Journey of Regeneration / Ecovillage Transition

This tool is divided into 9 parts – one for each stepping stone of the journey of regeneration. In each one, you find an introduction, key intentions, questions for team reflection, a checklist of actions, a resource library to support those actions, and a a reporting section where you log written answers to questions that successively populate a public webpage and create your project report. You will also be able to upload images and files, but be aware that these will also be public.

Project Tracker – Stepping Stones

You can navigate back and forth between sections. When you click ‘save an continue later’ you will be emailed a link to your survey. It is vital that you keep this link safe since it will let you come back and continue! By uploading media or files, you guarantee that you have the right and relevant consent to use them publicly.

Step 1 of 9

4: Daring to Act – Exploring the Landscape

I arrive with the wish to see my project in a larger context, I leave with an improved project plan

Introduction

You are ready to act and implement – with a plan, a team, wider circles of support, and several maps in hand. Now it’s time to learn from doing. Acting, evaluating, learning and improving, you refine your project through testing your assumptions and plans in the real world. By daring to act and test your ideas, you can get quick feedback on everything from how people react and engage, to how your team functions, and if you are having the impact and results you were hoping for. By acting sooner rather than later, you can learn and improve in multiple steps, instead of spending too much time making perfect plans.

Intentions

Designing and implementing a prototype
Carrying out the initial steps of the project and assessing how it is received
Learning through doing things together
Setting up systems for tracking and evaluating impact, internally and externally
Refining project plans through iterative learning

GEN Design Principles

Adapt solutions to scale and context
Engage all stakeholders in designs for the future

Reflect…

What’s a small and easy way to bring our project alive for us and our stakeholders?
What can we do to test how well results and feedback match what we are hoping to achieve?
What are the assumptions underlying our project, or things we are not sure about? How can we test to see if they are right?
What are creative ways to gather data and learn about how our project is working in practice?
Whose feedback is extra important to us as we start to implement?
How is our collaboration working now that we are doing things together? Do we need to refine our governance, roles or communication?
Did something surprise us when we started to implement the project?

Create

How are you testing your approach – describe your initial steps or prototype!

What did you test, what did you want to learn? how did you test it, who did you test it with?

Which key stakeholders did you engage with, and how?

How did you gather data and evaluate what you did?

Who was involved, what did you ask? How did you gather information?

What are key things you learned from your prototyping / taking your first steps?

Have you changed anything in your goals or project design as a result of what you learned? If yes, what?

How will you document, monitor and evaluate your project from now on?

What will you do to keep learning and gather feedback on how your project is developing from now on? Who will you engage with, and how? What are you measuring and what data will your be gathering? Do you want to document your activities in some creative way, using video, images or art?

Act

Design a way to test your approach and assumptions – your prototype

Done!

Depending on your project this can look very different – maybe a community workshop, a first treeplanting action, a mini citizens assembly, an experience of a smaller version of what you envision your final result to be, a trial run of a local currency during market day, new recycling bins in one neighbourhood – get creative and see how you can create the same conditions as you want to with your full project, but in a way that is quick and doesn’t use a lot of resources.

Create a way to evaluate and gather feedback on your first steps

Done!

Do you need feedback forms, focus groups, observations of how people interact, data on use… it will depend on what you are doing and what you are testing. Make sure to ask and involve all your stakeholders

Capture what things are like now so that you can demonstrate your impact later!

Done!

Take photos, get testimonials, document a gap in research or practice… whatever makes sense for what you are planning to do

Document your prototyping and first steps

Done!

Photos, stories, podcasts, articles – anything that will help you remember, celebrate, learn, create publicity and disseminate

Gather your team for an assessment of your prototyping, how it went and what you learnt

Done!

Make adjustments to your project plans, goals, governance or roles if needed

Done!

Go back to your SMART goals, check if you want to change them after what you have learned

Done!

Make a plan for how you will track and measure your results

Done!

Make a plan for how you want to document your activities from now on

Done!

Documenting things along the way will help you see what you have achieved, and show it to others

Resources

Ecovillage Transition Trainer’s Handbook

SDG activities, Constellation work to explore systems interconnectedness

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5: Facing the dark night – Integrating the shadow

I arrive with an experience of our project and noticing fear of failure, I leave with renewed resilience and commitment

Introduction

Daring to act means daring to potentially fail, and meeting the world can mean meeting resistance, challenges or unexpected setbacks – especially when we are trying to change the status quo. By acting together with others, we also meet ourselves and our team members in new and deeper ways, which can lead to uncomfortable realisations, conflicts and disappointment. At the same time, research shows that previous failure is one of the best indicators of success, and many schools of thought consider the dark night essential for something truly innovative to come into being. Knowing that challenge, conflict, doubt and fear will be part of the journey, you can prepare – not to avoid it, but to walk through it skillfully together. If you are here in your journey, it’s time to stop for a moment and let the deeper levels of your collaboration come to the surface, finding out what needs to be heard, resolved or transformed for your project to rise like a phoenix from the ashes and your team to find renewed committment and resilience together.

Intentions

Noticing and sharing resistance, doubts and fears
Learning from success and failure
Addressing tensions and resolving conflicts skilfully
Letting go of preconceptions, expectations or assumptions that have proven false
Making necessary adjustments to team culture and project plans
Strengthening personal and project resilience
Building stronger networks of safety, care and connection

GEN Design Principles

Listen to the feedback of the world
Adapt solutions to scale and context

Reflect…

What challenges have we faced in our team and with collaboration?
Are there any issues or dynamics that we are not talking about? How can we create safe spaces for doing so?
What is making us feel hopeless, angry or sad when we think about our project, our team and the world?
Where have we hit resistance and inertia in the world?
What are the external issues that we cannot control and how can we be resilient and adapt to these?
What do we need to let go of, and what are we committing even more strongly to?
What kinds of infrastructure and practices can we create to support more safety, transparency, sustainability, care and connection?
What are our sources of hope and resilience, individually, as a team, and as a community?

Create

Have you had any setbacks? Which ones? How have you adapted, what have your learnt?

This could feel vulnerable to share. Remember that setbacks are not failures, they are inevitable learning-opportunities and by sharing them we help each other learn and lower the bar for others to take initiative.

Have you encountered any resistance or negative feedback to your project? What was it? How have you chosen to meet it?

What feels challenging in the world and your community right now? How does that influence your project?

How have you worked to resolve conflicts within your team – or how do you plan to do so when they arise?

What practices or systems are you creating to support more safety, transparency, sustainability, care and connection in your team and your community?

Act

Gather your team for an honest reflection on how the project is going

Done!

Host a conversation about what feels challenging in the world and your community right now – and what gives you hope

Done!

Do an exercise together to discover anything that team members are holding back or not sharing

Done!

Create a shared map of challenges, blocks, resistance or problems that seem to stand in your way

Done!

Take time to surface and resolve any conflicts you have or have had along the way (or don't if you haven't had them yet!)

Done!

Study and discuss conflict management and resolution tools with your team

Done!

Learn about transformative frameworks for communication, conflict resolution and nurturing safety, connection and care in your circles

Done!

Resources

Ecovillage Transition Toolkit

Voices of Transition

Ecovillage Transition Handbook

Dealing with conflict

Ecovillage Transition Trainer’s Handbook

Non-violent communication, 8 shields, Presencing, Responding to change or challenge, Forum

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6: Manifesting the new – Opening to the unexpected

I arrive sensing new opportunities, I leave with unexpected tools and support to enhance our project

Introduction

Sometimes when things seem stuck, even a small shift in perspective, a single conversation or a tiny step forward can reveal abundant new possibilities. More resilient, with a deeper understanding of your project and team, and space for new ideas where old assumptions and expectations used to be, this is the time to welcome new directions and connections that will let you take your project further. In this phase, it is time to think and act creatively to bring your project into full bloom. You have tested your ideas and been tested by the world, you have learned. Now you are ready to really create something truly new and scale your action!

Intentions

Overcoming challenges and blockages in create ways
Harnessing new tools, know-how and wisdom to create a clear path for the broader implementation of the project
Taking the project into new arenas
Finding unexpected leverage points and new ways to reach your goals
Making necessary adjustments to team culture and project plans
Making visible what the project is bringing into being and seeing that in a wider context
Accessing resources needed for full implementation

GEN Design Principles

Learn from nature and practise whole systems thinking
Identify assets, needs and leverage points
Build alliances across all divides

Reflect…

What do we think and feel about the relationship between planning and emergence? How are they playing out in our project?
Looking at our project so far – what can we see coming into being that we maybe did not expect?
What changes have we initiated or can see emerge? How can we use that to leverage wider systemic change in the future?
How can we build on our success and scale our project further?
Which new possibilities and opportunities can we sense – and how can we open up to sense more of them?
Who is well placed to help us with new advice, resources or connections?
What other projects can we develop with the relationships and partnerships we have built?
Who do we want to inform, include and engage with as we scale?

Create

What is emerging in your team and around you as a result of your project that you did not plan for but nevetheless can see?

How have you moved through any challenges, resistance, fear and conflict? What helped you do so?

Which unexpected new connections, insights, opportunities or resources have opened up new pathways for your project?

How have the changes you have already created made it possible for you to create even more?

With whom are you deepening or creating new partnerships and collaborations now?

How do you plan to publicise, disseminate and inform people about your project as you move forward?

Act

Hold a session with your team focussing on finding new perspectives and ideas

Done!

there are guides and ideas in the resource list

Read about emergence and discuss how to leverage it together

Done!

Seek out advice or input from people you think will open new doors for you

Done!

Revisit and update your outreach and communications plan to reflect who you want to reach now, and how

Done!

Assess the stakeholder map developed in earlier phases and consider which collaborations might work next

Done!

Assess your resources and whether you want to take action now to access more

Done!

You now have new directions, concrete results, established relationships and creative ideas on how to scale – it can be a good moment build on your success and learning to fundraise or access more people, spaces, persmissions or whatever other resources you seek.

Resources

Ecovillage Transition Trainer’s Handbook

Visioning tools

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7: Maturing on the path – gathering the harvest

I arrive with the richness of creating change, I leave prepared to share my experience

Introduction

You are doing it. Your project is in full bloom and you have become skilled and experienced changemakers together. The plans you made and refined are yielding results, and the changes you aimed for are becoming reality. It’s a busy time of full implementation, activities and teamwork, but also of paying attention to what you are achieving and how. Making sure to gather your results, you set the stage not only for great celebration, but also for sharing your knowledge in ways that can inform and inspire others to act. If there have been difficulties in the project, this is also a time for forgiveness and reconciliation. Reaching maturity as a team and seeing your collaboration bear fruit, you have so much to harvest and share with others!

Intentions

Implementing a project fully
Tending to anything that needs attention
Evaluating outcomes and measuring progress
Making clear how the project is supporting positive transformations at different scales and for different people
Gathering materials for presentation and dissemination
Integration and reconciliation
Making visible what the project is bringing into being and seeing that in a wider context
Accessing resources needed for full implementation

GEN Design Principles

Listen to the feedback of the world
Be aware of privilege and use it for the benefit of all

Reflect…

How is it going? Are there any areas of our collaboration or implementation that need our attention or support?
Are there any outstanding issues or questions that we need to address?
How are we keeping resourced and motivated in the midst of the busyness?
What is the full impact of our project? What has changed from when we started?
What are we learning about capacity-building and collaboration?
Who do we need to connect with to understand the full effect our project is having?
In what ways do we want to document our results to share them with others?

Create

What are the main changes in your community as a result of your project?

Go back to Stepping Stone one and your answer to "What is the issue, need, problem or situation you are addressing?" – How are things different now, and what role did you play in that change?

Which SDGs did your project contribute to? How?

Has your team, your community and your stakeholders built any inner capacities needed for the transition to a regenerative and resilient society?

Which capacities, how, how did the project contribute to that capacity building?

In what ways have you expanded your capacity to include diversity and make meetings, events, teams and activities welcoming and safe for different people? How did you do it?

In what ways have you expanded your capacity to collaborate and and create nourishing teams and partnerships?

Go back to your stakeholder analysis – how have you worked with and impacted your key stakeholders? What is their feedback and response to the project now?

Go back to your main intentions and goals – did you reach them, surpass them, change them or not achieve them? How? Why?

What has happened, what are you achieving, what have you learned, did your goals and intentions change? If so, why?

Act

This is a busy time – do all the things that need doing for your project to be in full bloom!

Done!

Download / print your existing GEN Impact Assessment, then do the assessment again to see what has changed

Done!

You can do this online or as an interactive session with your team or a wider group of people using the Ecovillage Design Cards

Reach out to your key stakeholders for a feedback and reflection session

Done!

Complete and analyse your evaluation of project activities and goals

Done!

Resources

8: Sharing the gift – Celebrating with beauty

I arrive with a mature project to present and celebrate, I leave with new connections and inspiration

Introduction

It’s time to celebrate! Celebration is often overlooked, but it is vital not only for the resilience and wellbeing of changemakers, but also to let other people know and learn from what you have done. This is especially important when working with partners and with a wider group of people who may not be fully aware of the extent of your project. This is a great opportunity to share your enthusiasms and successes, and perhaps to find new partners for future projects. Sharing your stories helps other groups see their potential, and helps you appreciate what you have achieved. It also scales the impact of your project and what you have learnt, if others can benefit from it.

Intentions

Reflecting on personal and collective experiences throughout the project
Acknowledging and appreciating everyone’s contributions – thanking all the people involved
Celebrating all that’s been achieved and learned
Presenting vision, outcomes and future intentions to broader society
Letting others learn from your experience and results
Inviting new allies and opportunities

GEN Design Principles

Spread core patterns of regeneration
Build alliances across all divides

Reflect…

What are we most grateful for when we think about our project, team, partners and the journey we have been on together?
To whom should we tell our stories? Who do we want to gather? How can we include all audiences?
What are good channels to reach the people we want to share our results with?
Are there creative ways in which we can celebrate our project and engage with others – like community art, poetry, music, theatre, photography exhibitions, a street carnival…?
How can we celebrate in a way that is inclusive to all partners, communities and organisations? Do we need multiple celebrations?
Can we link with existing cultural events in the region, or honour historical or cultural context in our celebrations?
What would a fun and nurturing celebration look like for our core team?
How can we enhance the legacy of our project and provide a stepping stone for future projects?

Create

How did you celebrate?

What did you do? Did you host events? Did you involve any arts and creativity? who attended?

How have your been disseminating and sharing project results and impacts?

Did you write blogs, use social media, write pressreleases or articles, attend fairs, set up info stands in the square…?

Who have you been reaching out to? How many people and stakholder groups have you reached?

What were the highlights of celebrating and sharing results more widely?

Is there a specific moment, event, response or effect that stands out to you? What made it so special?

Who would you like to thank here? What are you grateful to them for?

Act

Create new publicity and dissemination materials for your project and your results

Done!

Newsletters, info stands, public events, street parties, press releases, posters, stickers, open neighbourhood gardens, leaflets, blogs, social media, academic articles, conferences – what suits your project and stakholders?

Celebrate with your core team

Done!

Celebrate with your partners, community and/or stakeholders

Done!

Document your celebration

Done!

Your celebration can be a source of further dissemination – take photos, publish stories, involve local media!

Document your dissemination activities and results

Done!

They are part of your impact and the story of your project!

Do a gratitude exercise

Done!

Finish any reports to funders or partners you need to do

Done!

Resources

Ecovillage Transition Toolkit

Voices of Transition

Ecovillage Transition Handbook

Celebration, Dragon Dreaming, 8 Shields

Ecovillage Transition Trainer’s Handbook

8 Shields

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Share a picture or other output from your celebrations – make sure you can guarantee you have the right and relevant consent to publish it

9: Coming home – Listening to the future

I arrive ready to rest and reflect, I leave with a sense of completion … and hearing the whisper of the new

Introduction

Resting is not a luxury or inefficiency, it’s a radical and necessary act to break cycles of burnout and sustain regenerative work in the world. Organising in ways that renew or revitalise our own resources and those of our groups is what makes our work truly regenerative. Celebrating is one source of revitalisation, but so is rest. It’s time to pause. Integrating stillness, rest, connection and care, waiting a moment before jumping into the next project, and taking time to reflect and listen deeply to what is calling you now, are all part of the essential work of creating change.

Intentions

Resting and integrating
Finding moments of stillness and reconnection
Nurturing individual and team wellbeing and sense of completion
Reflecting on your project and its impact on you, your team and your community
Consolidating the project and sensing what wants to happen next
Giving space to hear what is calling you now

GEN Design Principles

Listen to the feedback of the world
Learn from nature and practise whole systems thinking

Reflect…

What feels most nourishing and restorative for us to do right now?
How can we support each other to take a real pause from doing, and rest?
What’s the role of rest, care and mutual support in regenerative change work?
What did we do well?
What could we have done better?
What were our highlights?
What’s our vision of the world and our community now?
What is calling us into action now?

Create

What were some of the highlights of your project journey?

What are you doing to make space for rest, relaxation and stillness?

What has this project taught you about personal, collective and community resilience and how to foster regenerative ways of working together?

Act

Organise team reflection time

Done!

Host a community or stakeholder reflection

Done!

Gather you partners for a final reflection session

Done!

Do a team retreat session – or day – focussing on stillness, rest and restoration

Done!

Resources

Ecovillage Transition Handbook

8 Shields

Ecovillage Transition Trainer’s Handbook

Reflection activities, 8 Shields

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Journey of Regeneration / Ecovillage Transition Develop, implement and evaluate your collaborative project in a regenerative and collaborative way

Project Tracker – Stepping Stones

1: Answering the call – Igniting the fire

2: Crossing the threshold – Drawing the map

3: Engaging the circles – embracing diversity

4: Daring to Act – Exploring the Landscape

5: Facing the dark night – Integrating the shadow

6: Manifesting the new – Opening to the unexpected

7: Maturing on the path – gathering the harvest

8: Sharing the gift – Celebrating with beauty

9: Coming home – Listening to the future

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Our Work

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Vision & Mission

Project Tracker – Stepping Stones

1: Answering the call – Igniting the fire

2: Crossing the threshold – Drawing the map

3: Engaging the circles – embracing diversity

4: Daring to Act – Exploring the Landscape

5: Facing the dark night – Integrating the shadow

6: Manifesting the new – Opening to the unexpected

7: Maturing on the path – gathering the harvest

8: Sharing the gift – Celebrating with beauty

9: Coming home – Listening to the future

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