Berkana as a Self-Organizing System

July 6, 2009

From Berkana's most recent enewsletter, an invitation to reinvent that is true for all of us, and one that I am in with dear friends.

Berkana as a Self-Organizing System

Berkana is reinventing itself, and we’d like to share our new direction with you.

Since 1992, when Berkana was founded, we have been learning about how to create the conditions for self-organizing to happen. During this time, we ourselves have operated in a somewhat traditional form: as a nonprofit institute with staff, offices and professional leadership. The gift of today’s challenging economic environment has been to call us far deeper into the experiment in self-organizing.

For all of us working to create social change, we are confronted with the paradox that there is less money available but more need than ever for the kind of work we do. The nonprofit model Berkana has been working in is proving to be unsustainable, and we believe it is time to invent a way to do our work that is flexible, resilient and adaptive.

Fortunately, we know a little something about flexible, resilient and adaptive systems. The organizational model that we plan to experiment with is a self-organizing system that invites many people throughout the Berkana community to step forward with the leadership they wish to offer. It calls for entrepreneurship, creativity and ingenuity. It requires that many people engage in a whole new level of effort around the actions they wish to commit to.

We invite you to learn more about how self-organizing can harness our collective creativity and commitment for building healthy and resilient communities.