- Capacities For Transformation
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There are five capacities for transformation:
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Create an environment for transformational change by understanding
the impact of future trends.
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Create an Institute of the Future.
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Train Process Leaders
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Create an electronic infrastructure
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Develop a network of citizens at the neighborhood level who
are trained in 21st century skills
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Develop an environment of mutual caring
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Establish a "council for the common good."
- Chaos/Complexity Theory
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Finding patterns of evolving order from apparently "chaotic conditions".
Principles underlying the development of 21st century communities
based on chaos theory are:
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Building networks of individuals and groups who are trained
in thinking about the future
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As these people relate to and work with each other, new concepts
will emerge that cannot be predicted.
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Emergence based on the integration of new ideas and diverse
people
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Self-organizing concepts, projects and ideas as a result
of many actions taken simultaneously in a community
- Citizens Congress
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The second phase of a three phase "direct consensus democracy"
concept. The citizen congress emphasizes the creation of a framework
for understanding complex issues over a two day period. Multiple
teams of twenty diverse people identify key factors and strategic
issues, and set priorities within which specific strategies can
be developed to resolve complex issues.
- Citizens Forum
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A network of diverse citizens in all the neighborhoods of a community
who are trained in 21st century capacities and who offer opinions
when asked as a part of systematic community questionnaires.
- The Common Good/The Common Best
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The common good and the common best emphasize balance between
the needs of individuals and the needs of a community. The common
good focuses on how individuals work to create viable and healthy
community institutions. The common best assumes that teams of
individuals will need to help each other be successful to create
viable and healthy institutions in a constantly changing interconnected,
and increasingly complex society.
- Community-Based Process
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A process (of dialogue, creation or decision making) which incorporates
the inclusion of as many diverse people and groups as appropriate.
- Community Buy-In
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The level to which diverse people and groups are involved with
and support the ideas, concepts, processes, and projects of community
transformation.
- Community Information Infrastructure
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A dual network of people, computers and other tele-communication
capacity focused on providing the community with information and
knowledge necessary to help it support continuous transformation
as it deals with the issues of preparing for the 21st century.
- Community Transformation
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The ability of any local community to renew its base of institutions
(economy, educational system, governance, nonprofit) in changing
conditions--The focus is systemic, adapting both the quantitative
and qualitative nature of each institution as appropriate.
- Connected Individuality
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The concept of linking diverse individual talent into appropriate
teams as the basic unit of society--Individual identity is developed
by the successful "connection" made with other diverse people
in the context of resolving issues or creating innovative ideas.
- Consensus Democracy
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The innovative system of building consensus and shared vision
from the diversity of any community. It focuses on the following
key principles:
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Broadening citizen participation
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Expanding the role of elected officials to one of strategic
facilitator
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Utilization of a "community information infrastructure"
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Creation of a "three phase" direct consensus process
- Core Group
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The nucleus of those people/organizations who are most important
to any process from the perspective of creativity, representation,
authority and power.
- Demonstration Process
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A specific type of process which illustrates an important aspect
of community transformation (ie., a network of diverse citizens
involved in demonstrating electronic response to community issues.
- The Knowledge Economy
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The concept of economic activity based on the commercial use
of the Internet and the continuous application of knowledge to
products and services in the development of wealth and value.
- Edutainment
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Software specifically developed for computer learning which combines
the characteristics of educating and entertaining at the same
time. The focus of such software is to make learning fun.
- Futures Context/Framework For The Future
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Creating an umbrella of ideas which are based on trends of the
future (with experience as a backdrop) as a context within which
to think about issues and to make decisions.
- Futures Downtown
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A downtown area which is designed to provide the following:
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Multiple style units providing living space for diverse ethnic,
age and income groups
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Greenspace
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Boutique retail
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Restaurants
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A futures center
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All spaces wired for telecommunications: ie., telemedicine
- Infrastructure For The Future
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A 21st Century Infrastructure will include:
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Interconnected electronic networks
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An emphasis on continuous learning
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Staffing for strategic and tactical consensus building
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An ability to build "capacities for transformation"
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A properly developed physical environment
- Institutionalize
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To take new ideas, approaches, concepts, methods and techniques
and integrate the innovative "capacities" into every facet of
the organization, community or society.
- Integrated Synthesis
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The ability to interconnect apparently dissimilar elements/ factors/questions
into a new way of looking at key issues/situations and developing
new and innovative concepts to prepare for "systemic thinking."
- Interactive Futures Conference
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A community or statewide conference which uses interactive communications
technology and several sites to introduce new ideas about the
future especially future trends and their impact on present problems.
- Learning Community
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The capacity of any organization or local community to renew
its ability to be viable and successful as a result of continuously
learning new ways to educate, do economic development, govern,
lead and work with each other.
- Multimedia
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Combining audio, video, text, graphics and imaging technologies
into one system of communication. Multimedia is especially suited
for providing information when learning complex ideas.
- Paradigm
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A pattern or model of how we see the reality of any idea, situation
or strategy. New paradigms introduce new ways of seeing or thinking
which challenges cherished beliefs or ideas.
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- Process Leader
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A leader trained to build shared vision among diverse groups
and people. Emphasis is placed on knowledge leading to an under-standing
of the impact of future trends, skills for developing consensus,
and individual growth.
- Process Projects
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The initial concept of preparing a community for transformation.
A specific project of transformation designed by targeted organizations
in a process of dialogue to create new and innovative ideas.
- Process Steering Committee
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A structured group of key people in any organization/community
identified to develop a "process strategy" for building consensus
-usually represents appropriate departments, organizations and
community sectors depending on whether the process is issue/project
oriented or community-based.
- Rebuilding Civil Society
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Rethinking and retooling now diverse people work together for
the good of our democratic society. An emphasis on the value of
caring for others, ethics, and purpose and meaning for the community
will be the cornerstones of rebuilding civil society.
- Resource Partners
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A collaborative group or consortium of people/organizations whose
complementary capabilities form a partnership of funders, facilitators
and capacity builders to support systemic community transformation.
- Shared Vision
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An analysis, decision or new idea made as a result of a process
of dialogue among diverse people or organizations, facilitated
by a process leader.
- Systemic Process
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A process of involvement which integrates multiple numbers of
people, issues, ideas and concepts. Any systemic process attempts
to identify all key factors and then determine how these factors
relate to and impact one another.
- Systems/Systems Thinking
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Identify all factors important to a process or issue with the
purpose of understanding the correlations of the factors and their
interdependent relationships, "pushing all parts simultaneously."
This is compared to a linear approach where factors are considered
one at a time, trying to find the one things which is the controlling
factor.
- Sustainability
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The capacity to maintain and sustain the health and productivity
of a group, community or economy without destroying important
attributes necessary to the continuity of the overall, supporting
environment.
- Transformational Learning
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The concept of life-long learning which uses the integration
of new knowledge to create new ways to "transform" people and
institutions as they prepare to deal with the challenges of the
21st century.
- Wired
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Linking individuals, offices and homes in an interconnected electronic
infrastructure using fiber optics, T-1, and other appropriate
telecommunications technology.
