July 2005
Donella Meadows Leadership Fellows
Edie Farwell, Beth Sawin, Andrew Jones, Don Seville, Phil Rice, Daniella Malin
With plans underway for an alumni workshop of the first class of Fellows this fall, eighteen new Fellows convened at SI’s affiliated Cobb Hill Cohousing in May, (see Report) for the official launch of their two year program. Fellow Valerie Langer said, “Amazing. I am so excited to begin putting what I have begun learning into practice. I feel as impatient as I am excited to go deeper still in October.” Through simulations, interactive exercises, lecture presentations, farm chores, personal coaching and group discussions Fellows began to expand their capacity to learn and act within complex systems. This cohort of Fellows brings with them a rich array of experiences in urban food production, biomimicry, youth leadership training, organic agriculture, corporate social responsibility, teen pregnancy prevention, solid waste management, marine and river conservation, forest resource management, paper production, pollution prevention, rural development and energy efficiency. Similar to the first class of Fellows, the second class of Fellows come from the non-profit, business, government and philanthropy sectors. They share an interest in applying systems thinking to create a sustainable world.
Sustainable Food Laboratory
Hal Hamilton, Don Seville, Susie Sweitzer, Nancy Gabriel, Daniella Malin
Global food systems currently produce mixed results: more food is produced more economically but food-producing environmental and social systems are deteriorating. The purpose of the Sustainable Food Lab is to make global food systems better – from the perspective of consumers, producers, workers, food companies, citizens and the planet. The Lab Team is a microcosm of the stakeholders in the food systems including farmers, distributors, processors, consumers, government agencies, financiers, researchers and others. They come from government, civil society and companies including General Mills, Rabobank, Sodexho, Starbucks, SYSCO, Unilever and others.
The Lab Team is currently designing interventions in the food system from six angles:
- Building a business coalition for sustainable food
- Raising the floor on standards of production for large scale agricultural commodities
- Linking fresh local food to schools and hospitals year round
- Boosting the supply of responsibly harvested fish
- Framing “sustainable food” more compellingly
- Bringing Latin American small-scale sustainably produced farm products to global markets
Gene Kahn, VP of sustainable development at General Mills, calls the Food Lab an “epicenter” from which innovations emerge in different places in the global food system. SI staff members serve as primary facilitators for each initiative, developing new partnerships and conducting discussions between NGOs, business and civil society. Through a Learning History SI supports reflection and learning as the work goes forward by capturing, in their own words, participant’s thinking and learning throughout the process.
Strengthening the Capacity of the Public Health System to Address Diabetes
Andrew Jones, Don Seville, Susie Sweitzer
SI has been hired by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta to support their nation-wide effort to reduce the burden of Type 2 diabetes in the U.S. The SI team has developed a system dynamics model and is now using it to support goal setting for diabetes programs in the state of Vermont. Next, we’ll work with two other states to set and achieve goals for reducing the burden of diabetes. This project also uses an SI produced Learning History to enhance learning for stakeholders in the system.
Training Leaders in Systems Thinking Skills
Andrew Jones
In June, SI delivered a public pay-per-seat training in systems thinking skills. This is the first time SI has offered this kind of training without outside funding. Hosted by Faith and the City, an Atlanta non-profit, the workshop drew together Atlanta citizens, public health officials from the CDC, and sustainability leaders from Tennessee, Iowa, Minnesota, and Kentucky – 24 in all. SI trainer Drew Jones taught the group causal mapping, stock-and-flow diagramming, and other systems tools. The workshop will be offered again in the fall.
Supporting Electrical Utilities to Address Global Climate Change
Don Seville, Andrew Jones
Partnering with Donella Meadows Fellow Christina Page and her team at Rocky Mountain Institute, SI is developing a system dynamics model that explores the strategic options available to an electrical utility. Electrical utilities must work to reduce their contribution to global climate change amidst uncertainties such as possible regulations, changes in the cost of renewable energy market feedbacks and more. What actions make sense when? Demand-side management of energy? Wind farms? Retrofitting existing coal plants? Shutting them down? The model is designed to support an effective strategic conversation for the utility, and for broader application throughout the world.
Addressing Global Climate Change Misconceptions: Our Climate Ourselves
BethSawin
Studies have shown that many people’s "common sense" view of the climate system leads them to assume that we can quickly reverse climate change by making small changes in our carbon emissions. But, in fact, Earth's climate takes decades to respond and the emission reductions needed now are much greater than people think.
Our Climate Ourselves is a program being developed at SI to support people educating themselves, their friends, neighbors, and co-workers about climate change. Pieces of the program include: a presentation on the climate system, supporting materials, and eventually a training program for those who wish to carry this work into their own communities. The goal of the program is to shift the climate conversation in the US from "wait-and-see" to "why we must act now to have an impact in the future." We have piloted the presentation at gatherings in Vermont, Massachusetts, and California. We are seeking funding and partnership support to hone the presentation piece while, at the same time, making it available to pilot audiences around New England and further a field.
Tools and Resources at SI
Diana Wright
One of the best selling publications we distribute, The Systems Thinking Playbook, now comes with a companion DVD containing short movies of the two authors conducting all 30 games. This book has become a favorite of K-12 teachers, university faculty, and corporate consultants. It provides 30 short gaming exercises, classified by areas of learning – Mental Models, Team Learning, Systems Thinking, Shared Vision and Personal Mastery.
Within Limits, Donella Meadows Archives, Everglades Simulation
- Within Limits is a website created to expand on the ideas and data in the recent publication of Limits To Growth: The 30-Year Update, -- Beth Sawin, Diana Wright
- Donella Meadows Archive 15 years of Donella’s essays published in the award winning weekly Global Citizen column. Essays are indexed by topic and searchable by keywords. --Diana Wright
- Everglades Sustainability Simulation, by Avastone Consulting and SI. We continue to develop and refine this simulation. Most recent application: Donella Meadows Leadership Fellows. --Philip Rice
Contact Information
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For Publications and the Donella Meadows Archives:
Diana Wright — dwright@sustainer.org
For Workshops:
Phil Rice — philrice@sustainer.org
For Consulting:
Don Seville — dseville@sustainer.org
Andrew Jones — apjones@sustainer.org
For Green Building:
Susan Sweitzer — ssweitzer@sustainer.org
For Agriculture issues and the Food Lab:
Hal Hamilton — hhamilton@sustainer.org
For the Donella Meadows Leadership Fellows Program:
Edie Farwell — efarwell@sustainer.org
For groups facing a social or environmental problem and wanting to explore potential solutions using The Embedding Goals Framework:
Elizabeth Sawin — bethsawin@sustainer.org
For Commodities and Smarter Systems Projects:
Elizabeth Sawin — bethsawin@sustainer.org
Phil Rice — philrice@sustainer.org
For a Dear Folks subscription ($25) or renewal:
Susan Sweitzer — ssweitzer@sustainer.org
Dear Folks is a letter continuing Donella’s monthly tradition of reflections, news, articles, and professional and personal accounts of community, farm and Sustainability Institute happenings.
Opinion columns by Sustainability Institute staff can be read on-line. Several of the SI staff also sends out their own columns by email. If you would like to receive these periodic emails of opinion columns, please write to each author:
Elizabeth Sawin — bethsawin@sustainer.org
Andrew Jones — apjones@sustainer.org