QUESTS

Turning explorations
into projects

TRANSFORMATIONAL JOURNEYS

Emergent co-creation processes

Quests are transformational journeys. They are co-creation processes around powerful questions, future inquires or just invitations of your intuition.

In form of action research they unlock your own hidden potential and let new futures emerge. Co-creation manifests in (white-)papers, frameworks, pitches, talks, proof-of-concepts, models and simulations or in stories. Journaling and storytelling are powerful supporters to capture and articulate your experiences along the journey.

We share with each other what’s present for us, what calls us and where our attention and energy pulls us. We design our journey along experiences that help us discover – individually or collectively – climbing a mountain or resting at the seaside. Step-by-step we pace our travel and inquiries instead of hasting to deadlines. We trust our knowing or invite guides and wisdom holders to help us unlock the next levels of clarity:

  • How can we build trust in our collective intuition ? (belief in human potential)
  • How can we allow emerging ideas help us unlearn and find ways to walk paths of insecurity ?
  • How can we provide ways to quicker understand impacts and consequences ? e.g. sandboxes, digital simulations, etc.

We do not change along pre-defined life events, but become life explorers and travellers handling ongoing adaptations, insights and changes.

Fulfillment

Automation for human spirit
to soar

Technology allows more and more people to afford basic needs and work on the fulfillment of their lives, allowing the human spirit to soar.

In our pluristic world we see different systems competing for the right approach. Many seem to follow a Darwinistic approach that one will dominate and win over the other.

E.O. Wilson suggests to understand Darwins “ survival of the fittest“ as „innate drive to flourish rather than dominate, and that biophilia reflects our inherent inclination to empathize with our fellow creatures and the natural world.“

For those following this humanistic approach the quest is about how to handle such transitions ? Those include working with own shifts of mind-set, handling insecurities, fears of loss, healing traumata and finding ways to not only accept but to constructively engage with people that follow other approaches and ways of interaction.

In recent years we see transition movements and needs, such as collaborative approaches for global phaenomena, such as Climate or Artificial Intelligence, employee’s seeking purpose-driven jobs, calls for Universal Basic Income, post-growth and regenerative economies.

Along those, the idea of science as a practice of „understand existing, sensible phenomena“ and fact discovery is experiencing enhancements. Social sciences provide the base to providing meaning as of a consensus among people and help to explain our dynamics.

Our societal quests and transition efforts face a design challenge of open-ends. We are still exploring the guiding principles and ideas that in the past were provided inductively by an authority or deductively uncovered based on trusted methods. Instead of shaping the transition between A and B we might see and need now a fluid approach. We can ask about ideas and ambitions, but the nature of system changes is that all answers will be biased by the existing system.

POST-GROWTH

Collaborative economies

Post-growth approaches explore new mindsets, approaches and responsible behaviours that require deeper transitions in business models, ownership, value participation or legal set-ups.

Projects can explore use cases that benefit from collaborative over competitive approaches.

They can investigate ways to measure different qualities or discuss if other languages of agreement (beyond numbers) might be beneficial, e.g. new Care Economy, Beyond GDP, etc.

Carol Sanford outlines three key principles: Wholeness, Regeneration and Development.

Encouraging a holistic understanding of systems and the integration of various aspects (e.g., personal values, environmental impact, organizational culture) to foster sustainable and regenerative practices.  Promoting practices that go beyond sustainability and aim to restore and revitalize natural, social, and economic systems. Fostering continuous learning and growth, both individually and collectively, to navigate complexity and create positive change.

Data Sovereignty

Reclaiming control

We got used to get free Web services, paying with our data and credentials. Nothing wrong until the data is used in non-consented ways or in ways that were a-priori not clear to consent on. GDPR or alike legal frameworks improved the situation a lot, but face the challenge to work behind the tech developments. 

New approaches of DataVaults, wallets, etc. promise to keep the data with oneself and only provide the info necessary to fulfill the task. Knowing that somebody is above 18 is a yes/no and does not require to share the full birthday, for instances. 

Value participation

Contributorship

Value from data is typically derived downstream the value chain, e.g. in an AI-service. Data suppliers do not know about their value contribution or do not have the (negotiation) position  to benefit from it. Fair trade mechanisms work in a similar way to ensure a fair share for suppliers up-stream the chain. 

Contributorship similarily strives for such fair share in value, but not by raising the supply costs, but by offering suppliers or workers the option to participate in future income. This comes with a higher risk, but also higher up-side, e.g. in fast growing segments, such as AI.

It doesn’t matter if it’s shared reputation (e.g. in science) or shared revenues, new technologies, uch as blockchain, allow now to track contributions along the chain and unlock new business models, such as Commission business.

Known from seasonal products, commission business can now be applied to the creator’s economy and reduce cash-conversion-cycles. Creations are no longer seperate industry segments, such as music or art, software, data and AI are inherent part of every industry nowadays. Creators have to capture their fair share.

Complexity sciences

How to handle decentrality

Dynamic multi-party environments provide options for participation but require enhanced mechanisms for fair design, representation, adaptability, conflict resolution and openness to different perspectives. 

Complexity science and Living systems approaches provide modelling and simulation approaches that allow to shape the system conditions rather then the exact outcomes. 

Transition times are characterized by unclear outcomes, remixes of ideas and new needs. Instead of pushing harder for full control, emerging systems can be shaped and facilitated differently. Blockchain-based tools provide new, sometimes “ zero trust“-based opportunities.

Sustainable Futures Institute

Supporting Change makers in tehir Transformational Travels towards emerging Sustainable Futures

Stayaltered – Conscious travel

Shaping a cooperative and responsible travel platform with data sovereignity

CryptoHub – SSRN

Curating pre-print channel for Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies

Cosy AI – Sincere AI

Building a Cooperative Approach to AI

Laymen Research summaries 

Sharing academic research in a simple and useful summary format – easy to use for social impact.

desci foundation

Open science, fair peer-review,efficient funding.