The Collaboratory is a handbook for experienced or aspiring practitioners in all fields of change. This book is about empowering ordinary people to make a difference in the world. It explores the transformation that emerges when groups working on similar issues collaborate rather than compete.

ForewordPaul Polman, Chief Executive Officer, UnileverIntroductionPart 1: The collaboratory idea 1. Defining the collaboratory Katrin Muff 2. The 50+20 origin of the collaboratory Katrin Muff, Thomas Dyllick, Mark Drewell, John North, Paul Shrivastava, and Jonas Haertle 3. The social lab revolution Zaid Hassan 4. The collaboratory methodology at the Rio+20 conference Katrin MuffPart 2: The many dimensions of the collaboratory5. Enabling the transformative journey: the DesignShop Bill Burck 6. Facilitating a collaborative space Bill Burck, Svenja Rüger, Patrick Frick, Aaron Williamson, and Grégoire Serikoff7. Creating collaboratories in society Zaid Hassan 8. Inviting stakeholders to engageCaroline Rennie 9. Creating and holding a space: learning circles Janette Blainey 10. Whole person learning Claire Maxwell 11. Building cooperative capacity for generative action: Appreciative Inquiry Ronald Fry 12. Stepping into the emerging future: principles of Theory U Otto Scharmer 13. Transformative scenario planning: a new way to work with the future Adam KahanePart 3: Examples of the collaboratory14. The collaboratory in the classroom: Bentley University Anthony Buono 15. Students leading collaboratories: University of St.Gallen Thomas Dyllick and Katrin Muff 16. Creating connection, conversations, and courage: the Exeter collaboratory Jackie Bagnall and Stephen Hickman 17. Transforming an organization: participatory leadership and the Art of Hosting Caroline Rennie 18. Regional organizational change: community-building in action Philip Mirvis 19. Transforming collaborative institutions: Australian business schools Eddie Blass and Peter Hayward 20. Long-term stakeholder engagement: Initiatives of Change in Caux Louie Gardiner 21.A meta-collaboratory: the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative John North and Anders AsplingPart 4: How to get started22. Designing a collaboratory: a narrative roadmap Katrin Muff 23. Differences from other facilitation approaches Eddie Blass and Peter Hayward 24. Concluding summary Katrin MuffBibliographyAbout the authors

The Collaboratory is a handbook for those interested in making change happen: experienced or aspiring practitioners in all fields of change. This book is about empowering ordinary people to make a difference in the world by providing a simple-to-use process methodology on how to engage stakeholders around a burning issue. It features for the first time an overview of the many philosophies, approaches, and theories that have shaped the change-maker community in the past four decades. The book offers countless examples of how such a Collaboratory can work in many different settings in education, business, NGO, and social enterprise communities and for groups of engaged citizens. This groundbreaking collection of ideas explores these Collaboratories and offers practical recommendations and benefits to readers interested in working in this way. [from the Foreword] “Leaders of the future will need to have an intrinsic understanding instead of how networks operate and how to collaborate and build coalitions of the willing. For all these leaders, this book provides an invaluable roadmap. It demystifies the process of collaboration and shows how – through a structured approach – it can become firmly embedded in any organisation.” Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer, Unilever “Collaboration and Co-creation are needed NOW; this book provides the practical tools for making change happen/for building the future.” Jean-Paul Jeanrenaud, Director, One Planet Leaders, WWF International “Every few years a new technology energizes the field of planned change. The Collaboratory is the latest example. Every change agent needs to read this book.” Robert E. Quinn, Margaret Elliott Tracy Collegiate Professor in Business Administration; Professor of Management and Organizations, University of Michigan “We know there are no universal recipes, and no ready-made expert solutions for the unprecedented tangle of issues and tensions that face us both locally and globally. But the power and emergence that arises from collaboration and co-creation is rich, real, and ready to work. This book is an inspiring invitation and guide to be part of this world wide movement for positive change.” Professor Stephen Sterling, Centre for Sustainable Futures, Plymouth University, UK “This book shows how organizing can be fun, practical, and transformative. Are you tired of trying to improve things but ending up with the same old boring processes? Then stop, and create a Collaboratory: here you find personal narratives that take the reader alongside wonderfully inventive and sensitive social innovators who combine a rare mix of practical step-by-step guidance with profound theory that touches heart and soul. Keep this book beside you, and give it to your boss!” Jonathan Gosling, Professor of Leadership Studies, University of Exeter Business School

More and more people today recognize that the problems we face will require an order-of-magnitude increase in our capacity to collaborate ... I fear the gap between rhetoric and reality will sink this ship before if ever gets out of port - unless the emerging insights from master practitioners like those in The Collaboratory spread quickly.

More and more people today recognize that the problems we face will require an order-of-magnitude increase in our capacity to collaborate ... I fear the gap between rhetoric and reality will sink this ship before if ever gets out of port - unless the emerging insights from master practitioners like those in The Collaboratory spread quickly. -- Peter Senge, MIT and the Society for Organizational Learning SHORT VERSION Collaboration and Co-creation are needed NOW; this book provides the practical tools for making change happen -- Jean-Paul Jeanrenaud, Director, One Planet Leaders, WWF International More and more people today recognize that the problems we face will require an order-of-magnitude increase in our capacity to collaborate across all manner of institutional, national, sectoral, and cultural borders. But I fear the gap between rhetoric and reality will sink this ship before if ever gets out of port - unless the emerging insights from master practitioners like those in The Collaboratory spread quickly. -- Peter Senge, MIT and the Society for Organizational Learning FULL VERSION Every few years a new technology energizes the field of planned change. The Collaboratory is the latest example. Every change agent needs to read this book. -- Robert E. Quinn, Margaret Elliott Tracy Collegiate Professor in Business Administration & Professor of Management and Organizations, University of Michigan We are engaged in transforming a whole organization from the traditional top-down approach to peer-based collaborative working. We are discovering that this is unlocking people's ability to think, act, and be more globally responsible leaders, at deeper levels of our business. The Collaboratory contributions highlight key concepts, particularly the Whole Person approach which is at the heart of our powerful transformation. -- Mary Godfrey, Director of Change and Performance at Bettys and Taylors Group We know there are no universal recipes, and no ready-made expert solutions for the unprecedented tangle of issues and tensions that face us both locally and globally. But the power and emergence that arises from collaboration and co-creation is rich, real and ready to work. This book is an inspiring invitation and guide to be part of this worldwide movement for positive change. -- Professor Stephen Sterling, Centre for Sustainable Futures, Plymouth University, UK This book shows how organizing can be fun, practical, and transformative. Are you tired of trying to improve things but ending up with the same old boring processes? Then stop, and create a Collaboratory: here you find personal narratives that take the reader alongside wonderfully inventive and sensitive social innovators who combine a rare mix of practical step-by-step guidance with profound theory that touches heart and soul. Keep this book beside you, and give it to your boss! -- Jonathan Gosling, Professor of Leadership Studies at the University of Exeter Business School Leaders of the future will need to have an intrinsic understanding instead of how networks operate and how to collaborate and build coalitions of the willing. For all these leaders, this book provides an invaluable roadmap. It demystifies the process of collaboration and shows how - through a structured approach - it can become firmly embedded in any organization. Refreshingly, however, it also recognizes that this is an art not a science ... I commend this book on the basis of proven experience of Unilever's "Sustainable Living Lab" - an open but structured online forum in which to collect ideas, share good practice, discuss possible partnerships, and ultimately co-create solutions to the many challenges Unilever faces. Guided by the ideas and suggestions in The Collaboratory, we can now take it to another level. -- Paul Polman [from the Foreword]