/publications/papers/pdfs/U-Process_Social_Technology.pdf
Kenneth I. Maton: Making a Difference: The Social Ecology of Social Transformation. 1999 Presidential Address. American Journal of Community Psychology, Vol. 28, No. 1, 2000. (Sourced in pdf format from www).

Robert Putnam: Foundations of Action Design: Theory and Practice (reference to Kantor – theory of the thing) http://www.actiondesign.com/resources/theory

Fred Kofman and Peter Senge: Communities Of Commitment: The Heart Of Learning Organizations. Organizational Dynamics p5. (19) Autumn 1993 V. 22 N 2. On line at http://www.quality.org/tqmbbs/prin-pract/comcom.txt

Claus Otto Scharmer: Dialog on Leadership Interviews with generative leaders http://www.dialogonleadership.org/
• Conversation with Professor Ikujiro Nonaka; Tokyo, Japan; February 23rd 1996. Knowledge Has to Do with Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. See especially: “The Spiral of Organizational Knowledge Creation”
• Conversation between Ken Wilber; Denver, CO September 17th 2003. Mapping the Integral U
• Conversation with Dr. Peter Senge; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; May 15th 1996. Closing the Feedback Loop between Matter and Mind. See especially “Is it possible to have institutional wisdom?”
• Conversation with W. Brian Arthur; Palo Alto, California; April 16th 1999. Coming from Your Inner Self
• Conversation with Arie de Geus; London, England; September 22nd 1999. Every Institution is a Living System
• Conversation with Rupert Sheldrake; London, England; September 23rd 1990. Morphic Fields
Meg Wheatley & Deborah Frieze: Using Emergence to Take Social Innovations to Scale. http://www.margaretwheatley.com/articles/emergence.html

Recommended texts

The Art of Power by Thich Nhat Hanh (Hardcover - Aug 14, 2007) (Amazon)

Panarchy: Understanding Transformations in Human and Natural Systems by Lance Gunderson and C. S. Holling (Paperback - Dec 15, 2001) (Amazon)

Resilience and the Behavior of Large-Scale Systems (Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) Series) by Lance Gunderson and Lowell Pritchard (Paperback - Oct 1, 2002) (Amazon)

Solving Tough Problems: An Open Way of Talking, Listening, and Creating New Realities by Adam Kahane and Peter M Senge (Paperback - Aug 1, 2007) by Adam Kahane (Author) (Amazon)

Dialogue: The Art Of Thinking Together by William Isaacs (Hardcover - Sep 14, 1999) (Amazon)

Inside The Family by David Kantor and Lehr William (Hardcover - Jun 30, 2003) (Amazon)

How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Work: Seven Languages for Transformation by Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey (Paperback - Dec 16, 2002) (Amazon)

Nonaka, Ikujiro (1994): A dynamic theory of organisational knowledge creation. Organizational Science Vol 5 (1):14-37. Institute of Management Science.

Ikujiro Nonaka, and Noboru Konno (1998), The concept of "Ba’: Building foundation for Knowledge Creation. California Management Review Vol 40, No.3

Polanyi, M 1966 The Tacit Dimension. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1966, ISBN: 0-385-06988-X; Magnolia, MA: Peter Smith Publishers, 1983,ISBN: 0-844-65999-1

The Road Less Travelled and Beyond by M.Scott Peck (Paperback - Feb 4, 1999) (Amazon)
Resilience Thinking: Sustaining Ecosystems and People in a Changing World by Brian Walker, David Salt, and Walter Reid (Paperback - Aug 22, 2006) (Amazon)

Process Consultation: Its Role in Organization Development, Volume 1 (2nd Edition) (Addison-Wesley O D Series) by Edgar H. Schein (Paperback - Jan 1, 1988) (Amazon)

The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization (2nd edition) by Peter M. Senge (Paperback - Mar 21, 2006) (Author) (Amazon)

The Dance of Change: The Challenges to Sustaining Momentum in Learning Organizations by Peter M. Senge, Art Kleiner, Charlotte Roberts, and George Roth (Paperback - Mar 16, 1999) (Amazon)