Research and Projects

State of the World Forum

The State of the World Forum (SOWF) was established in 1995 by Jim Garrison with Mikhail Gorbachev. SOWF began as a series of annual conferences that convened hundreds of international leaders (ranging from community organizers, Nobel Laureates, social activists, Heads of State, and business leaders) to explore key issues facing the globe. These gatherings established a Global Leadership Network committed to the guiding principle: “Transforming conversations that matter into actions that make a difference.” Over the years, SOWF sponsored a variety of gatherings and “strategic initiatives” that resulted in a number of projects and non-profit organizations.14 In 2008, SOWF set its sights on the borderless problem of climate change and the global transition towards a “green economy,” and in November of 2009 will initiate a 10-year cycle of international annual gatherings. SOWF has adopted the AQAL model as the organizing framework for each event. Consequently, integral theory will be used for designing each conference and for guiding the development of policy recommendations to political leaders at all levels of government and civic responsibility. These gatherings will take place in different countries around the globe and build a coalition of multi-stake holders committed to developing innovative policy and effective action for confronting climate change and serving to guide the emergence of new sources of energy. Now this is integral theory in action—working across the globe to address humanity’s first planetary crisis.

Slocan Integral Forestry Cooperative

Next Step Integral, an international non-profit, was established in 2003 by Stephan Martineau. Soon he joined forces with Lisa Farr, the director of a local watershed association, to begin the arduous task of establishing an integral approach to a community forest project in the Slocan Valley of British Columbia, Canada. This goal was particularly daunting given the historical tensions over a 35-year period between various worldviews within and outside of the community (e.g., loggers, miners, farmers, environmentalists, First Nations individuals, artists, practitioners of multiple religious faiths, government workers, and a multinational corporation). Also, there had already been nine failed attempts by the B.C. government to establish a workable solution to the divisions within the community between stakeholders connected to the forest.

The guiding principles of their initiative included: recognizing and honoring the diverse perspectives about the forest of Slocan Valley residents; recognizing that these perspectives were informed by lenses associated with each of the quadrants (e.g., cultural, psychological, historical); and recognizing that any viable long-term solution would have to integrate the many conflicting views within the community. In addition, Martineau identified a number of “main capacities” explicitly grounded in the AQAL model but used implicitly to support their initiative: holding and inhabiting multiple perspectives; an awareness of and an ability to work with the multiple lines of individuals; a commitment to personal growth and shadow work; creating shared motivations; balancing empathy, engagement, and impartiality; and cultivating qualities, attitudes, and capacities that supported mutual understanding.

On January 14, 2007, Next Step Integral submitted an application for a Community Forest Agreement to allow the local community to manage 35,000 acres of contested forest. In July of that same year their proposal was approved! Thus three years of negotiations and grassroots work guided by the AQAL model resulted in the creation of a large-scale integral forestry cooperative—the first of its kind in the world. This community forest project has support of an impressive 95% of the inhabitants in the valley. Aptly named the Slocan Integral Forestry Cooperative (SIFCo), this project is a true testimony to the power of the integral model—even as an implicit guide—in working with diverse perspectives to achieve a common goal that other approaches failed to manifest. Now that SIFCo has been granted tenure over the land, the coming years shall be an important testing ground and source of clarification of the tenets of integral ecology in general and of integral forestry in particular.

One Sky: Canadian Institute of Sustainable Living

One Sky—Canadian Institute for Sustainable Living recently received a $500,000 grant from the Canadian International Development Agency for a three-year leadership development project entitled, “Integral Applications to Sustainability in the Niger Delta.” Building on previous work it had done in Nigeria, One Sky was aware of the value of interventions associated with the Right-Hand quadrants such as “development, financial management, improved communications, and policy influence.” While recognizing the essential role such efforts play, One Sky became increasingly aware of how these efforts could not be sustained without supportive interventions from the Left-Hand quadrants such as “personal leadership, self-awareness, moral intelligence, and interpersonal skills.” Consequently, their project will work with 30 young Nigerians from nearly a dozen organizations in the Cross River region of the Niger Delta on environmental and economic
 sustainability. “The project essentially involves engaging a personal development process (I), held in place with learning communities and a new social discourse (We), and enacted in breakthrough initiatives in their home organizations (It/Its).”10 This program will be evaluated through a pre/post assessment based on integral research.

Drishti: Centre for Integral Action

Drishti is working with a variety of organizations helping them use the integral model to support various projects.

Teleosis Institute

The Teleosis Institute's Green Pharmacy Program is helping communities safely dispose of expired medicines. Our goal is ZERO pharmaceutical waste in our environment! We provide a network of take-back sites and events to collect unwanted medicines from the public for free and safe disposal.