Working in Complexity for non-profits
A 2 day training on understanding and working in complexity-
For non-profits, community groups and change makers
For non-profits, community groups and change makers
Once upon a time, a passionate person wanted to do what they could to make a difference. So, they joined an organisation with values, ready to get to work. They were told if they wanted to help people and communities and make change happen they first needed to develop strategies, action plans and targets, and so they did. Yet they noticed that every time this process had finished the world had changed just enough for the strategy not to be relevant anymore, and so they started the planning process again. And slowly the passionate person and the value driven group were doing less and less of the work that mattered and the real change they wanted to make seemed further and further away. And so, the problems got worse…Sound familiar?
We are inviting you into a different story....
One which asks you to let go of what we’ve been told about how change needs to happen, to let go of certainties about where we are trying to get to and how to get there, and to start the journey of experimentation, testing small ideas, learning from failure and rapidly evolving the good ideas that work. We are inviting you into world of complexity .
But, what do you mean by complexity?
Complexity science is a rapidly emerging field which draws from understandings of society being a complex living system. This means it is messy, it’s not possible to know for sure how to get from A to B or what action will really make the difference in the end. Instead, we must develop new ways of working which reflect the ever changing nature of our social systems. It is being recognised, particularly within international development, as a critical new understanding of how change actually happens and represents a radical departure from much of what we think we know.
Complexity science is a rapidly emerging field which draws from understandings of society being a complex living system. This means it is messy, it’s not possible to know for sure how to get from A to B or what action will really make the difference in the end. Instead, we must develop new ways of working which reflect the ever changing nature of our social systems. It is being recognised, particularly within international development, as a critical new understanding of how change actually happens and represents a radical departure from much of what we think we know.
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Join us if these are questions you would like to explore:
· When everything is uncertain, how do we know what to do? · How can we create strategies which are adaptive, responsive and take us in this direction of what works? · How can we create a culture in which it is ok to not know the answer on how to move forward? · How can we shift from highlighting only our successes to valuing the learning from failures? |
You will leave with:
· A foundational understanding of what we mean when talking about working in a complex system and what this means for how to make change happen—within our organisations, in our communities and in our activism. · Tools and tactics to help you lead and take action differently. · Build your resilience, adaptiveness and confidence to respond to ongoing uncertainty and ambiguity. · Connection and community with social change peers. We aim to provide you with experience and community that can sustain you as you return to do the hard work. |
Who's it for?
Anyone, from front-line to management, who is working in communities & non-profits and/or directly active in social change work in Scotland, the rest of the UK and anywhere else.
Anyone, from front-line to management, who is working in communities & non-profits and/or directly active in social change work in Scotland, the rest of the UK and anywhere else.
Trainers. |
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Bronagh Gallagher
Over 15 years experience of working in communities and voluntary sector in Glasgow. Experienced facilitator with a particular interest in how we use good process to work on issues of social justice, equity, and structural, systemic change. Bitten by the complexity bug several years ago, I’ve been learning all I can ever since. I’m in an ongoing inquiry as to what this emerging, but radical, new field can tell us about how social change happens and how we can put it into practice |
Chris Corrigan
Chris Corrigan has worked for 20 years in the field of facilitation and participatory leadership. He has worked across North America and Europe with organizations working to make their communities better. He is a co-leader of an innovative BC based non-profits leadership program called Leadership 2020 and works extensively with indigenous communities, non-profit organizations, faith communities and groups of people confronting complexity in their lives and work. http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot/ |
