Making it Happen

"Despite current ads and slogans, the world does not change one person at a time. It changes as networks of relationships form among people who discover they share a common cause and vision of what is possible ........Rather than worry about critical mass, our work is to foster critical connections" - Margaret Wheatley

(The above comes from the introduction of an article "Using Emergence to Take Social Innovation to Scale" by Margaret Wheatley and Deborah Frieze. It can be accessed from http://www.margaretwheatley.com/articles/using-emergence.pdf )

The essence of the Learning Society is to create critical connections between all groups and individuals committed to taking Scotland forward. This network to make connections, continually develop our knowledge, to facilitate the application of that knowledge and finally to build the network so that it can influence the establishment of a society that is continually learning and moving forward.

The detail of the need, the opportunities and plans for generating The Learning Society are available in the file "The Business Case"

Key Elements of Business Case

The structural elements are to contain:

• A web and internet facility (see below) designed to:
• Create connections between all forward thinking groups and individuals across Scotland
• A knowledge base from which knowledge can be rolled out to society
• Knowledge is never static. The web site would therefore have a means through which the knowledge base can be continually developed. (along similar lines to Wikipedia)
• Regional and local facilitators (volunteers) whose role is to recruit, lead and coordinate discussions groups across the whole of Scotland from Lerwick to Stranraer.
• A Core Learning Centre to initiate the knowledge base and to moderate the continued development of knowledge.
• An administrative centre to promote and build the connections of the society and manage its wide range of services.

The high profile activity we envisage is to have regular presentations by International Thought Leaders. These presentations to be broadcast through the internet so that they can be received in all parts of Scotland. The purpose of these presentations is to open out alternative thinking and to facilitate conversations in the regional discussion groups

Behind this activity would be improvement projects happening across the country - with each project being highlighted on the web site - so learning is taking place from the knowledge base, the international presentations, from the discussion groups and from the many experiments and projects taking place across Scotland.

This project will require seed funding of £553,000. The Deming Learning Network, as a charity, is in the process of seeking this seed funding.

The following two diagrams portrays the two networks of the web site - the creation of the connections and the establishment and continual development of the knowledge base.