About Prototyping Our future
This guidebook explores how Social Labs can be designed in order to catalyze systemic innovation while contributing to socio-ecological sustainability, and providing forums for collaboration, collective impact, capacity building, and the emergence of systemic solutions to complex challenges.
Inspired by the 2014 Masters in Strategic Leadership Towards Sustainability thesis:
"Designing Labs For A Sustainable Future" this research takes a pulse of practices and trends in the fields of sustainability, experiential design, and innovation through Social Labs reflecting research and interviews from leading practitioners including Lab designers/facilitators, users of the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD), and people focused on systemic change and transformative action.
Prototyping Our Future: Social Labs For A Sustainable, Regenerative, & Thriving Future is a "Free Culture Work" licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, which means you are free to re-mix, mash up, or otherwise enjoy and contribute to this research as described by the license above.
This work has been a labour of love and learning within the halls of academia, out in the field, and in the studio to distill and develop the content that is curated in this guidebook. Freely offered to the world, this work is dedicated to emerging Social Lab & Sustainability practitioners, conveners, designers, facilitators, & people who are committed to creating a sustainable, regenerative, & thriving future for all.
We would love to hear from you for any inspirations, reflections, iterations, innovations, or collaborative inquiries this material may spark for you. Enjoy!
Inspired by the 2014 Masters in Strategic Leadership Towards Sustainability thesis:
"Designing Labs For A Sustainable Future" this research takes a pulse of practices and trends in the fields of sustainability, experiential design, and innovation through Social Labs reflecting research and interviews from leading practitioners including Lab designers/facilitators, users of the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD), and people focused on systemic change and transformative action.
Prototyping Our Future: Social Labs For A Sustainable, Regenerative, & Thriving Future is a "Free Culture Work" licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, which means you are free to re-mix, mash up, or otherwise enjoy and contribute to this research as described by the license above.
This work has been a labour of love and learning within the halls of academia, out in the field, and in the studio to distill and develop the content that is curated in this guidebook. Freely offered to the world, this work is dedicated to emerging Social Lab & Sustainability practitioners, conveners, designers, facilitators, & people who are committed to creating a sustainable, regenerative, & thriving future for all.
We would love to hear from you for any inspirations, reflections, iterations, innovations, or collaborative inquiries this material may spark for you. Enjoy!
About the Authors
ANA CAROLINA RODRIGUES - BRAZIL
Ana Carolina Rodrigues was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, where 1.7 million people live in slums. Ever since childhood she felt touched and amazed by how, in a place of such misery, the diversity of experiences could create such a vibrant mosaic of life. She is a journalist graduate, has post studies in integrated communication, and recently earned a masters in Strategic Leadership Toward Sustainability, which she completed at Blekinge Technology University, in Sweden. She is the co-founder of Unconsultancy, an organization focused on designing and facilitating experiences for creating a sustainable world; and Reverte, a creative group focused on producing sustainable publicity. But most of all, she is deeply curious and would love to talk to you about how we can have fun and make great change in the world.
Check her Linkedin profile.
Ana Carolina Rodrigues was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, where 1.7 million people live in slums. Ever since childhood she felt touched and amazed by how, in a place of such misery, the diversity of experiences could create such a vibrant mosaic of life. She is a journalist graduate, has post studies in integrated communication, and recently earned a masters in Strategic Leadership Toward Sustainability, which she completed at Blekinge Technology University, in Sweden. She is the co-founder of Unconsultancy, an organization focused on designing and facilitating experiences for creating a sustainable world; and Reverte, a creative group focused on producing sustainable publicity. But most of all, she is deeply curious and would love to talk to you about how we can have fun and make great change in the world.
Check her Linkedin profile.
JOSHUA CUBISTA – CANADA/U.S.A
Joshua grew up in Japan, Canada, and the U.S.A, and has lived, worked, and studied around the world including Australia, Europe, China, and Kazakhstan, and a range of Eco-villages and Human Potential Education centers. Joshua holds a B.A. in Sustainable Community Development and Integral Psychology from Prescott College, a MSc. in Strategic Leadership Towards Sustainability from BTH in Sweden, and is a Global Sustainability Fellow with The Sustainability Laboratory NYC and Earth University in Costa Rica, and is a fellow of the Institute For Sustainable Social Change at Prescott College. With a passion for igniting personal, social, and systemic leadership he brings together Experiential Design and Facilitation, Strategic Action, Sustainability, Leadership Capacity Building, and Intentional Evolution in order to facilitate experiences dedicated to the highest possible purpose that individuals, communities, and organizations can imagine and fulfill. Learn more here.
Joshua grew up in Japan, Canada, and the U.S.A, and has lived, worked, and studied around the world including Australia, Europe, China, and Kazakhstan, and a range of Eco-villages and Human Potential Education centers. Joshua holds a B.A. in Sustainable Community Development and Integral Psychology from Prescott College, a MSc. in Strategic Leadership Towards Sustainability from BTH in Sweden, and is a Global Sustainability Fellow with The Sustainability Laboratory NYC and Earth University in Costa Rica, and is a fellow of the Institute For Sustainable Social Change at Prescott College. With a passion for igniting personal, social, and systemic leadership he brings together Experiential Design and Facilitation, Strategic Action, Sustainability, Leadership Capacity Building, and Intentional Evolution in order to facilitate experiences dedicated to the highest possible purpose that individuals, communities, and organizations can imagine and fulfill. Learn more here.
ROWAN SIMONSEN - DENMARK/COLOMBIA
Rowan grew up on a small farm in Denmark. Raised by an American mother and a Danish father. He learned from an early age to navigate different cultures. He has continued exploring the beauties and differences of the stories in the world. He now lives with his two daughters and his lovely wife in Colombia. Rowan is driven by a love for nature and for hosting spaces for conversation that really matter. He has worked with leadership development in all sectors, and is now especially focused on transforming the educational system to a more innovative, creative, and holistic system. A special passion of his is learning from nature in nature, and he guides multi-day leadership solo experiences in the wild. He has founded and directed Upstream Consulting since 2008 and is currently representing the Kaospilots in Colombia. He co-founded the "Academy for Heart, Body and Creativity" and the Biomimicry Network, in Colombia. He is also a member of SOL Colombia and is a dedicated Art of Hosting practitioner.
Rowan grew up on a small farm in Denmark. Raised by an American mother and a Danish father. He learned from an early age to navigate different cultures. He has continued exploring the beauties and differences of the stories in the world. He now lives with his two daughters and his lovely wife in Colombia. Rowan is driven by a love for nature and for hosting spaces for conversation that really matter. He has worked with leadership development in all sectors, and is now especially focused on transforming the educational system to a more innovative, creative, and holistic system. A special passion of his is learning from nature in nature, and he guides multi-day leadership solo experiences in the wild. He has founded and directed Upstream Consulting since 2008 and is currently representing the Kaospilots in Colombia. He co-founded the "Academy for Heart, Body and Creativity" and the Biomimicry Network, in Colombia. He is also a member of SOL Colombia and is a dedicated Art of Hosting practitioner.
