A Guide Service
We believe in working closely with our partners to guide them on their journey toward a more desirable future. Our services are designed to provide skills and resources that will allow for continued learning and improvement. We form long-term relationships to allow for continued sharing of the knowledge gained through learning by doing in complex situations.
Context is Crucial
The first step in all our work is to develop a strong understanding of the context within which our partners operate. We work together with our partners to analyze organizational structures, rules, and practices (formal and informal). We have learned first hand, through involvement in and evaluation of numerous initiatives around the world, that one-size-fits-all programs do not succeed in addressing complex social and environmental issues.
Honest, Constructive Feedback
Our partners rely on us to provide regular, honest guidance and reflection. This requires trust, due-diligence, and strong communication. We foster meaningful dialogue, accompanied by suggestions, methods, and tools designed to further develop and improve innovation in complex terrain. We believe that honest and informed feedback is key for learning and encourages high quality collaboration.
Learning By Doing
The best way to learn is from experience, which is why our approach emphasizes the importance of pilot projects, incubation, an action, so that initiatives get off the ground, evolve and improve over time. By building a shared language and facilitating communication, we help initiatives to advance more efficiently by learning from the experience of others.
Counting the Beans is Not Enough
In our practice, we combine qualitative and quantitative methods for gathering evidence to create a baseline and for measuring progress as an initiative moves forward. Many existing metrics and indicators fail to accurately represent the complex contexts in which our partners work. Our partners work is new and innovative. They are pioneers, scouting the edge of the territory of sustainability. Therefore, we have developed a robust and growing collection of methods and tools for measuring progress toward the achievement of goals and tracking the evolution of a program as it adapts to changing contexts and issues.
Stakeholder Engagement
We guide our partners in incorporating meaningful stakeholder participation at strategic points in their program planning and implementation processes. Gaining the insight and support of the people who will be affected by the actions of a program or initiative brings great value, as it enables us to draw from the knowledge and strengths already present within a community and develop constituencies with shared goals and a shared vision.
Importance of Sustained Leadership and Funding
Achieving sustained funding for initiatives with long-term goals, like environmental stewardship or interdisciplinary collaboration, is an enormous challenge. We believe in facing this reality from the start. We prioritize building a constituency of committed supporters and securing the sustained, long-term funding that is needed for a program to thrive. We also know that sustained leadership is crucial to program success. Our trainings and support tools prepare leaders with the necessary skills, knowledge and attitudes to lead an initiative through the long-term.
