Chapters One and Two
Notes, analysis and discussion (most of comments drawn
from text -- direct quotes are not always acknowledged); most of the discussion
is drawn from chapter 1, although some relates to chapter 2 as well:
From discussion on introduction
two weeks ago, SEED-SCALE is a theory of change to structure and channel
individual actions toward effective solutions provides framework for learning,
adapting and innovating. Implemented through empowerment, deriving from human
energy differs from the usual process of development -- concepts of change
agents and donors, needs analysis, plans, targets, funding stream.
SEED-SCALE allows each community
to develop its own approach to services and enhance its control over its
environment (broadly defined) using all resources and building a community
resource base from within -- significant implications for process under way at
Circleville and innovation teams; implications on how to bring all
"community" members on board.
No endpoint -- always developing
and evolving -- what does this mean for outcomes?
SEED-SCALE provides a way to frame
relationships -- realistically grounded, SEED-SCALE framework focuses on
building relationships, utilizing human energy, leading to behavioral change
through partnership. Essentially the communities teach communities, the
feedback loop leads to refinement and innovation, resulting in expanded
momentum up within and across communities. Relates to Johnson's discussion of
adjacent possibilities, productive collisions and what happens within liquid
networks. Liquid net works are permeable and growth takes place by the
individuals within those networks. As individual knowledge expands as a result
of collective action, the network expands, as well -- find ways to relate to
innovation team process, within teams and across teams in Future Generations.
Example from Arunachal -- process
of catalyst from outside, outside in, working with bottom-up the cluster of women
that became the women's group and influencing the top down. In addition
communities teaching other communities and attracting more clusters. Moving
from one cluster to five in one month with 17 after three years and expanding
from health concerns to wide range of actions and opportunities. Eventually
reaching 30 villages and 2000 people -- Money did not change hands, knowledge
did. Rima not charismatic nor social entrepreneur but her efforts contributed
to changing the context that survived without her (much like pregnancy
history/women's action group in Yakawlang, Afghanistan). The question now
becomes timeframe and continuation of process -- is there a multiplier, ripple
effect within the community as well as across the community that builds on
lessons learned and continues to grow outwards? What obstacles have been
confronted and overcome? How? How to monitor?
Bameng illustrates SEED-SCALE --
work with what's there, build sense of community, and work from comfort level
to eventually lead to behavioral change. Locus of control in the community --
empowered community to benefit from engagement with outside world, using
currency of human energy, not building dependency on external financial or
human resources.
Community is a complex system
drawing together economic social and natural forces -- possible to change the
relationship of each of these with each other. From examples in this chapter
can see that society as a complex adaptive system comprised of interactions
across human behavior in domains of economic, social and natural conditions.
Need to ponder further at the thought that the whole is not equal to the sum of
its parts but rather how the parts relate to each other. Good examples on pages
16 and 17 of changing relations and changing results. Is this what Johnson
means by the functioning of liquid networks?
The challenge for Future
Generations transformation is to accomplish the following, as indicated on page
17,: SEED-SCALE, as a framework for functioning in a complex system, such as
the system now under way at Circleville, enables change in the relationship
between the parts, and through adaptation as a result of these changes,
transforms the parts themselves. In contrast to other approaches where the
focus is on the parts, connecting them in predictable ways, in a complex system
it is the relationship across the parts. This relates to Johnson's discussion
of what happens to participants in a liquid network. He makes the point that it
is not the network that gets smarter, it is the participants within that
network that grow and learn as a result of being in that network.
The chapter discusses how a
complex system is a set of procedures that govern the interaction across the
parts. The procedures become the operating principles and they can be acquired
or taught. It's possible to think of it in this way: top-down provides the
laws, bottom-up the customs and habits, outside in new knowledge or approaches.
Social fractals are a hard concept
to grasp that essentially is the building units of society relating to one
another. Question to ponder is each of the innovation teams a social fractal
that relates to the other teams as other should Social fractals and in some way
rate relates to the Board of Trustees another social fractal -- all nested
within Future Generations -- in Circleville, in country programs, alumni,
students, faculty and trustees -- is it possible to analyze these units as
fractals and map relationships? Complicating factor is that the relationships
are always changing as the fractals changes well. The basic assumption is that
growth happens from a process of relationship within and across fractals as the
parts of this complex system.
With social fractals interacting
with each other connected and multiple pathways, the result is social emergence
-- possibly the relationship is across the fractals or in the case of the book
across the different communities. On page 18 discusses implementation by rules
that create order out of complexity. The question for Future Generations is
what are the rules that lead to emergence or the adaptive actions that are
always changing? This becomes complicated in thinking about proposal
development, in a very practical way, hard to write about dynamic situations
but this is where snapshots can come in as well.
Clarifying line on page 19
"emergence goes directly to implementation, allowing designed to unfold
along the way, always re-adapting within an ongoing analysis of fast numbers of
interactions to improve the design." This leads to understanding exist the
nature of social change "social change that grows internally and is
sustained is a product of decisions made in response to shifting context."
Unpacking these thoughts explains the failure of many development projects,
both pilots and full ones. Essentially this is saying that internal dynamics
control, govern, the complex system of the community. While this is well known
in anthropology, it is often lost sight of an economic development. And in
anthropology the structures are almost always hard to move forward to bring
different members of the community, the interacting across kinship groups for
instance, together.
Essentially the process is not
orderly but there needs to be connecting across the different component parts
within a community so that there is growth and change the stability coming from
the capacity to adapt.
Following is a some page 21
examine Future Generations as a complex system again: with SEED-SCALE as an
emergent framework considered how the different social fractals of the
innovation teams engage the system and each other through what operating
principles: the question becomes what are the operating principles that govern
the interaction within the teams and across the teams? Is the interaction
governed by the principles of SEED-SCALE: building on success, three-way
partnership, evidence-based, and aiming for behavioral change? Are the
operating principles for the teams assessed on the basis of criteria of equity,
sustainability holism, inter dependence and interaction? Are the seven tacit
SEED-SCALE appropriate for the teams -- organizing a local coordinating
committee, identifying successes, learning from experience of others, gathering
data about local results, making a work plan, holding partners accountable,
making midcourse corrections?
Within the book this is talked
about in the context of a complex adaptive framework working through the
process of interaction and constantly a lot evolving from both local and
external determinants. The results can be defined as stated on page 22 as the
revolution of rising aspirations -- that is aspirations with tangible results.
While we did not discuss the concept of scale at length, since that is at
discussion of another chapter, it was clear that scale is not just numbers as
discussed in the book but also the interaction and feedback within the
community, or the case of Future Generations within and across the teams. It's
possible that the aspiration plus results and outcomes sought by the
transformation of Future Generations includes such concepts as enhanced
relationships, and increase knowledge, palpable growth in synergy, more
innovations based on the combination of results and aspirations.
Essentially as stated on page 23,
there is a first-order understanding of what might be the ongoing always
growing results: identifying wider options, leading to more innovations where
"the synergy becomes active between quality of life and quantity of people
participating. Rising quality of life brings more people to participate, and
this numerical expansion increases human resources. That larger base leads to
the next stages of quality, and the feedback loop generates true scale."
This is not going to happen overnight and it may be the goal towards which one
organizes actions and interactions but never fully achieved.
In Chapter 2 there is an extensive
review of key literature that we did not discuss. It is apparent from chapter 1
the differences between SEED-SCALE and how one organizes complex systems from
most of the discussion in the chapter the relevant pages focusing on
empowerment are found in pages 38 to 42. We specifically discussed the Jimmy
Yen emphasis on the social norms of working with the people that is,
"teach by showing, learn by doing." (p.39 )
Particularly challenging was a
section pages 42 -- 44that emphasized the importance of finding a way to relate
to approaches of SEED-SCALE and more traditional development. The emphasis,
that is, not competing across the different approaches but trying to find ways
that they could reinforce each other. This relates to Johnson's discussion of
adjacent collisions and the intersection across hunches that might be quite
different but could help lead to a stronger next step, incrementally and
iteratively.
When the discussion talking about
how to share this kind of conversation more widely at Circleville to create new
social fractals of discussion groups where each of us take on responsibility
for leading yet another discussion group beyond the staff meeting. The intent
is to say what norms about learning, human energy, operating principles, and
feedback loops can be built into this complex system and to strengthen
interaction within and across component parts. To we discuss the value of
reading the Johnson and Taylor's books at the same time to deepen understanding
of the concepts and practice, as well as the internal transformation underway
within Future Generations.
