At Forum for the Future, we started 2016 feeling pretty optimistic. This year we turned 20, and we could point to a lot of firsts in those two decades. Firsts to be really proud of: the first NGO to enter into partnership with business, the first organisation to offer a Masters in Sustainable Development, the first international non-profit to develop applied futures tools and techniques to create transformative change, and the first to talk about system innovation and the absolute need for system level change.
And then 2016 happened. In the face of unprecedented political upheaval, seismic geo-political shifts, and almost daily reminders of the fragility of the world around us, and despite 20 years of great work behind us, at points this year the vision for a sustainable future has seemed far away.
At the end of what will probably be referred to as ‘that year’, we are even more committed to drive change in three ways:
- We will continue to push hard for solutions to systemic challenges
We have high hopes for our multi-year, multi-stakeholder global projects such as Cotton 2040, where the ambition is to make sustainable cotton mainstream, and the Protein Challenge, where we have just launched six new exciting innovation areas, all designed to ensure equitable access to protein for a growing population. These projects include a stream of work engaging chefs to drive demand for plant based proteins, as well as the ‘Feed Compass’, a tool for the global feed industry designed to give animal feed a sustainability make-over.
There are then projects such as the Living Grid designed to transform the creaking, leaking, unfit-for-purpose, carbon guzzling energy infrastructure that currently characterises the UK’s energy system. Within this project we are bringing big energy users together to tackle energy demand management in a way that wouldn’t be possible on their own. We’re hoping that this is part of a bigger shift to a UK energy system that is ultimately more like a living system: dynamic, agile, flexible, and of course, sustainable.
- We will continue to deliver transformational strategies
For organisations with an ambition to transform entire systems, as well as themselves. We have a proud 20 year history of working with the leaders in sustainability, from the early adopters such as Unilever, M&S and Kingfisher in the UK, to Target in the US and Sime Darby in South-East Asia. However, this isn’t just a story of corporate sustainability, more recently we’ve been working alongside foundations, such as the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, and the C&A Foundation, as well as international non-profits such as the Forest Stewardship Council, where we’ve helped craft ambitious strategies designed to shift entire systems.
- Equipping individuals to drive systems change – launching the School of System Change
Through our Network of over 115 organisations globally, we want to inspire and equip individuals and organisations to create system level change. Our Futures Centre will continue to drive the content that underpins much of what we share in our Network.
The big news for 2017 is the launch of the School of System Change. This is aimed at individual change agents who want to excel at the skills needed to change systems. We will be running Basecamp #1 from February – and we are recruiting now.
As we move into 2017, and while mainstream politics in some parts of the world is focused on anything but sustainable development, we would do well to remember there are other levers for change.
There are pioneering businesses, foundations, NGOs and others out there, many of whom we work with, and many who have forged change in the past with little or no government support. By remaining bold and ambitious, these pioneers will continue to create change.
There are the multi-stakeholder initiatives, such as the ones we convene. These collaborations need to stay determined. And because the system is often in the room in these collaborations, political vacuums are a distraction, but not a show stopper.
There’s us, as individuals. It’s critical that we all continue to hold our values tight, and use these to sustain us, in what are definitely complex and challenging times.
With two decades of experience behind us, at Forum we are at an exciting transition point in our journey, ready to chart a path forward to drive the next 20 years of system level change. We very much hope you’re all up for coming with us on this journey, and we’re thankful to those of you that have been on the ride so far. We’ve only hit first gear.
There’s a strong case for optimism in 2017, and driving forward with a manifesto to create system change and push for a sustainable future, we should always heed these wise words:
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
(Margaret Mead, American Anthropologist)
