George Fedha, Laurence Habib, Dewi Hartkamp, Flavio Mesquita da Silva, Fred Steier, Abbie VanMeter, and Sergej van Middendorp
Continuing earlier work (Van Middendorp et al., 2021), which described the co-creation of regenerative and sustainable futures as requiring a new form of leadership in networks that is collaborative, dialogic, supportive, and close to practice, this paper features collaborative support networking as a practice in systemic design as one way of approaching the diverse manifestations of the polycrisis as originally defined by Morin and Kern (1999) and more recently by Lawrence et al. (2024).
In the context of the theme of RSD13, collaborative support networking is explored through the metaphor of the “Meeting of the Waters” in Brazil. Using this as a frame, we offer the question: How do we design for collaborative support networking that affords the co-creation of regenerative, sustainable, and just futures in the face of the polycrisis?
One assumption we see emerging in our ongoing thinking about relating across cases and contexts is that collaborative support networking would enable us to focus as widely as possible, affording us a systemic response to the diverse manifestations of the polycrisis. At the same time, we realize that each individual relationship in such networking needs levels of depth that fit with and are reflexive of the regenerative, sustainable, and just outcomes that we are trying to achieve.
Anchoring our approach in relational ontology, embodied realism, and social constructionism, we deepen our engagement with sustainability leadership and social justice, creating a more inclusive co-design process and fostering a shared understanding of what these concepts entail and how they interrelate.
This is exemplified by a range of projects that take place in different settings around our planet, including Brazil, Namibia, The Netherlands, Norway, and the United States. Collectively, these cases represent many of the diverse manifestations and entanglements that co-create the polycrisis.
By systematically recording and reflecting on our experiences, we aim to provide valuable insights and practical knowledge that can inform future initiatives and that can serve as a resource for continuous joint learning and adaptation.
Keywords: collaborative support networking, embodied realism, metaphor, polycrisis, relational ontology, social constructionism, sustainability leadership, social justice, systemic design.
RSD: Cases & Practice, Methods & Methodology, Socioecological Design