Five Themes
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Sustainability Toolkit is a 12 month programme designed for those wanting to learn about systems thinking and to make the transition to sustainable work. For the date of our next Sustainability Toolkit Open Day – click here Aims Five Themes Timetable 2012 Tutors and Contributors Fees and how to Apply |
"Changing to a sustainable world...starts with becoming a sustainable person with the right mindset, tools and ideas to work on sustainable projects...the toolkit facilitates this process"
The programme addresses five questions:
d. How do I apply this knowledge in the context of a project?
e. How do I apply this knowledge to find meaningful work?
You will learn about ‘worldviews’, paying attention to how you interpret the world and identifying your values and assumptions. You will be introduced to different approaches to learning, trying to become familiar with how you learn. You will also look at other useful ways of finding answers to this question including transactional analysis, emotional intelligence and other models. This section will involve three ‘taught’ sessions, but the majority of your learning will be derived from independent reading and reflection. It will conclude with a short reflection (written, or in another form of your choice) designed to consolidate your learning.
You will learn about the origin and development of the prevailing mechanistic paradigm, how it came to be so dominant, the benefits it has brought and the side-effects we are now experiencing. You will research for yourself the consequences of the mechanistic, in terms of the impact on the planet and its various spheres – water, air, soil, resources, wastes, food, population, health and spirit. You will then be introduced to the systems perspective, considering whether the metaphors of complex natural systems are more useful in understanding our complicated world than the simplifying assumptions of the mechanistic approach. You will draw together the strands of this understanding to consider what this means for you. How should you, communities, organisations and societies act so as to sustain and connect with this planet, which is our home? This section will involve learning from visiting speakers and a range of recommended readings. You will also have the opportunity to visit Schumacher College and the Centre for Alternative Technology.
Delivered via four practice seminars and two tutorial sessions, you will learn about and practice using a range of tools and techniques, all rooted in a complex rather than linear view of the world. The aim of these will be to find solutions to problems, create new ideas, form, lead and work with teams, and to organise a project. You will also be introduced to action research. This is very much a skill-based part of the programme, working towards consolidation of your learning by applying it to the completion of a project relevant to your future plans, through which you will demonstrate what you have learned.
D. How do I apply this knowledge in the context of a project?
You will identify a project which draws on your learning from all other parts of the Toolkit programme. If possible, you should work with a real organisation to identify a project which provides a solution to an issue or an area of uncertainty which the organisation is facing. The project begins after the first two sessions of the final module (see E, below) and runs until you hand in your completed report at the end of the programme. This allows you to use the approaches you have learned in the Tools section and apply them to a project which is relevant to the changes you want to make in your life and work. The project report will have two strands. The first, to demonstrate the effectiveness of your project skills, will show how you have addressed your chosen issue and the solutions you are proposing. The second, based on section C above, will be an individual paper reflecting on the approach you have used, evaluating what worked or did not work, the impact this had on your learning and what you would do differently next time.
E. How do I apply this knowledge to find meaningful work?
Based on the ideas of Ibarra and other similar writers, you will consider how best to combine your interest in sustainable action, with your need to feed your body and spirit. This section will involve two taught sessions, and you will also draw on the work you have been doing in peer and one-to-one mentoring sessions. These sessions will provide support as you work out how best to communicate who you are and what you can offer. The result of this, which you will present in a form to be agreed, will be your vision for where you would like to be, supported by a methodology showing how you will develop, and adjust, your route toward that vision. Using a medium of your choice, you will present a summary of what you can offer and your plans for acting more sustainably in the world, either in your life or in your work.