Regenerative Design & Innovation… for Happier Communities 24 August 2023 • Sydney Designer & Coach Social Enterprise Founder Ben Pecotich

Modern slavery Cost of living crisis Compassion fatigue & burn out Climate crisis Loss of species & biodiversity Water & air pollution Deforestation

What’s this compelling vision for the future? 1 2 How do I get from aspiration to reality? 3 What next? 3 Questions

1 What’s this compelling vision for the future?

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2 How do I get from aspiration to reality?

Human-Centred Design

Theory of Change

Clarity of purpose helps us make better decisions

Theory of Change/Logic Model Solve Problems That Matter p143

Dynamic4 Example The way businesses have operated has been central to creating or worsening many of the problems we experience today. The profit motive has continued to centralise power and wealth and there’s a tragic track record of business exploiting people and polluting our planet to maximise profit – to the benefit of a small number of executives and shareholders. The problem/cause Organisations and leaders solve problems that matter in more empathic and innovative ways – and measure success in outcomes for people, our planet, and prosperity. So that… People and communities have increasing quality of life, are happier, and live on a planet that is cleaner and healthier. The change/vision dynamic4.com/impact

How might we help leaders and organisations create great outcomes for people, communities, and our planet – while being financially successful?

Theory of Change/Logic Model Solve Problems That Matter p143

Regenerative Design & Innovation

Regenerative design is an approach that actively works to restore and transform social, environmental, and economic systems to enhance resilience and wellbeing so all people, places, and life on our planet thrive.

Sustainability & Regenerative Design Graphic by Ben Pecotich – based on Bill Reed (2007), Ethan Roland (2018) & Daniel Wahl (2019)

Earth Overshoot Day The date humanity’s demand for the Earth’s resources in the year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year 2 August 2023 was Earth Overshoot Day 23 March 2023 was Australia’s Earth Overshoot Day 1.7 Earths needed to make our consumption sustainable

We need to rapidly transition to regenerative ways of doing business and living

What’s Good Business Mean Now? Designing our business models, products, and services to be regenerative… because • Customers want to buy from companies doing good things • Talented people want to do meaningful work • Investors know it’s lower risk with better returns • We need to use the power of design and business to help create a positive impact

Triple bottom line means measuring success in outcomes for people, our planet, and prosperity

Adaptive Leadership Working on complex challenges requires adaptive leadership, action learning, and collective action

People Are Working On It

Solve Problems That Matter dynamic4.com/sptm Take a human-centred approach to design, build & launch your regenerative idea – and build momentum

We Have Frameworks Doughnut Economics – Kate Raworth (2017) UN SDGs Wedding Cake Stockholm Resilience Centre Wellbeing Budget Australia Government Circular Economy myclimate.org Planetary Boundaries Stockholm Resilience Centre

Downscale to the City Level Sydney Doughnut https://regen.sydney https://doughnuteconomics.org Melbourne Doughnut https://regen.melbourne

Scales of Design & Systems Systems Thinking Iceberg Model – Bryan et al (2006) The Elements of User Experience – Jesse James Garrett (2000). Illustration by Trevor van Gorp (2007)

Scales of Regenerative Design Designing Regenerative Cultures – Daniel Wahl (2016)

How do I design for regeneration in my own life & design practice?

I want you to be happy

Happiness Habits “When we are happy – when our mindset and mood are positive – we are smarter, more motivated, and thus more successful. Happiness is the center, and success revolves around it.” Shawn Achor The Happiness Advantage

Inner Development Goals (IDGs) innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Personal Wellbeing Plan • Physical Health. What positive things do you do for your physical health? • Mental & Emotional Health. What positive things do you do for your mental and emotional health? • Relationships. Who are the important people in your life? Especially people you have healthy relationships with and who energise you • Social Connection. What are the important groups of people or communities in your life? • Play. What do you love doing? What do you do for fun? What really brings you joy? What do you currently do that helps keep you feeling happy and healthy? • What are the patterns of thinking, feeling, or behaving that indicate you’re heading in an unhealthy direction? • Over what time period? • What will you do, or stop doing, when you notice this pattern? • Who will you talk to for help? • How will you know you’re back in a healthy place? Backup Plan Solve Problems That Matter p47

Dynamic4 Design Principles People first 1 Perspective & context 3 Positive impact 2 Dynamic & adaptable 4

People First Design with and for people to deliver great experiences. • Who are the people involved and what are their perspectives? (family & friends, team & organisation, users & customers, communities & society) • Whose voice is missing from the conversation? • What are the strengths and assets of the people and communities? • What problems do the people involved experience, and what are their aspirations, desires, and motivations? • How will we build empathy and genuinely “design with”?

Positive Impact Be positive, reliable, and trustworthy. Work with positive people. Be regenerative. • What do I personally care about – the vision I’m working toward? • What’s my purpose – my driving why? • What’s our theory of change? • What are my values – and what do they look like as behaviours? • What are the values and purpose of my team, the solution we’re working on, and my organisation? • How can I contribute to a positive impact on all life and our planet?

Perspective & Context Keep sense of perspective. Remember the context of what and why. See the big picture but execute the detail. • How will I look after my wellbeing and be open, curious, and playful – while designing for the wellbeing of others? • What is the full lifecycle of our solution from concept to disposal, and how can we apply circular design principles? • What are the cultural, local, national, and planetary perspectives? • What are the social, living, economic, and tech ecosystems and who are the groups of people involved? (system boundaries, interactions, power dynamics, incentives, feedback loops, tipping points, root causes, trends)

Dynamic & Adaptable Always be learning. Identify and respond positively to change. • What are my strengths and assets, and how do I nurture my growth mindset? • What trends are emerging, what will this likely change, and how? • How will this impact our vision, theory of change, and strategy? • How will I respond to the changes I’m anticipating (and surprises) and how will I adapt and apply my skills and experience? • What do we need to learn, adapt, and improve? How will we do it? • How will we design our workflow for learning and continual improvement? (feedback loops, measurement, insights, strong governance)

What next? 3

Pull on the Threads

syddt.org bcorporation.com.au secna.org.au socialenterpriseaustralia.org.au Find Your Community catalyst2030.net smeclimatehub.org

Share your vision… and make it real

Design & Innovation Director, Dynamic4 [email protected] | dynamic4.com linkedin.com/in/benpecotich Ben Pecotich Have fun solving problems that matter…