Welcome
“You can’t solve problems with the same thinking that created those problems” - Albert Einstein
Change is the only constant. Begrudgingly or with excitement we’ve come to accept this fact. But perhaps what hasn’t been accepted or noticed is that the nature of change itself is also changing – and with that has come an increase in the magnitude, complexity and rate of change.
The Resilient Futures Network was formed in May 2007 as a result of a number of practitioners in various fields believing that the current thinking and processes used in their respective professions was inadequate in dealing with the problems of today, let alone tomorrow, and that resilience thinking and the processes underpinning it provide much needed clarity and direction in a rapidly changing, complex and interconnected world. Today the Network consists of practitioners in Australia and the USA in fields as diverse as urban planning, community development, corporate strategy and risk, environmental management, economic development, knowledge networks and leadership. It is the diversity of the network - both geographically and discipline wise - that is a key strength of the Resilient Futures Network and framework.
Collectively the Resilient Futures Network also monitors key global and local shifts like climate change, energy prices, food shortages, water shortages, geopolitical shifts and other aspects that have the potential to fundamentally change the way we operate. It is this aggregate understanding of the immediate and emergent conditions that is another strength of the network and its members.
From our experience to date we believe that organisations, communities and governments are facing challenges that are unique and formidable – in the near term a ‘perfect storm’ of converging ecological, economic and social forces is gathering that when understood and anticipated provides the opportunity for resilient growth, but when ignored or overlooked can potentially lead to the significant disruption of key systems (eg. economic, social and ecological systems) upon which companies, organisations, communities, regions and whole nations rely.
Taking these aspects into account, it is clear to us that conventional thinking is ill equipped to understand and frame these changes, or to provide resilient solutions to them. To this end The Resilient Futures Partnership has developed the thinking models and tools to allow people to respond.
Resilient Futures is a way of thinking, a framework, a process and a network committed to assisting communities, businesses and organisations to anticipate, transform and ‘tune’ themselves to the future through the thinking framework and practice of resilience. It is the Network’s job to create awareness, teach and advise on the use of the framework and practice. Its aim is to foster resilience; that is for practitioners, to be able to flow with ever changing conditions and prosper. And the overall reason for being is to create a resilient world.
Please take time to look around the site, read an article, download a white paper, start a conversation, comment on an article, subscribe to our newsfeed, or contact us. Through open minds and active involvement we can have a bright future no matter what changes are over the horizon.
