A valuable road map to guide the work, giving focus to key discussions and decisions at all stages.
When designing the process and structure for my Masters of Education project, I needed a specific tool (method) that would work in a complex, human context. I couldn’t “plan the work and work the plan” because an exploring
How to curate a resilient, local food system I want to eat with?
Includes high levels of
- uncertainty (ie. does anyone else care about this?)
- change (new project team members)
- emergent phenomena (meeting key stakeholders through mutual friends)
- and unpredictability (a trade war, for example)
In a situation where we can not fully know the whole system, and we are not able to control the outcomes, our design and planning processes need to be more adaptive allowing us enough flexibility to respond to what we learn about the system in an ongoing way as we are working on it.
Hello Choardic Stepping Stones
Designed to facilitate organized thinking and bring clarity to important questions and areas needing further input and engagement.
It’s an excellent resource for core teams to align on strategic needs and purposes, whether launching new projects or adapting existing work. By guiding teams through development and implementation, it promotes flexibility and responsiveness to new insights and evolving circumstances. Additionally, these structured design steps offer a valuable framework for evaluating and learning from collaborative endeavours. Designed for group use, the tool encourages thoughtful reflection and discussion through a series of guided questions, supporting both initial planning and ongoing refinement.
Investing time in careful planning and design upfront can significantly enhance overall efficiency. While it may seem like slowing down initially, the resulting engagement and effectiveness are well worth the effort. Too often, complex initiatives proceed without complexity-informed approaches, leading to wasted resources and unmet needs. This can damage valuable relationships and erode trust. By prioritizing key groundwork questions, anchoring planning in purpose and values, and ensuring inclusive participation, this tool fosters more effective, responsible, responsive, and sustainable outcomes.
Tim Merry Teaching the Chaordic Stepping Stones
What it looks like in my practice
Because this tool is designed to be used collectively and is structured around a series of questions for reflection and discussion, I created an online interactive template (using Mural) of the Chaordic Stepping Stones.
Follow this link to learn more about the Strengthening Local Food Systems project.
