Our mission is to activate collaborative networks globally to deliver innovative solutions that build more resilient systems.
Global Knowledge Initiative
The Systems Worldview
Our world is not predictable or linear, it is emergent, interconnected, and complex. We live in systems, characterized by a set of components that interact to perform specific jobs and produce specific outcomes. Whether it’s an organizational system, a government system, the food system, or our planetary system, systems shape our lives in ways we might not even realize. We also shape them. Our decisions can ensure that the systems we are part of are more resilient and able to address the complex challenges embedded within them, but first, we must understand what systems are, how they operate, and where the opportunities are to change them for the better.
The Innovation Worldview
Innovation is not only novel ideas or concepts. It is also a disruptive force for change in the world. It is a deliberate process of experimentation, learning, and (re) design; all in an effort to unlock new value and improved outcomes for people, society, and our planet. It takes a particular mindset and skill set to effectively translate ideas into innovation, and achieve a level of impact that can disrupt the status quo. With the right opportunities, incentives, and support structures, we can catalyze and accelerate the innovations we need to disrupt systems that no longer serve us.
The Systems Innovation Hybrid
Systems need innovations to build momentum for change. Innovations need to be strategically placed within systems to be locally relevant, more transformative, and better positioned for scale. Both need the vision, creativity, and energy of people to build momentum for change.
We believe the knowledge to foster a more resilient future already exists in the world, but the gap lies in how we connect the individuals who hold this ingenuity with one another so that we can do more together.
We work on a wide range of complex challenges – food security, disaster response, climate change, and economic inclusion – and at different levels – from the community to global – to build a system that is more inclusive, adaptive, and delivers better outcomes for all.
Recognizing innovating within systems is a human endeavor, we work in accompaniment with stakeholders in the system – innovators, investors, change agents, and leaders from across government, business, non-profit, and civil society – as representatives of their organizations and communities.
We foster the environment, the mindset, and the experiences to enable diverse perspectives, capacities, and resources to cross-pollinate.
As stakeholders move through our collaboration journey, they gain the clarity of purpose, relationships, and momentum needed to disrupt, strengthen, and make more resilient the systems that impact their lives.
Our programs are replicable and are grounded in the following universal foundations:
Systems-informed
We ensure that innovation efforts are focused on the opportunities within the system where disruption is not only possible but most impactful.
Stakeholder-led
We are in service to the stakeholders in the system, working as a champion, facilitator, and network-builder, to support them to achieve their vision for a more resilient system.
Action-oriented
We activate and connect the ingenuity, capacities, and resources in the system, ensuring incentives are in place to move people from conversation to innovation, collaboration, and collective action.