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Bringing researchers and practitioners together towards a science of systems change
A transdisciplinary research lab studying living systems change to foster human and planetary flourishing.
MANDALA
for SYSTEMS CHANGE
An integrative approach to understanding and catalyzing living systems change through four interconnected dimensions.
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How do we cultivate the conditions for meaningful systems change?
Living Systems Approach
We view change as a living condition–arising from organic growth, rather than mechanistic implementation. Our research focuses on the communities, conditions, and contexts that allow transformation to emerge over time.
Inner & Outer Transformation
Recognizing that meaningful change requires shifts in both tangible institutional structures, policies and behaviors and intangible mental models, values, and beliefs.
Relational Fields
Creating spaces of trust, connection, and shared purpose where individuals and communities can develop new capacities for collective action.
Integration of Practice & Research
Bridging the gap between academic inquiry and real-world application through continuous cycles of learning and adaptation between educators, practitioners and researchers.
"To cultivate compassion is to be able to understand and appreciate the systemic forces and lived experiences that influence people's feelings and actions. The word compassion literally means 'standing with the experience (and especially the suffering) of the other.'"
– Dr. Mette Miriam Boell
Research Themes
Early Childhood Education
Children have an innate systems intelligence. We study how to cultivate the natural development of a child’s social and emotional well-being, sense of interconnection, and relations to support their lifelong flourishing.
Pre-K through 12 Education
This theme focuses on re-enlivening education through the Compassionate Systems Framework, supporting primary and secondary school systems in the U.S. and across the globe to change how teaching and learning happens in their communities.
Higher Education
We explore how universities can transition from rigid disciplinary silos to adaptive and coherent systems by fostering collective awareness, shared purpose and systems leadership.
Migration
In the context of global displacement, we study how institutions in education, the public sector and the legal system can create systems of support for migrant and refugee communities globally.
Climate Change
Our work explores how cultivating compassion and systems awareness can empower youth and educational communities to lead sustainable transformation in the face of global ecological and social challenges.
Featured Resources
Explore our latest publications, videos, and events advancing the field of systems awareness and transformative change.
Voices from the Field
Hear from practitioners, researchers, and change-makers applying living systems methodologies in their work around the world.