Co-Creating: Improvisational Group Work

A great article called "Connecting for Change: Insights from an Emerging Global Transformation Movement"

"The term co-creation occurred frequently in the study. This underscores an important philosophy of group work that is emerging. The global transformation movement belongs to no one person, group, or belief system. It is a story in process, based not on pre-existing design, but rather as a product of dynamic self-organization. It is a story of people working together to address the world’s most profound challenges. Self-organization is inherent in the evolution of all living things and results in the creation of effective living systems that are more efficient and adaptive than hierarchical rigid ones. Crowdsourcing, peer-to-peer networks, crowdfunding, timebanks, and spontaneous activism are all examples of self-organizing systems that have arisen in recent times."

"The word we use to describe the emerging model for group work is improvisational. Borrowing from the world of music and dance, improvisation is a collaborative and spontaneous process that allows new kinds of order to emerge. The new group work is increasingly ordered by improvisational principles. More akin to a meandering stream or a flock of birds, improvisation follows a natural fluid set of rules, rather than rigid imposed ones. Improvisation requires attention, intention, communication, awareness of self and others near to the self, and awareness of the larger picture or pattern that is emerging. Thus, improvisation is an emergent process, and one expressed abundantly in nature—in the natural ways that systems connect, change, and reassemble to create powerful new forms and ideas."

"The boundaries for work groups and communities have expanded far beyond the local. The Internet has encouraged the sharing of resources and has changed the ways we seek and find one another. It has expanded personal relationships and allowed more voices to be heard—not all voices, but many. It may seem impractical to give voice to every individual in a networked world, chaotic, in fact. But it is precisely at this ‘edge of chaos’—where there is just enough order to recognize a pattern, yet sufficient openness to allow new ideas to take shape—that the most powerful initiatives and practices are emerging. All voices that need to be heard must be heard."