Local 21st Century Think Tank

By Rick Smyre,
President, Center for Communities of the Future

Goal: To assure that local communities are prepared for a 21st century society

Objectives:

• To develop the capacity in local citizen leaders to understand the impact
  of future trends.
• To help citizen leaders develop strategies for present issues within a futures context
• To prepare the thinking of citizen leaders for a world view of the 21st century.
• To enable citizen leaders to understand the difference between reforming and transforming, and to develop "capacities for transformation" in their communities.

Background:

All communities at the local level are struggling to understand and resolve problems which seem to have no solution. Whether educational, economic, social or environmental issues, traditional approaches seem unable to fix the problem and even make things worse.

A key reason for this frustration is that local citizens leaders have not yet recognized that we are in a civilization change, and that the need for a new way of thinking is required. The idea of a futures context assumes that old ways no longer work and that we must experiment with new ideas to determine innovative approaches for how we learn, govern, engage in economic development, lead and even think.

An old admonition is that "one cannot act appropriately unless one has appropriate knowledge." It is the thesis of Communities of the Future that we are spending wasted time trying to make more efficient what already exists, thus "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic" without even knowing it. What is necessary is a spirit of innovation which attempts to develop ideas and methods able to "transform" our actions based on new underlying principles appropriate to a fast-paced, interconnected, and increasingly complex society. To this end, it is necessary to help citizen leaders rethink and retool local institutions. This can only be done by laying the base for a new way of thinking. A local 21st century think tank offers the ability to have a network of local citizens begin to develop the capacity to think differently. In a constantly changing society, local communities will need to build "capacities for transformation" parallel to the normal day to day actions of its institutional organizations.

Framework for "Local 21st Century Think Tank"

It is suggested that a minimum of five monthly sessions be held to introduce 10-20 local citizens how to begin to think differently and to consider issues within a futures context. These individuals should be selected not by position of authority, but by level of interest and excitement related to the idea of learning how to transform themselves, their organizations and their community. Even with such a level of interest, the level of transformative change necessary cannot occur within one or two monthly sessions. Just as seeds take time to grow into flowers, the same is true when creating a new way of thinking.

The following framework of five sessions is suggested:

1) Orientation - What is transformation and how is it different from what we are presently doing? What is meant by the term "capacities for transformation ?"

2) Trends of the Future - Educational, economic, emographic, leadership, social and governance trends. Integrating trends into a futures context.

3) A society of webs - Transforming organizational and social structure from hierarchies to webs. What are the key ideas of ecology and why is Integral Science, chaos, and complexity
important to local leaders?

4) Building Capacities for Transformation - What are the five "capacities for transformation" and how are they
developed in the thinking and operations of a community?

5) Applying the concepts - Developing the ability to establish parallel processes in specific ways. Analyzing an issue within a futures context.