Principles of strategy for community transformation
We are a community of possibilities, not a community of problems. ―Peter Block
👥 Serves: 11-25 people, 26-40 people, 41+ people
🎚 Difficulty: Medium
⏳ Total time: Ongoing
🥣 Ingredients: Your community, “Community – The structure of belonging” book by Peter Block (if you’re curious to find out more about it!)
🤓 Wholebeing Domains: Community, Meaning, Positive Emotion
💪 Wholebeing Skills: Belonging, Community-building, Direction, Equity, Hope, Hosting conversations, Kindness, Service
Principles of strategy for community transformation
📝 Description
Shifting from stuck to restorative community.
In the book Community – The structure of belonging, author Peter Block speaks of the importance of shifting the context within which community occurs to make space for transformation and restoration. In particular, Block explains that restoration comes from the choice to move “from problems to possibility; from fear and fault to gifts, generosity, and abundance; from law and oversight to social fabric and chosen accountability; from corporation and systems to associational life; and from leaders to citizens”.
This shift holds accountability at its core, understood as “the willingness to care for the whole”. Block continues, “[r]estoration begins when we think of community as a possibility, a declaration of the future that we choose to live into. (…) ‘What can we create together?’ Possibility without accountability results in wishful thinking. Accountability without possibility creates despair, for even if we know we are creating the world we exist in, we cannot imagine it being any different from the past that got us here.”
The following recipe shares the core principles of a strategy for community transformation, alongside other practices to start embodying the various principles.
👣 Steps
Step 1 – Building social fabric
It is essential to build social fabric, which derives from an expanding sense of belonging. It is grounded in the belief that restoration is possible when we are connected and care for the wellbeing of the whole. A quality of aliveness and organic evolution are fundamental here. Check out our recipe Cultivate a Core Economy for inspiration on removing the focus on monetised transactions to promote the value of love, empathy, care, and responsibility by looking at the ‘work’ done by families, friends, and communities.
Step 2 – Promoting associational life
Unfortunately, associational life is often discounted. However, as John McKnight points out, associational life is the alternative to a system which is capable of service but not of care. McKnight defines it as “groups of people voluntarily coming together to do some good”. Check out our recipe Community Wealth Building for strategies to foster community-centred economic development.
Step 3 – Empowering citizens
Instead of focusing on institutions and formal leaders, prioritise facilitating a shift in the thinking and actions of citizens to create an alternative future. Both John McKnight and Jody Kretzmann point out the importance of focusing on citizens’ assets and gifts to build transformative communities. Check out our recipe Regenerative Economy to shift towards regenerative principles to give rise to healthy human networks.
Step 4 – Focusing on the small group
Block highlights that “[t]he small group is the unit of transformation” – whereby small refers to groups of 3 to 12 where intimacy can be created and energy sustained. This doesn’t mean that the large group doesn’t have a role, but that every large group needs to use small groups to foster connection and move forward. Check out our recipe Vulnerability and honesty at the dinner table for an activity to build community through memorable and honest conversations.
Step 5 – Hosting conversations
Werner Erhard flashes out the need to change language to spark an alternative future. So, if transformation is linguistic, Block says, “we can think of community as essentially a conversation”. In the book Block says “[t]he shift in conversation is from one of problems, fear, and retribution to one of possibility, generosity, and restoration”. Check out our recipe Council circle as an ancient form of meeting that allows you to listen to everyone and attend to the wellbeing of the group.