The Cordial World framework is a multi-layered, adaptive platform designed to orchestrate the alignment of changemakers, communities, and organisations, empowering them to co-create transformative pathways that address systemic existential challenges defined as the metacrisis. Drawing inspiration from the OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) 7-layer model - integral to the development of TCP/IP and the internet - the CW framework similarly breaks down the complexity of societal transformation into distinct yet interconnected layers. Just as the OSI model enabled seamless global connectivity by structuring communication processes, the CW framework facilitates collaboration, innovation, and collective action across multiple domains of social impact.
By integrating principles from systems thinking, complexity theory, social network theory, and pattern-language techniques, CW fosters emergence through the stories and narratives shared by stakeholders. The framework collates civic intelligence from across its layers, identifying patterns in social change dynamics and initiatives that drive systemic transformation.
A crucial aspect of CW is its alignment with the 3-Horizons systems thinking model, which helps stakeholders navigate the transition from the current system (H1), through emergent innovation (H2), towards a future vision (H3) of societal flourishing. CW enables stakeholders to recognise and respond to emergent patterns and opportunities for collective impact, fostering the conditions necessary for this transition.
[Image courtesy of H3Uni available at https://www.h3uni.org/]
Understanding Horizon-1 (H1):
The framework begins with a comprehensive mapping of the current system, or H1, recognising that many initiatives and resources are still embedded within "business as usual" dynamics. A critical task of CW is identifying which efforts in H1 are adaptive responses to systemic failures and which have the potential to break free into emergent Horizon-2 (H2) pathways. Stakeholders' stories and narratives within H1 are crucial to understanding the entrenched patterns and barriers.
Facilitating Emergent Horizon-2 (H2):
H2 represents the zone of innovation and experimentation. CW highlights and nurtures initiatives that challenge H1 assumptions, recognising them as emergent H2 efforts. By capturing the stories and narratives of changemakers, CW uses Pattern Language to reveal recurring approaches that foster systemic transformation. The framework encourages collaboration and capacity building, ensuring that these emergent initiatives are supported, amplified, and refined across the network.
Aiming for Horizon-3 (H3):
H3 is the aspirational vision for societal transformation - a future system characterised by resilience, equity, and sustainability. CW guides stakeholders toward this vision by aligning emergent H2 initiatives with long-term systemic goals. By leveraging civic intelligence and applying insights derived from stakeholder narratives, CW helps shape a future societal operating system where shared wisdom and collective impact lead to flourishing communities.
Cordial World Framework - Layer Descriptions