How to invite people and learn about different kinds and characteristics of invitations.

Learning through experience

What makes communities sustainable ?

Any thoughts and comments are welcome.

Mark

PoC Invitation to experience sustainable communities

As Pioneers develop further the question arises whether the network offers support and services for a specific time within one’s Pioneering lifetime or whether it might offer space for „alumni“ as well to stay in touch and re-connect. This essay outlines levels of engagement with the network, which are not binding but should give orientation. It will clarify expectations and facilitate commitments. It could serve as base for a sustainable community of Pioneers of Change.  

2.    What we see

• We see a lot of founding Pioneers stepping down after five-seven years of Pioneering practice to shift their energies into projects, family or work.

• We see new people getting inspired by the Principles and the network

• We see unclarity in using the knowledge and content generated within the network

• We see CoPs and discussion forums falling dry as people shifted energy but didn’t formally steped down.

• We see new technologies challenging the structures and drawing energy to cope with.

3.    What we lack

·        Clear invitation to new people

·        Offer and options to experiences Pioneers to stay in touch with the network

·        Working mode of paying membership  

4.    What we offer

We would like to offer an engagement model to offer different development stages in a Pioneer’s experience. They are arenas or fractals or people in similar situation sharing the Pioneer’s set of principles:

Levels of engagement - first draft (bubbles) 

4.1      Participation

Typically people in this stage just got to know the network. Usually they got invited by someone. They subscribe in some lists and meet people locally. They wonder, what it’s all about and start questionning. They might be inspired by the ideas or might already have some projects ongoing but usually they are looking to meet people who are doing social ventures and projects to see whether this would be an option for themselves to balance their life activities beside or inside work. What is in fo me:

• Learning about Pioneers and its own amibitions, understanding towards it through participating in the network
• Gain clarity on your own path and ideas
• Break down your visions into feasible actions and ventures
• Find people to team-up for your projects
• Discovering oneself and ist own goals
• Experimenting with ideas
• Finding role models, show cases and contacts
• Meet inspiing people
• International connections and exchange

 What do I need to do for that:

• Invest a bit of time
• Share your ideas, questions
• Offer your skills in hosting, facilitating, connecting people
• Harvest your learnings and share them with the others
• Invite other inspiring people (as participants or contributors)

4.2      Membership

Typical people in this stage participated in the netwok for 2-3 years finding their own way and became clear about their own vision This they can formulate and share within the commitment. They are well connected in the network or parts of it and hold wisdom on history and tools in the network. They care about Pioneers as a group of people in society but have found a way to start action now in their environment. What is in fo me:

• Learn about managing a network
• Formalize your training, hosting, cultivation skills
• Receive mentorship of „owners“
• Give to the network, what it gave you
• Deepen your own process and find support for your own projects
• Participate in netwok decisions - Be memeber of the chaord-group

 What do I need to do for that:

• You might offer a financial contribution
• Care about the network and ist structures
• Spend time to discuss strategic and fundamental questions
• Inspire the network
• Coach participants and local networks

4.3      Ownership

People in this stage checked-out as active members and take full ownership for their own Ventures rather experimenting with them. Their energy is required to kick-off or boost their own ventues, projects. They are looking for practical support (contracting, financing, consulting) and take a more business dirven approach. Sometimes they build on the learnings and knowledge they co-created during their active network time.  With the check-out they can ask themselves in which relation they wanna stay with the network – cool time, still linked, supporting, etc. In a supporting role, expecially if they build on knowledge co-created in the network, they can make the network sustainable through pay-backs for 3-5 years (afterwards, donations are welcome) What is in fo me:

• Peer-group learning retreats
• Business recommendations
• Virtual teaming (e.g. consulting, coaching, facilitation, etc.)
• Moderated sharing of formal knowledge (contracting, financing, etc.)
• Friends and business partners
• Transparency through th network

 What do I need to do for that:

• Offer mentorship to members
• Inspire participants
• Offer connections to inspiring people
• Offer coaching, service, faciliation, etcl
• Make financial contributions
• Provide history information

 Co-created knowledge might be shown under the creative common licence or scientificcommons.org. Details have to be worked out.

What are the learnings in terms of self-organizing networks from the last years of Pioneering practice in PoC ?