The Process
On the surface, this shift in thinking may sound and feel confronting. But it doesn’t have to be if the concept of resilience is adopted in small but meaningful moves. In taking on resilience at this level we can start by checking our responses to six key pre-conditions underpinning resilience, as applied in the Resilient Futures framework:
- We have a history of success in being proactive, creative and flexible in creating and adapting to changing conditions.
- We see our organization &/or place as a ‘whole system’ comprising multiple interdependent elements - for instance social, economic, ecological, cultural, private, public and built systems - and thus the network of people who assist in making decisions are drawn from diverse backgrounds and provide a range of knowledge and experience.
- Our decision-makers have a good record in reading and understanding the complex conditions in which we operate - at a local, regional and global scale - that are immediately impacting us, and are also emerging.
- Our planning and implementation methods are dynamic and able to capture and leverage fast moving continuous and discontinuous change, and feedback the intended and unintended consequences of our actions.
- There is a collaborative culture of information sharing, connecting knowledge, inspiring innovation and transformation, and building resilient capability.
- We all feel confident that our community, business or organization is resilient enough to survive and thrive in the future?
The Resilient Futures process provides a framework that embodies these principles of resilience, and at the same time embraces intuitive and institutional practice and action. The process to establish a resilient platform is not fixed and requires a different approach to different situations. However in general and simple terms the process addresses six questions (not necessarily in this order):
- What are the deep systemic issues facing us? What is the problem or opportunity at a whole systems level?
- What conditions underly the problem or opportunity? What are the immediate and emergent conditions at a local, regional and global scale? What thresholds have been breached, and where are we within the adaptive cycle?
- What network or system are we dealing with - the whole system? Given the systemic issues, and the conditions, what are the key networks and systems that are or need to be connected - the whole systems view?
- What capability is required? Given the conditions and ‘whole system’ we are dealing with, what capability is available and required to deal with our systems level issues?
- What value will we create across a multiple bottom line? Given the above capability was created, what value do we intend to create over a multiple bottom line - across the whole system - for instance economic, ecological, social, built environment, cultural capital? And what might the unintended consequences be if we do create such value?
- What catalytic action will make the greatest difference? Given the above, what are the highest return actions that can be taken, from a manageable and observable risk perspective?
Video Overview of Framework & Process
The following videos were shot live in August 2008 at strategy forum held by the West Australian Resilient Futures Network. They feature Larry Quick and Fred Presley presenting the Resilient Futures Framework to fifty senior decision makers who had gathered to discuss the subject of ‘Planning for Growth. Water? Climate Change? - How resilient is your community in meeting these challenges?’ Of particular focus was how such a challenge could be used to also leverage a larger opportunity - A Resilient Western Australia.
In these videos Larry goes through the process, and Fred illustrate its application in speaking of his practice in Rhode Island, USA, and the challenge of a Resilient Rhode Island.
- Part One
Larry Quick
Duration: 27m 14s
Large (297MB)| Small (119MB) - Part Two
Fred Presley
Duration: 22m 37s
Large (261MB) | Small (102MB) - Part Three
Larry Quick
Duration: 6m 47s
Large (76.2MB) | Small (32.9MB)
To view all of the video presentations for the West Australian August 08 Resilient Futures strategy forum, click here.
For more information on the thinking and processes of Resilient Futures, please contact us. We would be happy to arrange a presentation.
Recent articles
Four Traits of Resilience, Larry Quick. This brief paper provides a more in-depth view on four of the traits outlined above.
