Atelier WeekNotes w/c 27 May 2024
Priorities: 1.Offering-challenge-resourcing fit; 2. Organising for abundance. 0/DETECTING: Narratives, incl 'fear or hope'? In the Atelier: Wāhine Māori in tech delegation; Influential Trajectories.
I am writing newsletter of #weeknotes of starting the Atelier of What’s Next (a studio for initiatives at the frontier of generating a better future). For my rationale for starting the Atelier see here.
This week covers:
Atelier Priorities
1.Offering-challenge-resourcing fit
2. Organising for abundance.
0/DETECTING
Narratives, including hardy perennial 'fear or hope'?
In the Atelier
Wāhine Māori in tech delegation
Knowledge Exchange for Maori Female Tech Entrepreneurs
Influential Trajectories: incremental steps.
How can the Atelier of What's Next be of service to you, and your purposes? We'd love to hear from you. Perhaps you have a challenge or idea to put in the studio. Maybe one of our existing topics appeals to you. What if you love to make new things happen by being part of the studio? Or if you have feedback or comments that would improve this deck. Either click the button below or email davidbent@atelierwhatsnext.org.
Atelier Priorities
Realised that I haven't written to this priority for a while. The truth: the Atelier-as-organisation priorities have been secondary to (A) my family crisis (which hopefully is turning a corner) and (B) delivery in Influential Trajectories plus the CISL Sustainable Finance tutoring.
Even so, the headlines:
1.Offering-challenge-resourcing fit
(Put another way, the 'product-market' fit of a start-up).
Moderate evidence that Influential Trajectories has a good fit:
Challenge: where to put effort for deeper change.
Offering: Influential Trajectories. Imagine different routes from here to a preferred future, identify what would need to be true for each route to be happening, look for evidence, act on findings (crowding in to success; addressing barriers).
Resources:
To run the process:
Protocol (in development!).
Participants with contextual knowledge and insights (not necessarily experts).
To act on findings:
At least one organisation with enduring intent on the challenge.
Some discretionary resource (people's time, money) that can be used on any recommendations.
Possibility of 'crowding in' more resource, as in: the possibility of other resources (perhaps currently known to the participants, perhaps not) also following the recommendations. (For instance, following on an investment decision of a well-regarded player.)
Limited evidence on the rest of the Atelier offer. But that could be:
Limited effort in promoting the 'accompanying your initiative' side of the Atelier's offers (crowded out by acting on A and B above).
A lot of pausing / waiting / drift in the UK at the moment. For more on this, especially in the social change sector, see this piece by Rachel Caldicutt, founder and Exec Director of Careful Industries and Promising Trouble.
WHAT NEXT.
Influential Trajectories offer. Keep developing. My hope: as well as being impactful by itself, the recommendations from any use become initiatives which the Atlier might help with.
Accompanying initiatives offer. Articulate this better.
2. Organising for abundance.
(Put another way, making sure the Atelier isn't just me.)
Co-founder. One possibility has ruled themselves out. No others really on the horizon.
Advisory board. May be about to create one for influential Trajectories.
Funding ecosystem. Still too reliant on ex-colleagues.
Delivery model. Still too dependent on just me.
WHAT NEXT. Timetable when to put in some time into more subtle next steps.
0/DETECTING
Narratives, including hardy perennial 'fear or hope'?
One of my networking events in the week was the Nature and Climate Action Group within the Edmund Hillary Fellowship (a community of 500+ innovators, entrepreneurs and investors committed to New Zealand as a basecamp for global impact).
A key focus was about trying to change cultural narratives. Some of the thoughts I shared:
Improving reach more important than improving content. Folks in the sustainability world have put a lot of effort into coming up with great 'narratives' which have emotional appeal. Those on the right have done that too, but more importantly they have built an information architecture where lots of folks only get their sense-making from very right-leaning sources.
I'd love sustainability folks to spend less effort on making every comma in a vision statement perfect, and more effort in having the channels to reach people beyond the converted. (As I type the UK is in General Election mode. Farage is all over every news channel because he's taken leadership of Reform. Meanwhile, the Greens, who have more councillors, more MPs and a similar poll rating, have had zero coverage and are not being given a platform in Question Time and similar.)
The insight on message content vs reach was me riffing off a tweet by
, a former GRIST journalist. He has an excellent podcast called Volts. I highly recommend you subscribeFilms as vehicles. One of his recent episodes was on how climate change is portrayed in popular culture with Anna Jane Joyner of Good Energy Stories, which "supports TV and film creators in telling wildly entertaining stories that honestly reflect the world we live in now—a world that’s in a climate crisis.” They even have a playbook for screenwriting in the age of climate change.
A gathering space. In the UK there is Inter-Narratives, a "community, a space for folk working on (or who are curious about) narrative change and the role it plays in system change".
On positive vs doom messaging, I return to a summary of the academic evidence on fear-based environmental messaging, by Dr Jan Maskell. Key quote:
"The issue is not as simple as whether a message of fear or hope is more effective. Messages need to create sufficient awareness of the issues avoiding admonishment, anxiety, or guilt framings. The required action needs to be simple and clear, include a positive and fair narrative which emphasises the co-benefits of climate action, and be delivered by the right messenger."
My takeaway: fear about consequences of inaction, with clear agency with positive consequences and the right messenger, is useful.
Reaching moderates. In the UK one of the most interesting initiatives is the Climate Majority Project, mission: “accelerate effective, coordinated climate action by a broad-based coalition of citizens; from grassroots initiatives to high-level policy”. I interview the founder here.
In the Atelier
Wāhine Māori in tech delegation
Last week I wrote about helping a trade delegation from Aotearoa New Zealand to have a breakfast with people who support tech entrepreneurs.
The details are finalised. Now to get people to come along! Here's the invite:
Knowledge Exchange for Maori Female Tech Entrepreneurs
Mon 10 June, breakfast (arrive 7:45 for 8am start, ends 9:30am). Huge thanks to The Conduit, who are hosting this breakfast.
The trade delegation aims to foster international connections and build an ecosystem of wâhine Mâori in tech who are trade ready and export enabled.
If you are able to lend your expertise and learn from Mâori tech entrepreneurs, please follow the link.
https://share-eu1.hsforms.com/1Z6jTk5x1QV2t6zmr2kTyww2b2ovr
Background:
The UK-NZ FTA came into force in May 2023 and is the first agreement of its kind with a chapter on indigenous trade. One year on, this Mâori Trade and Cooperation chapter is being brought to life with a mission to advance Mâori economic aspirations in the UK. The British High Commission in New Zealand, together with the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Callaghan Innovation are working with Te Taumata to take a delegation of ten wâhine Mâori leaders in tech to London Tech Week on a trade mission and knowledge exchange. The delegation aims to foster international connections and build an ecosystem of wâhine Mâori in tech who are trade ready and export enabled. Te Taumata is a Mâori Trade advisory agency and contributed to negotiations on the UK-NZ FTA.
WHAT NEXT. Keep hustling for people to come. Then go to the event itself.
Influential Trajectories: incremental steps.
Step: 4/DEVELOPING. Theme:Method; Sectoral Transformation; Governance; Futures.
This week: small steps forward. Too little to write up here. But want to put in the section, so that folks know what I am still working on it. This coming Thu I'm running an online session with one of my networks. So, in the next WeekNotes I will definitely have more material, and also feedback to share.
By way of reminder:
Purpose: To create shared commitment to investments and initiatives that drive towards ambitious outcomes.
How: Imagine different trajectories from today to a future goal together (informed by latest systems transition theories), test each to see if the pre-conditions for exist, and then invest based on the results.
Key insight: people are more willing to commit to investments and initiatives where they have devised the test of whether to proceed themselves.
Acknowledgment. We are very grateful for the opportunity provided by Sustainable Shipping Initiative, and funding from Lloyd's Register Foundation, for the first pilotuse in the State of Sustainable Shipping (SoSS).
WHAT NEXT. Run the taster session (which means: develop the process and materials for a taster session). Share the materials, the process and the feedback in the next WeekNotes.