Stewardship design principles: learning from living systems (BIRDS) to codesign fast-forward futures

Abstract

Systems theory and open systems principles trace their origins to the life sciences. Our observations of living systems also inform the design and management of sustainable communities and organizations. Grounded in the patterns of living systems and social ecologies, the stewardship design principles (SDP) – balance, interdependence, regeneration, diversity, and succession (BIRDS) – can increase the agility of sustainable design practitioners in ramping up from small-scale experiments to large-scale systems change. The urgency of addressing global challenges such as climate change calls upon social change practitioners – be they business leaders, social entrepreneurs, or both – to create and/or adapt tools to increase the velocity and range of positive social change. Case vignettes in the design of small-scale experiments illustrate how the application of stewardship design principles can help expedite larger systemic change at the regional, statewide, and national levels.

Citation

Smith, A.E. (2010), "Stewardship design principles: learning from living systems (BIRDS) to codesign fast-forward futures", Thatchenkery, T., Cooperrider, D.L. and Avital, M. (Ed.) Positive Design and Appreciative Construction: From Sustainable Development to Sustainable Value (Advances in Appreciative Inquiry, Vol. 3), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 117-135. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1475-9152(2010)0000003011