During module 5 of the Catalyst Lab, the collaboratio helvetica’s team organised a one-day virtual prototyping workshop. The goal of the prototyping day was to support further the catalysts towards convening their systems and tap into the resources and knowledge of the community. The invitation was to get into a prototyping mindset and discover the benefits of experimenting with rapid prototyping tools, crowdsourcing, and co-creating with other changemakers working on diverse challenges, all while having fun. This workshop took place online due to restrictions linked to covid-19.

Unser Engagement und unsere Intention für eine andere Welt ist oft nicht messbar und doch deutlich spürbar. Dies erschwert die Kommunikation darüber und erfordert noch mehr Selbstvertrauen in unser Wirken. Mich interessieren mittlerweile genau solche, langsamere Prozesse für die noch kein Messgerät erfunden wurde und unsere innersten Werte, Menschlichkeit, Herzens-Intelligenz und Intuition die Richtungen angeben. Das Catalyst Lab hat mich in dieser Demut und Geduld bestärkt, um das Grössere, Verbindende schätzen zu lernen, systemische und strukturelle Verbindungen zu sehen.

„Ich denke an die Zukunft. Ich weiss, dass wir so längerfristig nicht weiter machen können. Wir brauchen einen Wandel. Unsere Zukunft und die der zukünftigen Generationen liegt mir unglaublich am Herzen. Irgendwie habe ich mir das alles besser vorgestellt, als ständig an diese nicht so vielversprechenden Aussichten zu denken. Ich habe dieses Gefühl in mir, dass das alles nicht gerecht ist, und wir das doch ändern können, auch wenn es nur kleine Erfolgsschritte sind...”

Any collaboration has its ups and downs and, if we are paying attention, offers an abundance of learning opportunities for all involved. Even when all are trained in collaboration tools, such as Sociocracy 3.0, and have developed key skills, such as self-awareness and listening, things are bound to go awry at some point.

This toolbox entry describes the dialogue principles we are using in the Catalyst Lab and in other formats like Social Innovation Labs or dialogue evenings. They will give you an idea of the kind of conversation we are inviting when practising dialogue. The dialogue principles serve as a basis for facilitating different dialogue methods, for example, triads, dialogue walks, or fishbowl.

A dialogue walk is a method in which two individuals explore a question in a deep conversation while being on a walk outside. It gives participants a space to dive into a deep conversation, practice authentic sharing and deep listening, and get to know each other's perspective and experience on a topic. It can be used as part of a dialogue event or also as a sharing tool in any other form of participatory workshop.

Cynefin, empowering to work with uncertainty

- refining our responses and practices depending on the specific system we engage with

The way we listen and pay attention in a conversation can profoundly shift the quality and depth of that conversation, and the quality of relationship we are able to build to one another. Listening is probably the most underestimated leadership and community building skill.

Le jour où j’ai remarqué pour la première fois un berlingot de lait labellisé « lait équitable » dans un supermarché local, j’ai été interloquée. S’agissait-il d’une simple astuce marketing ? Ou d’un indicateur que quelque chose clochait dans l’agriculture suisse ? Comment se fait-il que dans un pays si riche, un tel label ait vu le jour ? Voilà ma curiosité éveillée !

3D sculpting is an exercise that invites people to look at the reality of a system from different angles and perspectives with the aim to help identify the key strategic leverage points in changing the current system.

Should donor foundations also invest in the infrastructure of non-profit organisations? Over 30 participants from big and small foundations and associations explored this question in a recent online workshop co-hosted by collaboratio helvetica and proFonds. Looking at this topic from both the prism of two donor foundations and from the perspective of one grantee organisation helped participants to gain a deeper understanding of the benefits and possible pitfalls of such funding as well as consider next steps.

This blog is the first out of a series of my own journey into the 2nd cycle of the Catalyst Lab. This first part talks about learning how to listen to the echoes of the future through a collective network. It gives emphasis on the first step that preludes crystalizing a project - a step that is often overseen by society and the one that seems to be a must into real systemic change.

Have you ever thought about investing in Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) but then turned down the idea because you didn’t have the budget? And how many times did you consider setting up a D&I strategy but ended up abandoning the idea because you didn’t know where to start from? Or are you perhaps a team leader frustrated about the fact that leadership at the top is not taking enough action to move inclusion questions forward? We have been there!

Nora Wilhelm and Emilie Romon write in The Philanthropist about the challenges and new approaches to fund systems change.

As we get closer to the unfathomable 1.5°C point-of-no-return it gets clearer that the way we are organized today is not working. But how do we solve this mess? Should we wait for scientists and engineers to innovate ourselves out of this crisis like we've done in the past?

Nora Wilhelm était en direct dans le studio de Lémanbleu TV ensemble avec Jacques Dubochet, Prix Nobel de chimie et activiste.

Citizen Assemblies: A way for a participative deliberative decision-making process to find a pathway for solving complex problem.

The Iceberg Model: creating a shared map and understanding of the current reality and its root causes, and together inquiring into an aspired reality.

FlowConnection – eine ganzheitliche Lernreise für Unternehmen zu mehr Flow, Kommunikation und Zusammenarbeit.

Vor dem Hintergrund der von Collaboratio Helvetica ins Leben gerufenen Initiative „Nova Helvetia“, die lösungsorientierte Projekte für eine gesunde Post-Covid-19 Schweiz begleitet und unterstützt, begaben sich Hartmut Hübner und Diana Oser in ihren jeweiligen Projektteams auf eine 3-monatige Reise. Hartmut interessierten die Aspekte des „New Work“-Ansatzes und wie sich diese in Unternehmen integrieren lassen, so das Arbeitnehmern und Unternehmen davon auf nachhaltige Weise langfristig davon profitieren können (SDG 8).

Stakeholder interviews are a tool that helps to sense, explore and gain a deeper understanding on different perspectives in a system. The tool has been developed by the Presencing Institute as part of the Theory U toolbox. Stakeholder interviews can be used at any stage of the U process and are a very useful tool to both sense into the system and get feedback on different aspects of your work. At collaboratio helvetica, we use this tool in most of our projects, for example in the Catalyst Lab, where participants do stakeholder interviews to explore the system and topic they are working on.