The Competent Society

Governance and Rural Alliancesfor the Common Good

March 2015Thijs de la Court

Governance refers to "all processes of governing, whether undertaken by a government, marketor network, whether over a family, tribe, formal or informal organisation or territory and whetherthrough laws, norms, power or language. " It relates to processes and decisions that seek todefine actions, grant power and verify performance. In general terms, governance occurs inthree broad ways:

Through networks involving public-private partnerships (PPP) or with the collaboration ofcommunity organisations; through the use of market mechanisms whereby market principles ofcompetition serve to allocate resources while operating under government regulation; throughtop-down methods that primarily involve governments and the state bureaucracy (source:

Client: Municipality of LochemAuthor: Thijs de la CourtTranslation: Andrew L. HowittDesign: Thijs de la Court

For more information:http://www. rural-alliances. eu

Focus group: Maessen, Paul Schellekens, Ted van Wijdeven, Kees Magry, Mariska Mentink, WillyThijssen and Wim Ceulemans

Part one focuses on the theory and practice of governance.

Part two concerns the major developments in areas including energy, mobility, agriculture,tourism and health care. It describes the role of the ‘game-changer’, the intervention in powerand economy leading to substantially changed relationships; governance as part of socialrenewal.

Part three is about the work on which this handbook is based - the thousands of initiatives in ourrural areas and how they maintain themselves. What tips, tricks and processes are essential tomake these initiatives a success? Hence governance at the core.

Part four deals with developments at the institutional level, in local, regional and nationalgovernments, banks and large corporations. What is their role and function in order to make thenecessary changes in rural areas? And how do they relate to those thousands of local initiatives?Governance at the top.

The Rural Alliances project is 50% part-funded by the EUthrough their ERDF Interreg IVB North West EuropeProgramme to strengthen communities in rural areas ofNW Europe and help to address negative impacts broughtabout by demographic change.

Part one: Theory and practice of governance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Foreword by Richard Tyler. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Mayo Abbey builds its dreams, realizing ideals with feet rooted in the ground. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Governance: Multiple approaches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Landscape of change. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Friction provides lustre: Transition towards a sustainable society. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0Building Rural Alliances: The developing steps of governance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3Guiding resources: From vision and mission, to values, objectives and strategic plan. . . . . . . . . . . 1 5Persuasive Storeytelling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Column by Thijs de la Court: The puzzle of the circular economy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 9

Part two: The macro landscape of governance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Foreword by Lætitia Guth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Macro landscape: About trends, innovation and future expectations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23The Game-Changer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27The European energy landscape: Context for local initiative. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Accessible countryside: Game-changer in mobility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Governance and the economics: How the market can determine our actions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Sharing knowledge: Determining the course in a tidal wave of information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Column by Jeroen Drabbe: Governments; change the game of the leisure economy. . . . . . . . . 43

Part three: Developments at the basis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Foreword by Thijs de la Court. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45The start of an initiative. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Ten golden tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Rural Alliances in practice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50New roads in the new economy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Dare to ask: About 'collaborative consumption' and the 'Weconomy'. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Seek knowledge by plotting skills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59The 'do-democracy' according to the 'Brabant-model'. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60Column by Karel Lhermitte: I wish you most welcome. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Part four: The institutional level. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63Foreword by Sebastiaan van 't Erve. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Administrative lessons from Rural Alliances. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65Treading the steps of a fully developed initiative: The role of the authorities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71Financial Game-changers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77Leadership for change. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Enjoy your conflicts: Conflicts become creative through mediation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85Column by Thijs de la Court: Away from the 'comfort zone'. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

1

The Competent Society

Governance and Rural Alliancesfor the Common Good

Part One

Theory and practice ofgovernance

2

When we started our network of Rural Alliances, in2009, we hoped it would be possible to

find the 'heartbeat' of the local alliances in Rural Europe. Because it is this heartbeat that

keeps our countryside alive. We need those thousands of local initiatives, wherein citizens'

groups link up with businesses and together with local government and regional/national

networks help our villages and rural regions to become better places to live in. Local

sustainable energy initiatives, health care programmes, education systems, new and

sustainable tourism, all of which support the elderly, the local economy and rural transport

systems alleviating isolation of our villages are just a few of the activities our network is

involved with. The increase in vibrancy that all this achieves willhelp keep our young people

in the area, will encourage them to return and will help integrate all those people who

move in and want to contribute to their new communities.

We know that these Rural Alliances, as we call them, have common needs. We are

grateful to Interreg IVB North West Europe that has supported the network of 12 partners

from 6 EU countries and that has built the Alliance methodology sharing all their

experiences. Together we have been able to construct a package of work including a

Rural Vibrancy Measuring Index (to measure the strengths and weaknesses of your

community), a handbook on financial engineering (as a basis for your actions), a guide to

building alliances (providing the logical steps) and a handbook on governance (ensuring a

transparent, innovative and inclusive policy and organisation).

This is the first of four magazines that will form the basis of that handbook on governance. It

incorporates the heartbeat of all the local initiatives and describes both the theory and

practice of a society in transition and the need for organisational strength and vision.

We know that our rural regions are under great pressure. Demographic change, increase

of scale in trade and production, loss of jobs and loss of services create a combined

challenge. At the same time, we have seen that both technology and social change can

provide real answers to most of these challenges. This is where Rural Alliances can play a

vital role. It is also why this publication, and the three upcoming issues of this magazine, are

so relevant.

I am grateful to Thijs de la Court for all the efforts he has put into this handbook in

collaboration with partners. I believe the vision shown here has great and wide relevance

for rural communities and that it will add significantly to the debate on their future.

Richard Tyler

Brecon Beacons National Park Authority

Foreword by Richard Tyler

3

who got involved to helppeople get a job. It was aperiod that brought backperspective. The energy wasput to use in order to set outthe key priorities of thecommunity. There was a needfor a community centre, carefor the elderly, transport, childcare and incentives foremployment. Ger reads out themission statement to us: "Themission and vision of the MayoAbbey community council is toprovide a community that iswelcoming, offers training andemployment for its people. Wewill be forward looking and willbe leaders rather thanfollowers, with skills developedthrough training andmentoring. Continuing thetraditions of rural Ireland, wewill respect our young andelderly and be there for eachother in times of need”. As thedoors open for our excursion,Ger wants to emphasize onething: “This centre is an initiativeof the community, managed bylocal people. During the tour,you will experience just howimportant that is”.

Two women are waiting for us.Teresa Walsh and DeniseDuggan, volunteers right fromthe beginning. “We’re taking

Mayo Abbey builds its dream.Realizing ideals with feet rooted in the ground.

In the hills 18 kilometres fromthe rustic and bustlingCastlebar, lies Mayo Abbey.Hedgerows, sheep and peatmark the landscape. We arevisiting Mayo Abbey. In thiscommunity of 1200 souls, it’sthe centre of action. A projectwith houses, a training andcommunity centre and anorganic horticultural business.We are welcomed by chef AnnMarie Heneghan, head of theMayo Abbey Cookery School.

We enter a professional kitchenand are set to workimmediately. With our handskneading the dough, we hearabout the history of thisexceptional centre. “You arenow becoming acquaintedwith the results of more than 20years of community work.Nicola McGuinness, head ofthe training centre, gavedetails of a broad range oftraining courses for all sectorsof the community. We givecomputer classes. We have asolid community centre wherepeople come together. Wehave childcare, elderly careand we have social

housebuilding. " While thescones are baking in the oven,we learn about one of the mostexceptional communityprojects in Ireland, asevidenced by the 'All IrelandPride of Place' prize that thecommunity received in 2006for its work.

Ger Maguire, manager of thecentre, talks about how thisinitiative got off the ground."This country is poor, with a richculture and history. The majorityof our inhabitants are 'low-income smallholder farmhouseholds' . The income fromtheir farming business averages10, 000 Euro/year. They need tofind work to survive, including innearby Castlebar. Many youngpeople leave. In the eighties,Mayo Abbey Parish was in deeptrouble. Widespread poverty,lack of occupancy,deterioration of houses androads along withunemployment. It was thendecided that action needed tobe taken”.

Ger shows us photos of repairsto roads, walls and houses.There was a new football field,and support to get theunemployed to work. Gerhimself was one of the people

In the isolated hill country of North West Ireland lies Mayo

Abbey. It’s an example of an organisation born out of need. It

grew from the roots of society into a mature and sustainable

structure with a strong economic, social and environmental

significance for the area. There are, for those who look

closely, lots of pearls to be found in our countryside. How are

they maintained? How do they grow? How do they change

our landscape for the good? What makes their heart beat?

4

you to the childcare centre”,and Teresa and Denise set offat a pace. A modern building,certified working methods witha professional staff allows us tosee that work is really beingmade of childcare here. “Forus, the women of thiscommunity, childcare was oneof the first priorities. We couldn’tfind work because we werebound to the house. This wouldinevitably have led to us andother young families having togo to the city. We would haveto leave our country, ourparents and our businesses. Thiswas unacceptable, and hencethe childcare centre cameabout”. When we ask how theymanaged it from such adisadvantaged situation, thecrucial support of the regionand the strength of thecommunity are pointed out.“We gained access togovernment-funded projects.And in our own community wehave a lot of know-how:financial, organisational andtechnical. The fact that wecould do this together was afantastic experience”.

Returning to the communitycentre we enjoy a lavish meal.Locally produced byprofessionals, using products

from their own organic garden.I ask Denise Duggan just whatthe key to their success was.How was it possible to createsuch a strong programme insuch a difficult environment. “Ifwe’d known then, what weknow now, those brave peoplewho laid the foundation for oursuccesses to-date would havewritten a book, which we couldhave sold a million copies of”.“Personally I think the key to oursuccess on the ground waslocal co-operation and havinga strong support mechanism inthe community council, wholistened to all viablesuggestions. We thenappointed dedicated peoplewho voluntarily felt strong aboutthose suggestions to form agroup and bring those projectsto life. This would not havehappened without the ability tothen link, support and shareresources & facilities with othergroups locally e. gsporting/church/school.Sharing facilities allowed manynew projects to start up and astime went on, funding wassourced to maintain that ideaas a sustainable project. Fromthis grew other service needsthat our users identified for use. g. garden veg fordinners/service for school

children/meals for the elderlyetc. So in fact what startedfrom an idea of communityrevival has surpassed allexpectations in terms ofemployment and the serviceswe provide and we in turn nowwork with other communitiessharing our successes/failuresand show what can be done inany rural location with the rightsupport”.

Ger Maguire glows with pride.“This is what a community isable to do. And when you havethat vision of the future andprepare and are able, withyour community, to achieve itin steps, then this is what youget. " And he stretches out hisarms and points around. With abroad smile.

http://www.mayoabbey. ie

5

GovernanceMultiple approaches

I’m walking through thecorridors of the town hall. In myarms, three thick volumes onthe development of poverty inthe European countryside. Atthe copier I bump into a highplaced official, who looks atme pityingly. "You don’t lookmuch like an administrator, " hesays with a nod towards theweighty publications. “You’vegot civil servants for that. You’rean alderman. In your functionyou’re supposed to focus on thebroad outline and yourbureaucrats go into the depth”.I look questioningly at him.“How am I supposed tounderstand the broad outline ifI don’t know the depth?”

No organisation exists withoutstructure. Power and controlalways play a role. There arealways people who determinewhat happens. If that powerisn’t transparent and properlyorganised, you end up withabuse. Governance isessentially about how power ishandled.

The open source Wikipediaprovides a clear definition:

“Governance is originally anEnglish concept that refers tothe act or manner ofgoverning, the code ofconduct, the supervision oforganisations. It is associatedwith decisions that determineexpectations, grant power, orverify performance. It consists

of either a separateprocess or of aspecific part ofmanagement

or leadership processes.Sometimes people set up anadministration to managethese processes and systems. Inthe case of a company or anon-profit organisation,governance is related toconsistent management,cohesive policies, processesand decision rights for aparticular jurisdiction. "

Management

Whoever asks how the RuralAlliance partners are organisedusually receives the famousorganisational structurediagram as response: thedivision of labour and hierarchyin your organisation. Themanagement board at the topwith the working groups andproducts such as reports andevaluation cycles below. Eachyear, the budget is drawn upand when you go to visit, youmeet those board members.Much of this administrativestructure also has a legal basis.You have to have a chairman,secretary and treasurer. You willneed to implement consistentfinancial policy and if, forexample, you use publicmoney, the accountants sit ontop of this.

Each country and each regionhas its own tradition and cultureof government. In theNetherlands you can quicklypull up a chair with the ministerat the breakfast table or justcycle together. Dutch culture is'horizontal' and status plays arelatively small role. In theUnited Kingdom or France it’s

different; there a minister ormayor also has an importantrole in the protocol and thehierarchy is more rooted inthinking and doing. It’s nodifferent even in the structure ofgovernance in companies andnon-profit organisations. The'seeing' and 'respecting' ofthese cultural differences is aprerequisite for internationalcooperation. At the same time,these differences also offer afantastic room to experiment inorder to see which structure ofgovernance is most effective.

Standard for good governance

The ‘organigram prongs’ of anorganisation, financialaccountability, and policycycles are part of the basicpackage of 'goodgovernance'. But how do weknow that an organisation(government, enterprise or non-profit organisation) really ispractising good governance?In almost every country thereare institutes and bodies thatdeal with this question. TheGovernance Forum in Ireland(www. governance. ie) recentlypublished its version 1 . 0 of theGovernance Code; a handyguide for non-profitorganisations. For businesses,there are dozens of guides for‘good governance’ on themarket. Good governance, asalmost all of these guides makeclear, offers financiers thesecurity of a sound financialpolicy, it decreases the risks inthe organisation, reduces thecosts and accelerates theachievement of results.

Governance is an complicated concept. It’s about

structure and power, about organisational forms. But

also about how and with whom you make plans, give

shape to policy, build your future vision.

6

Principle 1 : Leading the organisation1 . Agreeing vision, purpose and values and makingsure that they remain relevant2. Developing, resourcing, monitoring and evaluating a plan to make sure theorganisation achieves its stated purpose3. Managing, supporting and holding to account staff, volunteers and all whoact on behalf of the organisation

Principle 2: Exercising control over the organisation1 . Identifying and complying with all relevant legal and regulatory requirements2. Making sure that there are appropriate internal financial and managementcontrols3. Identifying major risks for the organisation and deciding ways of managing therisksPrinciple 3: Being transparent and accountable1 . Identifying those who have a legitimate interest in the work of the organisation(stakeholders), andmaking sure that there is regular and effective communication with them aboutthe organisation2. Responding to stakeholders' questions or views about the work of theorganisation and how it is run3. Encouraging and enabling the engagement of those who benefit from theorganisation in planning anddecision-makingPrinciple 4: Working effectively1 . Making sure that the governing body, individualboard members, committees,staff and volunteersunderstand their roles, legal duties, and delegated responsibilities for decision-making2. Making sure that the board exercises its collective responsibility through boardmeetings that are efficient and effective3. Making sure that there are suitable board recruitment, development andretirement processes in place

Principle 5: Behaving with integrity1 . Being honest, fair and independent2. Understanding, declaring and managing conflicts of interest and conflicts ofloyalties3. Protecting and promoting the organisation's reputation

The 'Governance Code's Principles' , (www. governance. ie)

Corporate social responsibility?

A global standard for goodgovernance is SO 26, 000. It isthe governance standard forSocial Responsibility(www. iso. org). As the ISOorganisation states: “Businessand organisations do notoperate in a vacuum. Theirrelationship to the society andenvironment in which theyoperate is a critical factor intheir ability to continue tooperate effectively. It is alsoincreasingly being used as ameasure of their overallperformance. ISO 26000provides guidance on howbusinesses and organisationscan operate in a sociallyresponsible way. This meansacting in an ethical andtransparent way thatcontributes to the health andwelfare of society”. What’smore, for example, the IrishGovernance Code provides ISO26000 standards for issues suchas environment, consumerrights, community involvement,fair trade and human rights. Wecome back to thiscomprehensively in Part 4 ofthis publication ongovernance, .

Administrative reform

Power and its structures areoften a conservative force. Thetransition theory (read thearticle 'Friction gives lustre' , onpage 11 ) shows how, forexample, the government orfinancial institutions ensure thatthe status quo is maintainedand that nothing is substantiallychanged. The developmenttowards a sustainable societythen becomes frustrated andthe structures of governanceform a stumbling block.Research into poverty andgovernment policy by the RuralAlliance partner Lochem,showed that clearly.

Municipal councillors visiteddozens of people living inpoverty. They asked them whatthe municipality could do toimprove their situation. Thecouncillors received lists ofpractical suggestions. The mainrecommendation of theLochem residents was that themunicipality should 'trust’ itscitizens. This is because thepolicy on poverty was steepedin mistrust. For every supportfrom the government to whichcitizens were entitled, incomestatements and receipts had tobe submitted. Every Euro paidtowards poverty cost more thanone Euro on administration andcontrol! The alternative wassimple: Make random checks

and publish theresults. Trust theapplicant andlower thethresholds. Thecouncil adoptedalmost all therecommendations of thecitizens of Lochem.

Governance is much morethan defining a structure ofpower and accountability. It isthe dynamics of control thatleads to the most effective andhonest way of social change,focusing on sustainabledevelopment, circulareconomy, social andeconomic justice.

7

In 1965 Gordon Moore, one ofthe founders of the chipmanufacturer Intel, formulated’Moore's Law'. Moore's Lawstates that owing totechnological progress, thenumber of transistors in anintegrated circuit doubles everytwo years. New materials, 3Ddesign and nanotechnologyensure that Moore's Law is stillvalid. We see theconsequences every day: inour smartphones, in the speedof telecommunications, in thecomputing power of ourgaming consoles.

Those who are curious aboutthe future of the Europeancountryside are well advised togain an insight into the mostimportant technical and socialdevelopments affecting this.Moore's Law for example, alsosays something about theopportunities of participating insocial and economic life faraway from urbanconglomerates through the useof broadband. Even living in thecountryside, I’m connectedwith the world at the speed oflight. I can design thismagazine and mail it to aprinter, put it on a websiteonline or share it with friends allover the world within seconds.So while I enjoy the peace,nature and safety of thecountryside, I am still part of a

European and Global network,which incidentally, is freebecause I use “Open SourceSoftware”.

We see, even in the ruralalliances of our network, newanswers to complex socialquestions. The explosive growthof parcel post due to Internetpurchases also means anopportunity for new forms ofpassenger transport. Why, for

Landscape of change

instance, can’t all those vanstransport people at the sametime? Isn’t there an astuteinventor out there who’sdeveloped an ‘App’ wherepackage and people transportservices can be combined? Ofcourse that’s going to happen!Our French partner is helping todevelop these services. Andcan’t broadband be deployedin rural areas, in order to allowsmall and medium enterprisesto become part of the market?Certainly; we see knowledge

and technology-orientedcompanies emerging in areasthat were previously 'isolated'.Will technology affect ourleisure time economy in thecountryside? Of course; justlook at how consumers plantheir holidays on the Internet.The smartphone is now beingused to follow local routes viagps. We see new businessesbeing created that provideservices for this.

In this changing landscape,sustainable development isgaining the wind in its sails. Thecosts of wind and solar energyare falling so fast that thelocally produced electrons arenow competing with those ofcoal, gas and nuclear energy.Technology of energy storageand smart energy networks thatalign production and use isdeveloping so quickly thatlocally produced electrons arenow effectively and efficientlydeployed. Smart meters areextending into smart homes,ensuring that every room isheated and illuminated at theright time and in the mostefficient way. New homes andoffices are now being built onlyas climate-neutral or energysupplying. The renovation ofexisting homes is beingaccelerated using newenvironmental technology.Around all these developmentsnew forms of organisation areemerging, like energycooperatives and new marketmechanisms, such as

"In thischanginglandscape,sustainabledevelopmentis gaining thewind in itssails"

Governing is looking forward. A cliché, but in addition to the

structures of careful governance, equally important. What are

the major changes in technology, agriculture, demography,

environment? What will the countryside look like in ten or

twenty years? Hence what do we ‘see’ coming? What do we

have to take into account?

8

companies supplying energyservices. You no longerpurchase energy. Instead acompany (like your localenergy cooperative) ensuresthat your home is heated, yourwashing machine is runningand proper illumination is therewhen needed! What’s more,the company is able to make aprofit from all of this. Howeverthe yields remain in the regionand are reinvested ininnovation and sustainability.

Of course, that soundsfantastic! Opportunities aboundfor rural transportation, greenjobs, organic food, eco-tourism, renewable energy andeducation. It seems like aUtopian dream. The transitionto a society that grabs hold ofthese opportunities isn’t alwaysobvious. There are other majordevelopments that can throw aspanner in the works.

For example, upscaling.Upscaling in agriculture iscontinuing as expected. Plotsof land are being merged,resulting in ditches being filledin, wood edges will disappearand the wonderfully diversestructure of our countryside isbecoming simplified. Accessroads are becoming wider andbarns bigger, all for the benefitof larger machines. In livestockfarming, major indoor livestockunits are increasing. 1% ofagricultural businesses use 20%of the agricultural land inEurope, while between 2003

and 2010, more than 20% ofthe farms in Europe have goneout of business, a decrease of15 million to 12 millionbusinesses. It’s especially inmarginal areas that theagricultural economy is underpressure. The bedrock of themaintenance of our strongagricultural landscape (with itsown cultural and structuralcharacteristics, so important toits identity), the tourism product,the nature, may be lost. Thetension between nature,landscape and eco-tourismagainst upscaled agriculturewill increase.

Ageing and growing isolation isa theme for the hundreds ofthousands of small hamlets andvillages in the Europeancountryside. Because with thedisappearance of agricultureas a provider of employmentand income, the migration tothe cities has becomepredominant. The young andinnovative segment of oursociety is looking for the urbanenvironment. Travelling throughthe European countryside youcan physically see this! Villagesare falling silent, the level ofamenities is rapidly decreasing.Care and accessibility,schooling and employment area problem.

Sustainability and raw materialsconstitute an importantchallenge. Climate changeresults in increasing theextremes, both through heavy

rainfall as well as drought.Commodity prices rise, bothwhen it comes to nitrogen andphosphate as well as for animalfeed. The fertile European soil isbeing eroded every year as aresult of intensive agriculturaluse, forestry and urbanization.Billions of tons of CO2 arebeing released into theatmosphere as a result of thedecomposition of organicsubstances. Agricultural landsare becoming vulnerable todrought and increasinglydependent on chemicalfertilizers because of thishidden form of mining of thetopsoil.

The landscape of change hasmany faces. However, oneelement is clear. It involveslong-term developments whereour rural alliances,governments, businesses andcitizens must take all of this intoaccount. Both positively,because more developmentspace is created as well asnegatively, because thenegative effects of oureconomic actions areadversely affecting our ruralareas.

Governing is looking towardsthe future. That might be acliché, but when it comes togovernance it’s a veryimportant one.

9

10

Friction provides lustreTransition towards a sustainable society

“We can deliver solar and windenergy at competitiveelectricity prices, but oursociety still runs on coal, oil andgas. How is that possible?Finance is not the drawback,because investing in solar andwind energy yields more thanyour savings". The words of thepresident of Lochem Energy, acooperative of citizens. Thegroup looks at each othersomewhat quizzically. Beingright is a very different thing tobeing proven right. We see thata transition towards asustainable society is meetingwith resistance. Why is that?

A week later I’m sitting withHans and Paul at the kitchentable. Hans is the treasurer ofthe Lochem Energycooperative energyassociation. Paul is working onLochem’s 'smart grid’. On thetable there are three sturdydocument files. “We can set upa couple of solar parks. Butthere isn’t any bank that wantsto finance us because we stilldon’t have a cash-flow". I lookquestioningly at him. “We need700, 000 Euros. The provincehas a revolving fund with whichthat’s possible. But one way oranother, we just can’t seem toget hold of that money. So Thijs… you’re an administrator ofthe municipality of Lochem.Open the doors for us”.

Two weeks later we’re sittingwith Annemieke Traag, deputyof the province of Gelderland.

She has tens of millionsavailable for local energyinitiatives. Hans has brought hisclip files along. "I wish we couldfinance this immediately. Thisreally is the future, ” says theadministrator, pointing to theplans. “Decentralised andrenewable energy areextremely important. Yourproposal is good, and if yourplans go through, you’ll be ableto create your income,

professionalise, employmentwill rise and social cohesionimprove. It's just too good to betrue”. I ask what the problem is.With her administrative supportsurely we can come by thecredit. Annemieke looks at mesomewhat pityingly. “"We arebound up in our own rules. Ihave to install an independentcommission for the purpose ofassessing the plans and ofcourse we’re going to need the

necessary guarantees.Furthermore our financialsupport of a cooperative maybe seen as state aid. Your riskprofile is high so you will needto pay high interest rates, eventhough government wouldhave liked to provide 'soft'loans. And you’ll have tocomplete the necessarypapers”.

Hans sighs . . . finally, aftermonths the credit is granted atan interest rate of 7. 5%.Fortunately there are no flies onthe financial man from LochemEnergy. “We’re going to use thecredit as surety and finance viaour members”. I use the term'crowdfunding'. Hans correctsme: “No, we can’t call it that,because we’ll run into problemswith the Financial MarketsAuthority. The reason is that we’llbe operating as a bank and todo that you again need alicence. . . . and we’ll never getthat”. I look at him with puredisbelief. How much idealismdo you need to keep this up? “Ifwe don’t encounter anyresistance, then something'swrong”, is the lesson thatfollows. "We are changing alarge system, that of our energysupply. In it are vested interestsand these are beingthreatened. They’ve organisedtheir world very carefully. Beprepared for resistance, havepatience".

"But there isn’tany bank that

wants tofinance usbecause westill don’t havea cash-flow"

Change causes resistance. Initiatives move against

the flow, challenge society. It often starts small, with a

social initiative. Real change only occurs when

governments, financiers or education moves with it.

11

takes place. In transitionthinking they are also called'niches' . There are manythousands of local initiativesthat fit into their localenvironment. They are thesource of social change, theplace where parties meet

Whoever raises the point about‘governance’ would do well toprepare themselves for thenecessary changes andopposition. A bookcase withtheoretical and practical workin this area is too small; alibrary is needed and there aredozens of research groupsworking on this. Any initiativethat is committed to socialchange would do well toorientate itself to this. Even theadministrator and officer needit in order to gain an image ofthis dynamic landscape.Because it is a landscape withdifferent territories andinterdependent systems.

In the transition theory, threelevels are discussed. Themacro-, meso-, and micro-levels. This provides the firstpicture of this world of change.

The micro-level is the area inwhich most of 'our' ruralalliances operate. The energyassociation cooperative, acollaboration around a cycleroute in the region, the localhealth organisation or thetourism initiative, almost allfocus themselves on theirimmediate surroundings. Theymobilize people, bring partiestogether and seek finance.They formulate a vision, strategyand plan of action and formthe spot where the 'action'

each other, share their idealsand creativity and change theirenvironment. They form theinnovation platform of oursociety.

The meso-level concerns theinstitutions and larger structures.The municipality or regionbelong with this, but alsoeducation, research institutions,the larger businessorganisations and of course thelarger business communitiesand financial institutions. In thetransition theory, this is alsocalled the 'regime'. This iswhere the systems (financial,organisational, political)reproduce themselves. Hereyou find the rules and structuresthat can make the innovation

difficult or easy, that give thoselocal initiatives the space or justrestrict them. This for example,is the area of activity ofAnnemieke Traag, thealderman and their officers.This is the complex worldthrough which Lochem Energyhas to navigate to create aworking solution.

And then there’s the macro-level. These are the majorsocial changes, the trends.They are so large that we hardlyhave any (direct) influence onthem. Technological change,such as the exponentialincrease of the speed andmemory power of chips andcomputers. Or social change,such as individualisation andchange of standards andvalues. But also increasingscarcity of resources, climatechange and increases in scaleare associated with this macro-level. Like the demographictrends, including ageing andthe migration of young peopleto cities.

These three levels have a largedegree of mutual interaction.The macro-level has a hugeimpact on the choices you’reable to make at the meso andmicro levels. The accelerationof our data traffic makes itpossible to be connected withthe world from the barn or inthe attic via broadband. Wesee the number of patents inlarge companies declining andmore and more small

"A bookcasewith

theoreticaland practicalwork in thisarea is toosmall"

12

businesses growing through theelectronic highway. Ageing ischanging the demand for carewhile climate change andscarcity of resourcesencourages the developmentof a low-carbon economy. Themicro-level offers inspirationand creativity. Local initiativesare able to break through,scale up and professionalise,thus changing society. And overtime, the micro-level can evenlead to change on a largescale, such as large scale useof solar and wind energy reallychanging the playing field ofthe energy landscape.

For example, solar energy iscontinuously becomingcheaper. That’s a macro-development. The technology isimproving steadily while themarket is growing in volume.Solar energy is ideal for acooperative approach, in

which citizens invest together toget even lower costs and sharereturns. That’s a micro-development. And if thosereturns are used in revolvingresources in order to reinvest ineven more renewable energy,then you get a change of thesystem (a game-changer). Thisis what the people fromLochem Energy want toachieve.

The meso-level is often whereobstacles lie. For instance therewill be committees thatLochem Energy has topersuade to approve theirplans. These may not besympathetic to this sort ofchange and often it isnecessary to persuade peopleover a long period of time.However if the administrators,officers, researchers orpoliticians are against you it willbe difficult to achieve your

Change, for example to a sustainable society,requires a close collaboration at all levels. Atmicro-level, in the street, the villages andtowns, concrete activities are being developedand implemented. Through changingknowledge and technology, this level isbecoming increasingly important. At meso-level, where governments, researchers andmajor institutions are active, this is becomingincreasingly recognised. Consequently changeis becoming anticipated earlier and thatdemands new roles. Thus, the governmentincreasingly becomes the facilitator andmediator, the local initiative, the innovator andresponsible implementer.

plans.

Classically seen, the meso-levelis where the focus of'governance' lies because that’swhere the government is. Eventhe local initiatives have'governance', as Hans aptlyshows: patience, perseveranceand understanding form theirbasis. They will have to mobilizeknowledge, must develop avision and strategy.

Hence 'Governance' is about the organisation of

change. This is not always obvious. Because for many,

'governance' is about the 'structures': who the

chairman, secretary and treasurer are. That is also

part of governance, but these administrators and

their organization must be part of social change, in a

new and dynamic landscape.

13

Reinder stands before anaudience of builders,installation technicians, officersand administrators. “Thechallenge is to make ourhouses and offices sustainable.To do that, we need eachother. How are we going to dothis?”

The contractors and installerslean backwards, arms folded.The officers look around, in asomewhat hopelessexpectation. The administratorgets up and wants to take thefloor. Reinder intervenes. “Whydon’t we first ask thebusinesses? “ Shuffling on seats,silence from the audience.Cool as a cucumber, Reinderlets 5 minutes of silence pass -and that’s a long time. Thenone of the contractors gets up.“We are all each other’scompetitors. Withoutcooperation nothing is going tohappen. However, someone isthen going to have to organiseit” . . . with a nod towards theadministrators and officers.Again Reinder gestures to theadministrator not to react.“OK. . . who can we round up?”He looks hopefully at theaudience. . . Another Contractorgets up. “We need to organisea sort of association, whereinwe make it easy for thecustomer to get the rightservice, but we continue tooperate independently”.

Six months later, a cooperativeassociation of builders andinstallers is created. As a home-owner, you now have a groupof companies that you can askfor help in the sustainablerenovation of your house. Themayor signs on as the firstclient. “I want to live in anenergy-efficient home, so iflocal businesses can do thattogether, then I want to showthat it really can be achieved!"he says.

Coming from initiative tomaturity is an entire process.Steps that are made requiretargeted management anddistribution of roles. The fragilebeginning of an initiative bybuilders and installers is notsomething you ‘easily' thinkabout. The companies involvedare each other competitors, donot want to come across asvulnerable, distrust thegovernment and may be infinancial trouble. That is whyReinder diplomatically took thefloor from the administratorand officers, allowed thepainful silence to occur andthen gave free rein to thetentative suggestions of the realstakeholders, the ones whoultimately have to address theresponsibility.

In number four of "TheCompetent Society" (pg. 71 ) wewill extensively come back tothe steps when we look at therole of government. We’ll namethem briefly here.

1 . Ownership of the initiative lieswith the stakeholders. Theemergence of an initiative is avulnerable moment.Expectations are high, there isstill no common plan, there aremany needs and sub-plans.There are visionaries who wantto bring the long term into view.There are practical people whowant to set to work now.Cooperation and guidance isneeded here in order to reachtrust, to allow the major playersto have their word and not toimpose a goal or workingmodel top-down.

2. Providing recognition iscrucial. Local and regionalauthorities can help a lot withthis. Participation in the initiativeis perhaps still low but can beincreased through jointpublicity, a first prize, a“launching customer”, such asthe mayor who let his house berenovated by the partnership.

3 . Dissemination, by means ofsupport from businesses andinstitutions. The big risk of aninitiative is that it feels goodwithin its own niche and thusbuilds up a micro-cosmos.Recognition and connection isimportant via collaboration,joint presentations, an advisorycouncil, fundraising or otherways.

4. Professionalising is also animportant step in this process.You often can’t escape it, evenif you work with volunteers.

Building Rural AlliancesThe developing steps of governance

Building up an initiative follows several steps. Many local

initiatives, businesses and authorities want to set to work

directly. Every organization grows along logical steps. At the

start, you have to know what you need in order to take those

steps. Action and vision are connected. Support is important.

14

Administration, coordinationand responsibility are all part ofthe work and you want tocontinue providing continuityand quality.

5. Upscaling is often essential.Your business plan calls forsufficient customers; yourorganisation requires a largerworking area. But that doesn’tcome automatically. Where doyou draw the line, or do you notdo that? How do you ensurethat the initiative is stillcontrolled by the stakeholdersand maintains its originalobjectives?

6. Planning for the time thepioneers have to move on is

crucial. Everyone knows thepioneers; they are theenterprising and driving forces.But when an initiative becomesmature, it is often healthy forthem to leave and let newpeople take forward theinitiative. Transfer to a separateindependent organisation canbe one answer or just recruitingnew people to the cause. This iscalled succession planning andany good organisation takesthe trouble to think through astrategy to allow people tomove on - you never know whatthey might do next!

Reinder specialises in thesupport of these kinds ofprocesses. He dares to reprove

administrators, to dropawkward silences in a meetingand will point to an initiative’svulnerability and opportunities.A field that is part ofgovernance is providing theproper support.

15

Guiding ResourcesFrom vision and mission, to values, objectives and

strategic plan

Warren Bennis, a pioneer instudies around leadership, says:"Leadership is the capacity totranslate vision into reality. "Michelangelo formulated itmore ambitiously: "The greatestdanger for most of us is not thatour aim is too high and we missit, but that it is too low and wereach it. " Both quotes offerwisdom. Whoever opensmanagement literature canfind hundreds of books onleadership and vision.Governance begins withthinking about leadership. Andthat also directly determinesthe foundation of our localalliances.

The persuasive story

“If you want to build a ship,don’t herd people together tocollect wood and don’t assignthem tasks and work, but ratherteach them to long for theendless immensity of the sea. ”said Antoine de Saint-Exupery.He should know, because atthe beginning of the lastcentury he was one of the earlypilots of aircraft that we wouldnow regard as extremelydangerous. This realization, thatfor a successful initiative wemust have a commonaspiration, an ideal, is animportant foundation of allsocial initiatives. Antoine deSaint-Exupery’s lesson is that youshould not take action like aheadless chicken. But first think

about your ideals, your desiresand start with your heart.

Change is difficult

You need that heart and thoseideals if you want to bringabout change. Ben Tiggelaar,researcher and author of booksand courses on change, listsfour factors that make changedifficult:We look too much to results,too little to behaviour. We knowthe final destination, but don’tclarify which small steps weneed to take every day;We focus ourselves onconsciously planned behaviourthat only constitutes anestimated 5% of the total.Hence no less than 95% of ourbehaviour is unconscious,automatic and is driven byenvironmental factors;Every change means a chanceof loss, at least of oldcertainties. Research showsthat a loss hits us twice as hardas a comparable win;We are impatient, work in anunstructured way and without aphased basis. Nevertheless ofall things, changes need time.People go through differentstages before they are "ready"for it.

Dreaming, daring and doing

Many changes fail, that's afact. From the changes that dosucceed, there is wisdom to behad. Tiggelaar summarizes it inthree steps, which well reflectthe actual ambition of WarrenBennis, the transcendent

ambition of Michelangelo andthe persuasive story of Antoinede Saint-Exupery.

Dreaming is the first stepwherein you find connectionwith your positive experiencesand aspirations (and those ofyour organisation, your group).These don’t have to be abstractviews at all but can also bepositive developments in yourimmediate environment.

'Daring' is the second step,designed to properly preparefor the most difficult momentsof change. Because if it’s likelyto go wrong, you’ll lapse intoold habits and those are theunconscious actions that endup frustrating your activity.Actively anticipating crisissituations can be very effective.The chance of staying thecourse increases by a factor ofthree to four times.Doing is the third step. Maybethat sounds too logical. Peoplelearn the most from directfeedback. But be realistic.Change proceeds in smallsteps, first via behaviouralchoices. For social processes itmay therefore be important toeven reward these small steps.Joining an initiative, makingplans, laying the first stone . . .these are occasions that shouldbe celebrated!

Change is like sport

Changing, certainly changingstructurally, is top-class sport. It’slike a marathon. It’s not run thefirst time round. The runner

The connection between a vision and actual actions is a

major challenge. There are methods that can help your

organisation with this. Developing vision with each other,

drafting a strategic plan, establishing objectives.

16

dreams about it, practices withshort distances, builds fitnessand thinks about food anddrink in the preparation and enroute. The tough moments areproperly discussed in the teamspreparing themselves for it. Forexample, when push comes toshove and the end is in sight,the moment that the body hasexhausted its oxygen reservesand the real fight to the finishbegins. The marathon runner

builds up their body, treats itwith care, listens closely to therisks and opportunities. But theimportant thing is that dream,that desire to break barriers.That also goes for governance,the way we build up ourperformance, measuring andevaluating. Each top-classsports coach knows all aboutthis.

What is a Vision Statement?

It defines the optimal desired future state - the mental picture - of what an organisation wants toachieve over time;It provides guidance and inspiration as to what an organisation is focused on achieving in five, ten,or more years;It functions as the "north star" - it is what all employees understand their work every day ultimatelycontributes towards accomplishing over the long term and - it is written in an inspirational mannerthat makes it easy for all employees to repeat it at any given time.

What is a Mission Statement?

It defines the present state or purpose of an organisation;It answers three questions about why an organisation exists -WHAT it does;WHO it does it for; andHOW it does what it does.It is written succinctly in the form of a sentence or two, but for a shorter time frame (one to threeyears) than a Vision Statement; and it is something that all employees should be able to articulateupon request.

What are the values?

The values of an organisation are directly connected to its vision and mission. They form thecement, motivation and cohesion. Values may be related to respect for nature, to taking ourresponsibility for future generations, to reciprocity, humanity, transparency. It is important to talk witheach other about the values that are crucially important for everyone and to nominate them.'Values' are like a vision focused on a long shelf life, but should indeed be reviewed regularly.Values are not theoretical statements but determine how you get along with each other and theenvironment.

Strategy and objectives

Many of our local initiatives put the emphasis on these. People want to set to work. Soon they areasking ‘what we are going to do, how are we going to tackle it and what results will we achieve?’That’s important. However, without ‘dreaming’ and then ‘daring’, very little change occurs. Andthat’s a pity for all the work and brainpower that will be put into the initiative. But it’s normal. Fromvision, mission and values, a concrete strategic plan then follows, with objectives in the short andlonger term. The strategic plan is continually evaluated and may, like the goals, regularly beadapted.

17

Persuasive Storytelling

In 1996, The University ofChicago Press published aground breaking study fromJames A. Throgmorton, entitled“Planning as PersuasiveStorytelling, The RhetoricalConstruction of Chicago'sElectric Future”. In thisaccessible study Throgmortonshows that the persuasive storyis one of the most powerfulinstruments in planning. Anyonewho browses the Internet under'persuasive storytelling’ will finda rich diversity of manuals.Consciously or unconsciously,the persuasive story hasbecome the foundation of ourfuture thinking.

The persuasive story isfundamentally different to'Limits to Growth' from the Clubof Rome (1972) or the 'Blueprintfor Survival' by EdwardGoldsmith and Robert Allen(The Ecologist, 1972). Differentlyfrom these pioneering studies,the persuasive story does notrely on the negative warnings orthe determinism of a blueprint.The persuasive story isoptimistic, describing whatwould be possible and what theworld might look like. It sweepsyou along on the road to thatpossible reality.

It’s a good idea to give a placeto this persuasive story in thedaily work of our RuralAlliances. It is the realization ofour vision and mission. Inhuman and spatial terms. It’swhat inspired people, e. g. atMayo Abbey, to start. “If weprovide for good childcare,then we have the space andtime to go to work. Then we areable to develop ourselves.Unlike previously, we remainliving in rural areas. Andimagine that there's a centre

where older people can meetup, close to affordablehousing where they and theirchildren and grandchildrencan love. If we combine thatwith an organic garden wherehealthy food is produced andthe centre that’s associatedwith it uses that food for mealsfor residents. Then thatstrengthens our community. Ifwe combine that with trainingfor cooks, we also ensure thatpeople who are nowunemployed can get back towork. Meaningful employmentfor the future”. A story like thatis extremely powerful. It canbe built up by all participantsin the area. It is part of theprocess of coming towards acommon vision and mission.

But even more important is thatit takes people along, at alllevels!

Sitting before me is StephanieParis from Medifi, a regionalpartner in rural France. “Ourproblem is that people,especially the elderly, becomeisolated in the countryside.Public transport is beingdropped and amenities in thevillages are also disappearing.Then living in the countrysidebecomes really difficult, if notimpossible. “If your planssucceed, what will theaccessibility in the future looklike?” I ask. Stephanie leansforward and starts to explainenthusiastically: “Before, youhad the combination of parcelpost and transportation ofpeople. You now see thatowing to the development ofInternet, parcel post is alsoincreasing. The vans driveeverywhere. Now, suppose wemodify the vans for acombination of passengertransport and parcel post andthat you’re able to ‘book’ viaInternet. Then you’re againbuilding a new transportstructure that fits in with amodern economy andtechnology. This can be awelcome addition for thetransport companies”.

Maarten Hajer, director of theNetherlands EnvironmentalAssessment Agency, one of theimportant consultants of theDutch government, nods. He is

"Thepersuasivestory is

optimistic. . . "

People get involved and convinced by the "big story". What

does the future look like? Suppose that our actions succeed

on a large scale. What happens then in our living

environment, economy and with the environment? Stories of

flesh and blood do more than numbers and abstract views.

18

attending the internationalmeeting of Rural Alliances inLochem. “The stories from yourpartners in Europe are all reallypersuasive. The art is to also tellthose stories so that they arepersuasive to people in power.Politicians and administratorsare often very good at that”.

The human brain is sensitive toemotions. Students, who get tohear a mix of statistics andstories, especially rememberthe stories. The memory is bestat this because the stories tellemotions. People also connectbetter with activities thatcommunicate a believablestory than with an activity thatproduces relevant statistics."Save the Children" has had this

researched and produced abrochure chiefly with the factsof its projects and a brochurewherein the story of thechildren was notablyprominent. The test groupdonated frequently to this story.We often assume that the‘rational’ part of our brainsmost affects decision-making.That is not the case. Researchshows that it’s the ‘emotions'that determine the decision-making and that we then‘rationalise’. The persuasivestory aims at engaging theseemotions.

For the public, the best storieshave the most 'meaning'. Andorganisations that manage tobring this meaning across, build

We’re sitting in the warm conference room of the community centre. In the village, starter homesare being built. Inexpensive, so that young people can also remain living in the countryside. We talkabout the possibility of making these houses sustainable. We sit together with the potential newowners, often young couples from the countryside. For them, 'Sustainability' is not really amotivational topic. “Just imagine", says our guest, an expert in the field of sustainable buildings,"that we can build a house where you can live without energy bills. A home with bright, airy rooms,overlooking a beautiful garden. Cool in summer, warm in winter. The solar panels and solar waterheater create energy, while in the cupboard you have a heat exchanger that uses every bit ofwarmth or cool to make your home comfortable. You no longer have to pay any energy bills. Forthe first 15 years you pay a fixed amount, slightly lower than the current energy bill; this being inorder to pay off the additional investment. For the heating you do not use any gas. That goesthrough the heat exchanger which runs on electricity, created by wind and the sun. Via electronics,your house also becomes ‘smart’. If you want to heat bedroom before you go to bed, then someheat is taken from the living room and pumped through the floor. You just step into the warmbedroom, open the window for fresh air and crawl under the blankets while your room cools downagain. You just control that on your smartphone or iPad. Plus of course, your home is even morevaluable when you want to sell. Because the price of energy, especially that of gas, continues torise. Who doesn’t want to live in a house without energy bills?" The group nods. Actuallythis doesn’t even warrant discussion. “"How do we tackle this?" is then the questionfrom the chairman of the residents group. The process is put into motion.

the strongest leadership.'Governance' is aboutleadership. The persuasive storyis one of the most importantmeans to give shape to this.

19

Now and again I lay out a jigsaw puzzle. I find that a forest is especially fun. You start at the edge,looking carefully at the picture. Slowly a landscape appears. At first uncertain, but as the puzzleprogresses, it goes faster. The final pieces just fall into place.

It’s also the same with sustainability and circular economy. All these local groups form parts of thepuzzle. In my community for example, we have a cooperative energy association, which isengaged in solar and wind power. We also now have a cooperative of builders, who want tosustainably renovate these homes. When you put the two groups together, you then see that they fittogether and in this way they form a larger and recognisable piece.

The edge of a puzzle is important, it provides the outline. In our community we don’t do thisenough. We stick a few pieces of the puzzle together but very often we don’t know where that’sgoing lead to in its totality.

Once again, put a number of pieces together. There isn’t a picture to tell us what to do and thepieces are also not complete. What would the result be able to look like and what pieces are stillmissing?

In reality this is a wonderful process that never stops. Every time you work together, you again see anew link and the target image becomes clearer. This way, our energy cooperative now really iscollaborating with the builders to sustainably renovate houses. The authorities are also doing theirbit: Our mayor has offered his house as a starting project. The housing cooperative is now alsolinked, along with the tenants association. Because then housing costs become lower and homesmore comfortable. Care for the elderly became relevant in this context. Because sustainablyrenovated houses are cooler in summer. They are also not draughty and are cheaper to live in.which is important for the elderly. All six pieces put together, and they fit completely!

This gives us an image of a possible future. That future differs fundamentally from the presentimage. That’s clear. We work together, again and again. The one group helps the other. We wastenothing. No energy, no raw materials. All our waste is reused. Health care and employment areincreasingly organised locally. Thus there is more and more work due to sustainable buildings,repairs and reuse of materials. And because we work together, our networks become stronger. Weknow much sooner when people are struggling and what their issues are, reducing distress andenabling earlier intervention from the right agencies, particularly health care. That saves troubleand also a lot of money. Our education is focused on those qualities and on encouraging a focuson cooperation.

Analysts recognise the image. From a linear society, where sales and profits for the short term standcentral and people and materials are production resources, we are changing to a circular society.Cooperation is key. Care for each other, synergy in our actions. A society that does not waste rawmaterials and people. That is the big picture of the puzzle we put together.

Thijs de la Court

The puzzle of the circulareconomy

column

20

The Competent Society

Governance and Rural Alliancesfor the Common Good

Part Two

The macro landscapeof governance

21

At MEDEFI (my organisation), I am responsible for strategic economic and regional

development. This includes innovation and the diversification of business strategies.

Working in a regional organisation that is focussed on the social-economic

development of a rural area located at the crossroads of two major metropolis in

Brittany, West France, I am constantly aware of macro-development which must be

considered in the “real life” projects as well as long term prospects for our partners

and organisations.

This is also the theme of the second 'chapter' of 'Governance for the Common Good'.

Within the Rural Alliances’ network, we have been working to build real activities1 ,

based on comprehensive bottom-up processes. In doing so, we know that we have to

understand the so-called 'bigger picture’.

These are exciting times, often troublesome, but nevertheless challengingand full of

perspective for positive change.

For instance, we know that technology can and will change the relationship between

the urban and rural real world. Global connectivity through the Internet, the

astronomic speed of our computers and the emergence of 3D printers will change

our realities. As part of a North-West European network, we are now witnessing the

early changes related to these developments. We are seeing villages with open Wi-Fi,

with start-up companies working with home automation and health care. We have

seen centres of innovation in the countryside, connected to the large scale markets in

urban regions. We have also noticed a number of citizen and solidarity based local

initiatives that have only been possible thanks to smartphones or social networks. We

know that we have to be prepared for such change.

Such industrial and social transformation require us to rethink our concepts, the ways

we do things and to come up with adequate, innovative and receptive approaches

and answers.

Foreword

22

How should we understand or consider the future?

Quite simply, we don’t have the answers to that. However, it’s clear that we have to

change our way of looking at issues. We can’t look to the present while emulating the

past.We should be led by our dreams not by our fears. Let’s adopt a more flexible and

pragmatic approach in order to adapt as quickly and easily as possible to all odds

and vagaries (like boat skippers).

Indeed, we cannot really anticipate the evolution and the trends, let alone plan for

them but we can change the way we relate to the challenges ahead:

1 – We should adopt an "adaptive", " agile" state of mind, in order to be flexible and

adaptable to the situation, to look ahead with an open view of the world, being alert

even to weak signals;

2 – We should “develop the muscle", to correct our weak points in order to better

withstand any sudden fluctuation and change, thus becoming strong and resilient.

3 – We should be willing to be creative, flexible and to continuously adapt our

strategies, methods and way of doing things.

Governance demands this understanding of the bigger picture.

We must not reproduce the past. We cannot predict the future. But we can build our

organisations in such a way that they can have the adaptive structures which will

prepare them for change. And as we walk towards the future, we can look ahead

and try to be prepared for those future opportunities instead of constantly looking

back. The issues debated in the second 'chapter' of 'Governance for the Common

Good' will help us in finding our bearings with this.

Ready, steady, go… Let us move forward with inspiration and good spirit !

Lætitia Guth

Chef de projet mutations économique

23

machine. A lamp lights up atone of the lockers. Before me,at the ready, a sturdy bike.Seconds later I cycle to thesomewhat inaccessibly locatedRheden, to discuss apreliminary memorandumabout 'circular economy’ withthe municipal clerk. Themunicipality wants waste tobecome raw material, wantshouses to be sustainablyrenovated and wants anenergy cooperative to beestablished that ensures asmany people as possible areconnected to locallygenerated renewable energy.

These developments don’tstand alone. Previously in‘Landscape of change'(magazine 1 , page 8), Idescribed how our environmentis changing with the advent ofcheap renewable energy,accessible information andsoftware. You can now live inthe countryside and beconnected with the world viathe Internet highway. It’s also aquestion of who can join in onthat development. Is it a smallgroup that finds its way into thethousands of start-upcompanies, the creativemeeting places for youngentrepreneurs? Are the solar

Macro landscape

About trends, innovation and futureexpectations

I'm standing on the escalator ofa large railway station. Mysmartphone’s app tells me thatI have to wait 1 hour and 23minutes for the connection tomy next meeting. 5 minutes’walk, into the lift and I enter aroom where more than 100,mostly young people are sittingbehind laptops. I make myselfknown. Immediately my profilebecomes available for all thosepresent. With a tempting cup ofespresso next to me, I alsoopen my laptop, connect on tothe free Wi-Fi and start surfingthe world. Behind me themeeting rooms fill up. I checkmy e-mail, write a small articleand take a look at the list ofthose present. I’m looking forsomeone who understandsopen source design. Yes,they’re here. A bit later we finda quite spot. I’m given tips andtricks on how to use the freeScribus software package.Another 5 minutes . . . I go downthe escalator and take thetrain.

This is not fantasy, but occursthroughout Europe. For thehundreds of thousands of smallbusiness owners that have gotthe 'flow’, it’s a fantasticexperienceWe’re more mobilethan ever. We live in anexplosion of information; we’reconnected to the world. InTrendrede 2015, a Dutchpublication that’s celebrating its5th anniversary, the trendwatchers state: “Everyone isconnected to everyone and allconnections give meaning toand form the ecosphere inwhich we operate. Those wholook closely will see a strongfabric which by virtue ofmultiple cross connections, hasa potent and inventive power.Thus, we are paving the way fornot only a fresh look at theproblems of today, but inparticular, for the opportunitiesof tomorrow. " At the same time,we see that these "worldcitizens" are also looking forauthenticity. The cafe round thecorner uses locally sourcesingredients but is connected tothe whole world.

“What a fantastic perspective”, Ithink optimistically as I arrive atmy next destination. I walk tothe cycle lockers, put myrailway chip card into the slot

“Maybe we live too much in the past. That makes sense,

because that's where our experience and knowledge comes

from. Even so, it’s future developments, the trends, innovation

and our expectations of their influence that allow us to

seewhat we should be preparing for. Governing is looking

forward. Start making your plans now!

24

panels and windmills resistantagainst shale gas, brown coalmines and tar sands? Is localorganic farming a force thatcan serve as a response to theupscaling in rural areas?

Trends and governance

The first principle of theGovernance Code, which wasdeveloped in Ireland (seeGovernance, multipleapproaches, magazine 1 ,page 7) is about vision, purposeand values, and the certaintythat these elements remainrelevant. Governance beginswith the vision and thereby withunderstanding developments inwhich your organisation andactivity play a role. Macro-developments are of greatimportance in this. They largelydetermine our room formanoeuvre.

With our local initiatives, we arelike surfers searching for ourdirection and scope on thelarge waves of trends in Europe.And just like the surfers, weanticipate what's coming.Waiting in relative calm, we seethe wave coming towards usand then climb in time on toour surf board and experiencethe movement. This is also thecore of the transition theory.Macro-developments, whichare difficult to influence,strongly determine what we doon meso-level (the level ofregime; authorities, know-howcentres, business community

and financiers). In governanceterms, we don’t pretend to holdthe waves back but we actproactively instead ofreactively. Like the surfer on thewaves also does.

Recognised trends

An urgent piece of advice forlocal initiatives: look at anddiscuss the trends in yoursociety.

The OECD wrote in the researchreport 'The New RuralParadigm' (2006): “Rapidchange in the internationaleconomy – globalisation,improved communications andreduced transportation costs,changing trade patterns forcommodities and theemergence of important non-agricultural activities in ruralregions – confront rural regionswith some obvious threats butalso with significantopportunities. Against thisbackground, policy makersincreasingly recognise thattraditional sectoral policiesneed to be upgraded and insome cases, phased out andsubstituted with moreappropriate instruments.Particular concerns are raisedby the modest positive impactthat agricultural subsidies haveon general economicperformance, even in the mostfarming dependentcommunities. Indeed, withfarming families relyingincreasingly on off-farm

employment, the economicsuccess of rural communitieswill depend on thedevelopment of new economicengines. In this context, OECDgovernments are showingincreasing interest in a moreplace-based approach to ruralpolicy that emphasisesinvestments rather thansubsidies and that is able tointegrate different sectoralpolicies and improve thecoherence and effectiveness ofpublic expenditure in ruralareas”.

At the same time we see acomplexity of developmentscoming at us that have to dowith the high pressure on theenvironment: Raw materialssuch as nitrogen andphosphate, are becomingscarce. Climate change isoccurring, in particular withlarge extremes in precipitationpatterns, both in rainfall anddrought. Also new energysources such as biofuels, windand solar power increasinglydetermine the spatialorganisation and economy ofthe countryside.

Ageing of the population inconjunction with a poor level ofservices can form a viciouscircle with an acceleratedexodus as the consequence. Atthe same time, in parts of the

25

West European countryside, weare seeing a new influx of highlyeducated young people whoseek peace and quiet. Thechallenge is to connect themwith local identity and thesocial network.

Not an exhaustive list

This gives us a number ofsubjects that will set theagenda for the Europeancountryside in the comingyears:

Transport in the countryside: Inthe coming years publictransport will becomeprohibitively expensive owing todecreasing enterprise andincreasing private transport inrural areas. At the same timewe see a need for physicaltransport changes: increasingly,the digital highway istransporting knowledge andcommunication while, as aresult of Internet purchases, wesee that parcel post is growingexplosively. What opportunitiesdo these developments offerfor making and retaining theaccessibility of the Europeancountryside?

Focus on the small business:

We see that scaling up inactivities is not always theanswer to the new economic

challenge. Identity rich micro-enterprises appear to be goodat innovation. What does thisdevelopment mean for localagriculture, increasing thequality of the food chain,widening from agriculture tohealth care and tourism? Isspace being created for newactivities, with high-speedInternet as a foundation?

Strengthening rural tourism:

Accessible and affordabledeployment of the countrysidefor the leisure economyincreasingly builds competitiveforce. In more and moremarginal rural areas, tourism isthe backbone of the economyrather than agriculture. Urbanareas need the lungs andlandscape of the countryside.Eco-tourism combined withhigh appreciation of thecultural and historical identity ofour countryside competesincreasingly as an economicand jobs engine with thegrowth in scale in farming.

Renewable energy and energyconservation:

These are receiving increasingattention and by definition havea true future in rural areas.That’s where there is space forsolar and wind farms, biomassproduction and conversion intoenergy. The low-carboneconomy is clearly one of thosegreat waves advancing towardsus. A wave upon which the

emancipated and organisedcitizens can preparethemselves through energycooperatives. Both energygeneration and energy savingprovide many jobs and may beone of the answers to acountryside becoming empty.

New time andservice models, innovativeactivities and socialentrepreneurship:

We see that innovation isbecoming increasingly less"location-dependent". A lot ofknowledge is globally availableand the smaller, knowledge-oriented companies search forlocations where there is peace,space and safety combinedwith accessibility andavailability of workforces. Wesee these developments in allareas. In the world of energy,health care, leisure economy,agriculture, construction andtechnology. At the same timewe are seeing administrativeservices, call centres or otherservices coming into being at adistance from the actualcustomer. A development thathas new challenges, such asjob security and agreementsabout the number of workinghours and wages.

Preparation for dynamism:

We’re sitting together in a RuralAlliance work group in beautifulsurroundings of Castlebar,County Mayo, Northwest

26

Ireland. We spend theafternoon in workshops ontourism. For County Mayo,blessed with rolling countrysideand a beautiful coastline,tourism is important for survival.One of the participants in theconversation enthusiasticallytells us about a company thatdevelops apps forsmartphones. Nicely linked tothe GPS with a digital card andfor every interesting point, anexplanation in the form of astory, photos of the history ofthe place and sometimes afilm clip. The volunteers presentlook surprised. “What's wrongwith having a paper map inyour hands, a goodconversation in the pub or afarmer who shows you theway?”

Would they see the wavecoming? Have they got theirsurf board at the ready? Andhave they been practising forthe real work? Are they goingalong with the new economics.Are they ready to determinetheir own future??

Transition thinking and transitiondoing translates into thesequestions with each theme.And with the formulation ofvision, mission and strategy theyare the foundation of anygovernance structure.

27

The Game-Changer

as the 'wicked problems' -problems that make the wholesystem more complex to dealwith. With the invention of thewheel, around 3500 BC,people could suddenlytransport large quantities ofmaterial. Thus it becamepossible to bring agriculturalproducts and other materials tothe market. After man hadinvented how iron could beextracted and formed, the 'nail'emerged. A breakthrough inconstruction technology,because using this, complexstructures could be connectedin a simple manner. Anotherexample: the invention of thescrew at the time of the Greekphilosopher Archimedes wasalso of fundamentalimportance.

These are ‘game-changers’. Agame-changer is a newtechnology, application ordevelopment that results infundamental changes inbusiness models, value creationor management practices overa significant period of time,typically spawning furtherchanges. The telephone, thelight bulb, penicillin or theInternet also belong there ofcourse. Every age has its owninventions and list of majorgame-changers.

The game-changers appear tohave to do with technology inparticular. Nothing could befurther from the truth. Game-changers are also inventionsthat play an important role inthe economic and politicalsphere. In transition thinkingthat’s an important given.Some game-changersstrengthen the current regime,others just form a threat.Around these complex systemsthere is a power struggle goingon.

I divide them into (1 ) 'socialtriggers’, (2) ‘technology’ and(3) ‘revenue models’.

(1 ) Social triggers

The Jeep rumbles up the steepslope. Along with César Padillaof the Centre for EnvironmentalConflicts in Santiago de Chilewe climb up the mountains."These lakes are the backboneof our fresh water supply, " saysCésar as we reach the icypeaks of the Andes. It is latesummer in the southernhemisphere. Almost all thesnow is gone; the lakes are attheir lowest level. Now, a crisis isdeveloping along the whole ofthe Andes range, with thesupply of water to nearby cities.“Santiago came off well butLima is like a desert. We haveno idea how to cope with thatcity. " Equally great is the issuein the Asian regions thatdepend on the melting snow

and glaciers of the Himalayas.Bernice Notenboom made aninternational film about thesedevelopments. Her concernrelates to the 'tipping points': " Ifthe tundra of Siberia andNorthern America andGreenland melt, largequantities of methane will bereleased. Methane is agreenhouse gas, which is morethan 80 times stronger thancarbon dioxide. We’re seeing ithappen now. The tundra aremelting as a result of climatechange. The amount ofmethane released in thisprocess is so huge that this inturn leads to an acceleratedclimate change. It’s a feed-back mechanism thatreinforces itself. We call that a‘tipping point’ and as a result,the climate fundamentallychanges. We’ve lost control, "says Bernice who has justreturned from her trek to theNorth Pole.

In her book 'This ChangesEverything’, Naomi Klein writesa fascinating analysis of howclimate change is increasingpressure on new technologyand social responses. Themajor social issues are essentialtriggers for the development ofcomplex, technical, economicand social/societal responses.They’re sometimes referred toas the 'wicked problems' -problems that make the wholesystem more complex to dealwith. Positively translated: theyare real game-changers!

Game-changers are timeless. The invention of the wheel or the

smartphone . . . they changed everything. They come about as a

result of social triggers, such as scarcity or environmental issues.

They come about as a new technology through coincidental

discovery or innovation. They gain a hold because they make new

revenue models possible. They add value to our society.

28

(2) Technology

In Patna, Northern India, I meetRajiv Vora. He takes me alongto an organisation calledSulabh International. In Hindi,Sulabh means something like‘easy’ or 'handy' or 'accessible' .We walk for miles through theslums. Rajiv points out the pilesof rubbish to me. There arethree vultures sitting on a stonewall. “The neighbourhood’swaste all comes together here,but it’s also the public toilet foreveryone. For women inparticular, it’s an abhorrentplace. The slums have no toiletsand the only place they can gois down an alley or this dump.We cross over and arrive at amore orderly location. There,under the Sulabh Internationalsign, is the entrance to publictoilets and washing facilities. It’svery simple: There are simpleclean toilets and showers. Thewomen go in one direction, themen in the other. The wastestream goes into afermentation tank and isconverted into methane that isburned in a generator forelectricity. During the day thetank fills up with methane inorder to be used at night.The electricity illuminates thesquare and the streets. Theusers pay a minimal amount touse the toilet and shower. Theimpact is huge: women can goto the toilet safely and wash.The lit streets provide securityand in the evening thecommunity centre is open.

Lessons are given. Diseases andparasites in the poor have beendecimated because the opensewer and dumping sites areused less. People are moreproductive because they arehealthier and safer. The slum isregaining its dignity. And this bymeans of a simple toilet andshower. . .

No, of course, things cannot bethat simple. Technology has towork within social systems andis influenced by them. Gandhiregarded the struggle for theuntouchables as the centralstruggle for the liberation ofIndia. Sulabh International ispart of that tradition andtranslates it practically to themost vulnerable. They knowhow to create a game-changer, precisely where it’sneeded.

Game-changers changepower and structures. Aroundhealthcare, the leisureeconomy, energy supply oragriculture, it’s not difficult todenominate a list of important'game-changers' . One click onGoogle and you’ve got dozens!

Only then does it becomeinteresting! For whatdetermines whether a game-changer gets the room? Aninvention doesn’t originate outof thin air, right? SulabhInternational and the efficienttoilets, showers and biogasinstallation are products of

years of research and struggle,including for the emancipationof the 'untouchables' forwomen's rights.

A number of game-changersare under development aroundenergy, with enormouspotential influence. Through theadvent of cheap solar energy,smart energy networks andstorage systems like highlyefficient batteries, it is nowpossible to produce electricityvirtually free. And in quantitiesthat allow us to maintain ourmobility, lighting, cooling andheating without significantbehavioural change. Justimagine: every home with asmall cabinet by the door towhich solar panels areconnected. With the electriccar as an additional 'buffer' foryour energy system. US EnergySecretary Ernest Moniz, topofficial for US energy policy,said this spring: “The rapiddevelopment of rooftop solarand battery storage technologycould be as transformative tothe economy and modern lifeas the U. S. oil and gas boom”.In this way batteries arethreatening the more than onehundred year old monopoly ofenergy companies.Researchers from Exxon alreadypointed out in 2008 that thedevelopment of the batterythreatened the hegemony of

29

speed of production wasincreased and complexstructures became possible.Game-changers affect valuecreation. It’s about more thanjust money alone. It can alsobe about safety, health,employment. Or it mayconcern dignity, happiness andperspective. Yes, of course . . .for ‘homo economicus’ it’salways to be explained in amonetary product. But the

women in Patna arenevertheless particularlypleased that they are able togo to the toilet and use thewashing facilities safely andcan see their children grow uphealthy.

The supporters of the fossil fueleconomy fear the 'battery'because it makes it possible tobuild a different revenuemodel. Namely, by means of

putting solar panels on yourroof you can drive your carwithout oil or gas and illuminateand heat your home. Especiallywhen you use other techniquesalong with them, such as windpower, smart networks and newtechnology for lighting(including LED). Others correctlylook to this development,because by means of self-organisation with thesedecentralised sources andtechniques, money can remainwithin the community. Thereturns no longer go to theshareholders in the City ofLondon or other centres of(financial) power. They stay athome and are used for newinvestments, community workor local health care.Everywhere, cooperativeenergy societies are nowemerging. Civic organisationsthat capitalize on these game-changers, organise andstrengthen them and help setup a revenue model. InGermany, as a result of asubstantial innovation boost via,among other things, the feed-intariff, the local parties such ascooperatives andmunicipalities dominate thedecentralised energy field. Thishas developed to the extentthat large scale investment inthe re-purchase of local energynetworks has the support of themajority of the Germanpeople. !

In addition to changes inmoney flows and the related

oil companies in transportation.In 2017 the Tesla company isopening the largest batteryfactory in the world. Theelectric car is now the fastestgrowing segment in theautomobile industry. And this isjust the beginning! With theadvent of the hydrogen carand newest storage techniquesand the rapid decline in thecost of solar panels, in tenyears we will be looking backwith amazement on the currentsystem of centralized andpolluting energy production.This will go just as fast as the riseof the smartphone. Why?Because there’s a drive behindit, namely a terrible problemcalled ‘climate change’. Plus,there’s an awful lot of money tobe earned with it.

(3) Revenue models

This brings us to the essence ofthe 'game-changer' . The wheelwasn’t successful ‘just like that’and it was no accident that the‘nail’ became such a useful toolin construction. They provided areturn. With the wheel, rawmaterials and agriculturalproducts were brought to themarket. Value was created. Thenail made smart constructionspossible, whereby materialscould be economised on,

"The localparties such

ascooperatives

andmunicipalitiesdominate thedecentralisedenergy field. "

30

power, there is also a changeof roles. The rise of EnergyService Companies is one ofthe examples there. The EnergyService Company (ESCO) is agame-changer: they haveknowledge of technology andmoney. They provide a serviceto a school, university,municipality or residents. "Weprovide you comfort in the formof light and heat, just like youwere used to, and perhapseven better. You pay us for thisbut slightly less than the currentenergy bill. We invest intechnology, like highly efficientlighting and smart heating andcontrol equipment. In doing so,we make a return that wemostly invest in our ownbusiness. This brings us toimprove our services so that wecan save even more andprovide even better service. “Anew business is actuallycreated that provides servicesin the field of energy. Becausethis business specializes in this(energy efficiency is a subjectthat schools and health careinstitutions for example, reallydon’t manage), they makethemselves quick returns. TheESCO earns money by savingenergy. That’s somethingentirely different from anenergy company! TThey earnmore money when peoplewaste energy! So, if you also setup this ESCO with yourcommunity (as a cooperative

for example), then yourcommunity can also do that!This is an example of a revenuemodel as a changer. In otherfields of work also, such ashealth care, mobility, leisureeconomy, there are revenuemodels that can serve as agame-changer.

A tip: take one of the currentgame-changers [subject]: usethe Internet search engine andsearch for game-changer and[subject] . . . and hey presto, theworld is open for you!

Two game-changers, themouse and the hand axe.

31

The European Energy landscapeContext for local initiative

The ongoing Europeancollaboration was born in thewar. The forerunner of today'sEuropean Union was theEuropean Coal and SteelCommunity. The Dutchjournalist Peter Brusse describesthe announcement of this planin the Dutch ‘Volkskrant’ (lit.Peoples Newspaper): "On the9th of May, 1950, at six o’clockin the evening, the FrenchForeign Minister RobertSchuman held a short andhastily convened pressconference, which wouldradically change the future ofEurope. In his department inParis, and with a flat voice andalmost no facial expression, helaunched the plan for aEuropean Coal and SteelCommunity, the forerunner ofthe European Union. He said,with that light German accentthat betrayed his origins fromthe border region: “It is nolonger about empty words, buta bold act. France has acted.If peace is really to be given achance, then there must firstbe one Europe”.

The physical peace hasreturned in Europe. Thebattlefield has moved to thewestern block, with thedependency on Russian gasbeing of strategic importance. .In the corridors of governmentbuildings and the lobbies of the

European Parliament, a bitterstruggle is still raging. In thewinter of 2014 a group ofgreen energy companiescame to visit the EuropeanCommission. The CEOs fromAcciona Energia, Alstom, ERG,Enercon, RES and Vestas –representatives of 91 greenenergy companies, told the EU

that they must set out a bindinggoal of 30% renewable energyproduction for the 28 MemberStates. They calculated for thecommission that this wouldsave 260 billion Euro/year onimports of oil, gas and coaland provide 570, 000 extra jobs.

These 91 companies have tocompete against the big fossilpowers of this world. Politics has

intervened with a strong lobbycalling for a CO2 reductionpolicy which still allows for largescale use of fossil and nuclearenergy. At the same time theMargritte Group was formed,dedicated to the abolition ofsubsidies on wind and solarenergy. In a statement onFebruary 28, 2014, theMargritte Group proposedmaking the European price ofenergy more competitive:“Europe’s political leaders muststrive to make energy pricesaffordable again. We thereforeurge Member States to:-eliminate from electricity andgas bills all unrelated charges,which do not reflect costs ofproduction, transport anddistribution. Energy bills shouldbe fully transparent in allMember States. -Recognisethat high retail prices are theresult of additional nationaltaxes, levies as well as othersocial and environmentalpolicy costs and not of powergeneration components whichremain quite stable. ”

The virtual smoke plumes of thisvirtual battle were also to beseen in lots of energymagazines. The large energycompanies argue openly forthe elimination of things likeenergy taxation, feed-in tariffand other so-called disruptivemarket interventions. All thiswrapped up in a nice packageof concerns about thesustainability of Europe: “Withthe retail price being

"For thethousands oflocal initiativesit’s a huge jobto organise

the'countervailingpower'"

Europe was united around coal and steel, but could split up on the

energy field. For local initiatives that believe energy and multiple value

creation are important, knowledge of European developments and

interests is vital. Regime powers in the field of taxation and regulation

largely determine the playing field of our local alliances.

32

power that they have toovercome in order to gain aplace in the European energyfuture.

Pooling of resources

What’s essential is thatresources are shared. Anyinitiative alone is going to bedifficult. No social change ispossible without pooling andexpansion. Thus, it is justified tostate that the local initiatives incountries like Denmark andGermany have organised

dominated by the aforementioned costs, internationalcompetition of the Europeanindustry is harmed significantlyand European citizens arereluctant to engage in moreambitious climate action”. HowEuropean citizens are beinginhibited by the highly effectivefeed-in tariff, with whichguarantees are providedthrough a levy on fossil energyfor the price of renewableenergy, is a mystery. InGermany, the feed-in tariff isthe basis for the ground-breaking success of wind andsolar energy. To the chagrin ofthe companies who gain theirreturn from the sale of fossilproducts, naturally.

This is the political/economiccontext in which renewableenergy has to win its place. Forthe thousands of local initiativesit’s a huge job to organise the'countervailing power' . But it isindeed necessary, as Daly andCobb say (see 'EconomicLandscape pg . . . ) that thisbattle is won, because externalcosts need to be worked intothe price of energy if there isgoing to be any room for anequal struggle in the market. Ingovernance terms, "it is ofessential importance that localalliances that are working onsolar and wind energy, organisethemselves nationally andinternationally. They will need toexpand their networks andprofessionalise. If only to haveinsight into the well-organised

themselves so effectively thatgovernments and institutionshave had to listen. The GermanEnergieWende, arising from astrong anti-nuclear energymovement, appears to be ableto intervene in the 'system', theregime, and thus change thestructure of energy taxation insuch a way (including via thefeed-inn tariff) that energygenerated from renewablesources has now got the wind inits sails. Most of it is generatedin a local cooperative context.

The returns flow back to society.A new economic model hasbeen built up.

Resistance

Change evokes resistance. Defacto this is a natural law. Allmovement, other than in avacuum, induces resistance,hence friction. There’s a well-known saying: "Healthy fish swimagainst the stream. " SiwardSomer, one of the initiators of aEuropean network ofcooperative energy societiesRescoop, states: "We are a realthreat to dominant marketparties. In Brussels, we are asmall player compared to thepowerful field of fossil lobbyists.But if we organise ourselvesproperly and together succeedin giving a profitable answer,then we are indeed theLilliputians who will teach theGullivers of this world a lesson.And with courage, skill andloyalty, we are seeing ourmovement grow andbecoming strong. It is ourresponsibility to go through withthis and create robustorganisations that are wellorganised in their local,national and Europeannetworks.

"Changeevokes

resistance. Defacto this is anatural law"

33

Inevitable sustainabilization

Siward Somer refers to twodevelopments: Firstly, we’reseeing a technological shiftfrom 'central' to 'local' . Withwind and solar energy,electricity storage and smartnetworks and homes, we’reable build a stable andaffordable energy system thatprovides all the services thatare now provided by thecentral networks. It’s true thatwe still have difficulty doing thatat a competitive price. This isbecause fossil energy issubsidized and costs like theeffects of climate change arebeing passed on. But even inthat unequal market situation

we are going to win becausenew technology and materialsmake it possible. Secondly, weare seeing a shift in our socialdomain: the individualconsumer is interested in whatwe call 'collective values' . Theenergy cooperative associationthat also invests in thecommunity centre, in sportsfields and energy saving, getssympathy. The link withsustainable construction andrenovation, involvingcontractors and installers alike,shows that the return on quality,comfort and employment ishigh. No large energycompany with shares in coal,oil, gas and/or nuclear powercan compete against thismultiple value creation".

These are major socialdevelopments. Throughorganisations like Rescoop,local cooperative energyassociations are organisingthemselves at European level,are learning from each other'sexperiences and are buildinglobby and power in Brussels. Atthe same time they recognisethe importance of a wide basisin broad sustainability andvalue creation. So that theycan compete in the marketwith their vision, mission andvalues.

www. rescoop. eu

34

The car seems to be anindispensable means oftransport in rural areas.Especially now that the villageshops are disappearing andwork is to be found in the city inparticular, you have a choiceas a young inhabitant of thecountryside: lots of car drivingor moving house! The pooraccessibility of the countrysideis thus a direct threat to itsfuture. What’s annoying is thatthis development is alsoreinforcing itself. Because thecar is being used so much,fewer and fewer people areusing public transport. Busservices generally cannot bemade profitable. And becausethe car is so easy to fill withfood for the week, available inlarge shopping centres, thesmaller shops are disappearingfrom the villages.

“People are being faced withthe disappearance of essentialservices and in the next twentyyears they will be having to payfor the rising price of oil andthe price of energy tax. That isinevitable. The continuation ofcurrent trends means thatrevenues from residents in ruralareas will fall further and theseareas will becomemarginalized further. " GeoffreyLe Metour, who did theresearch under the supervisionof the Rural Alliance partnersMEDIFI/Mobhilis (Brittany), hasthe floor. Together with theUniversity of Southern Brittanyand MEDIFI/Mobhilis, he

researched sustainablesolutions for the accessibility ofthe Brittany countryside.

His supervisor and projectmanager, Sébastien Gonguet,talks about the origins of theirprogramme: “ADEME (Agencede l'environnement et de lamaîtrise de l’énergie or FrenchEnvironment & EnergyManagement Agency), is agovernment agency aimed atsupporting innovation andtransition in the field ofsustainable development. Theystimulated us to work with thegrowing problem of mobility inthe rural areas of Brittany. A callfrom ID4PME (www. id4car. org)gave us the room to reallymake a job of it. Collaborationwith the university (Ecole desMines de Nantes) and thebusiness community providedus insight. "

“We first started to think aboutmobility. Hence the work ofGeoffrey, which gives us goodinsight into the risks andopportunities when it comes toaccessibility of the countryside.Geoffrey brilliantlydemonstrates that we are nowon a development track that isdisastrous for the country side.Accessibility is an essentialfactor in the development ofrural areas, but the dominanceof the car, rising costs andfalling amenities are makingour villages vulnerable. Wehave made studies, properlylooked around and spoken with

many people involved. "

Mobhilis is located in SainteMarie, in the relatively flat,agricultural land of southernBrittany. Sébastian Gonguet:“What we noticed was that forthe provision of our office in thecountryside, we had parcelpost deliveries to the doorvirtually every day. It didn’tseem very efficient. Whenordering pens, paper andcartridges, three different vanscame. We made furtherenquiries into the system.During a scientific conferencewe received information abouteffective cooperation betweentransport companies, in theshared trans-shipment anddistribution of goods. Thatprovided the companies andthe environment a major gain:lower costs, combinedtransport, better service".

The Mobhilis’ approach ischaracterised by analysis: "Wealso looked at the history ofmobility in our region andbeyond. The provided us withsome surprises. We realised thatall over the world parcel post isbeing combined with thetransportation of people. Justthink of the 'Taxi Brousse' inSenegal. In that country wherecar ownership is limited andthe countryside extensive, youcan see that through thecombination of a

Accessible countrysideGame-changers in mobility

Connect various mobility demands to each other, find the businesses

that can obtain returns from cooperation and provide them with new

customers; and if it works, then the elderly or people with little money will

come out of isolation. And that impulse then reinforces social cohesion

and local economy. An example from France.

35

36

comprehensive transportationsystem that combines goodsand people there is indeed ahigh degree of accessibility toalmost all villages. You also seeservices like these in Asia andLatin America. It’s interestingthat in our system we’veseparated almost everything:the individual transportcompanies each carry theirown package. And we haveseparated the transport flows ofpeople and goods! "

From this analysis and frommany conversations withstakeholders and furtherstudies, Mobhilis, together withits partners Ecole des Mines deNantes and Transports Orain (aprivate transport companywhich transport people andgoods), has come up with aninnovative solution: TeMix, atransport system that mixesgoods and passenger transportand creates more efficiency for

the companies and citizensinvolved. TeMix has become acollaborative project of a largenumber of parties, includingthe transport tradeassociations.“We now have the majordevelopments around mobilityproperly in focus. By combiningknow-how, we were able tocome up with an excellentproposal that leads to systemchange on a number of fronts.For example, by transportinggoods and people in a well-combined system and bycoordinating and poolinggoods properly we are able toachieve a return socially,economically andenvironmentally. "

TeMix now must prove itself inpractice. It’s also quite a job totranslate an innovation into theunmanageable reality. That’sgoing to happen now, in aprocess of 24 months wherein

all parties need to worktogether.

The power of Mobhilis and thisinitiative is that they have putthe macro-environment - thesystem - into focus. They lookedfor a 'game-changer' and havefound this by means ofcombining knowledge fromaround the world into aproposal that provides a returnfor transporters, theenvironment and inhabitants oftheir region. Whether TeMix willeventually provide an importantanswer to the challenge of theisolated French countryside hasyet to be proved in practice.But a sustainable revenuemodel in response to asubstantial social dilemmadoes provide a solidperspective.

http://temix. fr/

37

Governance and the economicsHow the market can determine our actions

It is June 2014. We’re inCastlebar, the capital ofCounty Mayo in Ireland. We’remeeting up with Europeanpartners in the field of ruraldevelopment. The discussion isabout economic prospects.The concerns can be read onthe faces of our hosts andhostesses. The region is highlydependent on a number oflarge foreign companies. Theirstatus is dependent on thehighly favourable taxregulations with which thecompanies secures hugeprofits. On the way through theIrish countryside, we see small-scale agriculture. "Completelydependent on EU subsidies andwith the liberalization of theworld market anddisappearance of milk quotas,certain to fail, " says a farmerwho travels with us.

That summer I cycle throughnorthern France. Themonotonous rape seed andcorn fields dominate thelandscape. The villages aredying out. Ageing countrysidein barren monocultures. Whatmust it look like here in winter?Discouraged, I take the train.This is no longer landscape, it’serosion. The eight billion infinancial support that Frenchfarmers receive annually fortheir corn and rapeseed have

contributed to the change ofthe landscape. There is nocountry in Europe whereagriculture is as dependent onEU funding as France.

Economic context

The dominant environment inwhich our local initiativesfunction is complex and agile.Economic players are buildinga world that will be pulleddown just as quickly with thenext recession. The dynamicitself is destructive. Liberal taxrules make it easy for foreigncompanies to invest in Ireland.But the tax rules are going tochange and within aforeseeable period, the regionmay lose this temporarybackbone of the economy.That would be a disaster. Butalso on other economic levelsthe vulnerability is significant.After market liberalization,cheap milk will totallymarginalize small farmersleading to underutilization ofthe smaller farming businessand the marginal agriculturalarea. Subsidies on corn andrapeseed have already led tomonocultures andunderutilization of the Frenchcountryside. Here, too, theliberalization will strike hard,with which the economic andsocial backbone in thiscountryside will be swept away.It is inevitable. These are themajor economic developmentsthat are predictable andcurrent.

Looking for a new economicmodel

In 1989, the World Bankeconomist Herman Daly andtheologian John Cobb, wrote aground-breaking book entitled"For the Common Good,redirecting the economytoward community, theenvironment and a sustainablefuture. " A study with the samecurrent significance that goesfar beyond the ideologicaldifferences of capitalism andsocialism. Daly and Cobb state:“both systems are fullycommitted to large-scale,factory-style energy andcapital-intensive, specializedproduction units that arehierarchically managed. Theyalso rely heavily on non-renewable resources and tendto exploit renewable resourcesand waste absorptioncapacities at unsustainablerates”.

Daly and Cobb describe afundamental dilemma in theeconomy. It is hardly possible towork external costs into marketprices. Can you identify thedamage due topneumoconiosis in the price ofcoal? Is the restoration of thelandscape (if possible) throughmonocultural corn andrapeseed translated intoeconomic behaviour? It’s evenmore difficult when the effectsare general and far removed,both in space and time. Suchas the greenhouse gas

Market forces determine many of our actions. Game-changers

that lead to social inclusion and sustainability are characterised

by multiple value creation. The community is key to this. This gives

us a range of tools for our mission, vision and strategy.

38

emissions from fossil fuels. AsDaly and Cobb argue: “Allconclusions in economic theoryabout social efficiency of purecompetition and the freemarket are explicitly premisedon the absence ofexternalities”. Indeed, if at thepresent time, the CO2emissions were to cost 25 to 35Euros/ton, this correction of thedeficiency in the ‘free’ marketmay lead to explosive growth ofrenewable energy andemployment. Because thenwind, solar and energy savingimmediately compete with theprice of fossil energy.

Change in practice

The failure of the market withinthe present system, capitalist orsocialist, is however difficult totoo correct. The market isdriven by profit maximizationand the interests associatedwith those profits. Thesecompanies are well organisedand also represented in thepowerful lobby groups aimingtowards the government,financial institutions andresearch. They will thwart suchalternatives (like the passing onof external costs in productprices) long-term. The solution,as Daly and Cobb try to find itin their 'For the Common Good'goes in a very different way. Itinvolves ‘communities’.

25 years after the ground-breaking 'For the CommonGood’, a study appeared fromthe well-known researcher andjournalist Naomi Klein, onclimate change andsustainable development withthe clear title "This ChangesEverything". Naomi Kleindissects the interests of thecurrent 'regime' and shows thatthis market is mainly driven bythe pursuit of profit in the shortterm. She also wonders whateconomic system can provide

an answer to this and she toocomes to the conclusion thatthe ‘community’ is an importantpart of the answer. Becausethe community is capable oftransforming (non-material)values into actions. Somethingthat big business has beendemonstrably unable to do.

Naomi Klein cites Martin LutherKing in his speech "BeyondVietnam" in 1967: “We as anation must undergo a radicalrevolution of values. We mustrapidly begin the shift from a'thing-oriented society' to a'person-oriented society' . Whenmachines and computer, profitmotives and property rights, areconsidered more importantthan people, the giant tripletsof racism, extreme materialism,and militarism are incapable ofbeing conquered. ”

The power of transformation

In her concluding chapterNaomi Klein states whenreferring to major socialchanges in northern Africa, theemergence of new studentmovements and the birth of astrong climate movement:“What is most striking aboutthese upwellings, is that whensocieties become consumedwith the demand fortransformational change, theupwellings so often come as asurprise – most of all to themovements' own organisers.I've heard the story many times:“One day it was just me and myfriends dreaming up impossibleschemes, the next day theentire country seemed to beout in the plaza alongside us. ”And the real surprise, for thoseinvolved, is that we are somuch more than we havebeen told we are – that welong for more and in thatlonging have more companythan we ever imagined. ”

Multiplevaluecreation

That a communitygains returns from acomplex joint activity isperhaps most visible in thespecific activities of thepartners of Rural Alliance.Tourism and leisure are high onthe priorities list in the Europeancountryside and there, where'game-changers’ aredeveloped with afundamentally differentapproach to economics thanwe know from the dominantsystem. Take the Taff Trail in theBrecon Beacons (Wales) or theGreat Western Greenway inCounty Mayo (Ireland). Theseare cycling routes that provideenvironmentally friendlytransportation, an increase intourism and recreation andwith it, a strengthening of thelocal economy. The Taff Trailmakes it possible for residentsof Cardiff, together with theirchildren, to safely enjoy thefantastic landscape of theBrecon Beacons. The Greenwaydemonstrated that suchinvestments structurally providejobs. Through the surroundingcommunities they are used toget people moving, as part ofsports and health programmes.

In the article 'energylandscape' we come back tothe ability to think and workfrom other economic modelsin our local practice.

In the circular economy, thewinners are the organisationsand businesses that gain fromthe reuse of raw materials,from adding value to thecommunity, from strengthening

39

In the circular economy the winners are the organizations and businesses that gain from thereuse of raw materials, from adding value to the community, from strengthening the involvementof employees in their business. More and more companies are working together in the field ofsustainable development. The challenge is to have sustainability be more than an improvement inthe efficiency of a production process. The real winners of the future are converting theirbusinesses to entirely new concepts that add multiple value to society. They show that they canoptimally adapt to the changing environment. For small and medium sized business, this is a majorchallenge. While this sector can add knowledge and technology and even increasingly is a sourceof innovation, it needs more in order to build new business models. They key to this therefore ismutual collaboration among themselves, European and with social partners, customers andclients. Only then can small and medium enterprises invest in the future, rather than the past.

technology and is evenincreasingly a source ofinnovation, it needs more inorder to build new businessmodels. The key to thistherefore is mutualcollaboration, European andwith social partners, customersand clients. Only then cansmall and medium enterprisesinvest in the future, rather thanthe past.

theinvolvement ofemployees intheir business.More and more

companies areworking together in

the field of sustainabledevelopment. The challenge isto have sustainability be morethan an improvement in theefficiency of a production

process. The real winners of thefuture are converting theirbusinesses to entirely newconcepts that add multiplevalues to society. They show thatthey can optimally adapt to thechanging environment.For small and medium sizedbusinesses, this is a majorchallenge. While this sectorcan add knowledge and

40

Sharing knowledgeDetermining the course in a tidal wave ofinformationKnowledge is being made accessible with tremendous

speed. In depth, from superficial texts to scientific source

documents. But also broadly, to population groups that

previously had no access. Knowledge is also increasingly

'communication', the sharing thereof.

In 1956 a two cubic metrecabinet on a forklift was loadedinto an aircraft. The heavymechanism was a memorysystem of 5 megabytes. Thereare now memory sticks of 1 cmwith a capacity of 2 terabytes.For those 5 megabytes from1956, IBM paid an annual leasefee of $35, 000. Today 1terabyte of storage costs tendollars.

Information andcommunication technology ischaracterised by numbers. Thenumber of transistors per chipdoubles every two years, whilethe cost of data storage ishalved every 16 months. Morethan exponential growth incomputer power and capacitywill further be acceleratedthrough breakthroughs in thefield of new materials andnanotechnology. They aremacro-developments thatstrongly influence theorganisation of our world.

ICT is a crucial driver on anumber of fronts in socialinnovation towards asustainable society. Thus, the"part-economy" has become aserious answer to the 'marketeconomy'. By making servicesavailable on a website, or viaan app, it is possible for virtuallyanyone to make use of them.This way a neighbourhoodorganisation developed a sitefor the neighbourhood whereeveryone became acquainted.Apart from the fact that all the

hikers and culture lovers arenow able to easily find eachother, you also know whichprofessional expert lives aroundthe corner. Specialized sitesshow you where you canborrow a drill, sander orcircular saw in theneighbourhood. Electric carsharing is available via an appand operated in a cooperativecontext.

Innovate too

Economic and socialdevelopment in rural areas canbe given a huge boost byanticipating this development.In almost all the themes thatare important for rural areas,from tourism, environment,landscape development,accessibility to health care, thisdevelopment will be of vitalimportance. An analysis of thedevelopment in your own workfield is therefore crucial.Involving the generation thatidentifies itself with ICT is often aprerequisite.

An important condition is digitalaccessibility. An issue that issensitive in the extensivecountryside because thenetworks there are often poorlydeveloped. That has everythingto do with the low density ofusers and the costs of thenetwork. For the commercialnetwork companies thatconnect entire areas to thedigital highway via fibre optics,rural areas are simply not

profitable. Interestingly,investors take those decisionsbased on only a 5 yearpayback period. The capitalcosts of installing a fibre opticnetwork are substantial, manymiles of digging costs money.But once the network is there, itis then virtually maintenancefree. There are importantopportunities here for regionsand their inhabitants. Acooperative entity that isregionally organised and issatisfied with a longer paybackperiod (7. 5 to 10 years) andbases itself on collaboration(part of the groundwork canalso be done with the help offarmers and residents) comesup with very different results. Bymeans of this joint approach,the percentage of connectionswill also rise, as a result ofwhich the profitability will beeven bigger. Once theinvestment is recouped there isa cooperative entity withstructural income, which theregion can operate with furtherinnovation in the field ofcommunications and ICT!

Go for Open Source

The dependence on largecommercial software suppliershas been broken. It is now quitepossible, often with betterresults, to allow a computer torun on open source softwareand use an "office package"which is freely availableon the Internet.Open Source is

41

42

more than a network of 'nerds'who make free softwareavailable. It is a coherentnetwork of people andcompanies who have a visionfor the future of ICT, shareknowledge and makeinnovation possible with eachother. This makes it possible tobring down costs for licencesand reinvest more in peopleand their networks. In somecountries, open source policy isa normally implemented partof the ICT governancestructure.

New work

Where large companies ensurethat their staff has access to thecomputer network from theoffice, many smallerorganisations are not yet so wellorganised. The 'new work’,making use of open sourcetechnology, requires hardly anyfinancial investment. It requiresparticular attention in order toinstall the software and trainpeople. So that they can thenuse their working hours andwork places flexibly. Especiallyin the countryside, the land ofgreat distances, this is of greatvalue. Thus meeting viaFacebook and Skype is stillhugely undervalued in our ruralareas. Which is strange

actually, because they areforms of communication thatare mainstream in the urbannetworks of young start-upcompanies. They lead togreater flexibility and efficiencygains while their use shows thatthey improve personal contact.

Communicate and organise

Communication is the core ofthe new technology. The staticwebsite that is filled by oneperson is long past. Opensource content managementsystems make it possible to giveeveryone rights in yourorganisation. With it you canmaintain components of a site.Integration with Facebook,Twitter and YouTube channels isnow the norm. A digitalnewsletter for little moneymakes it possible to reach alarge group with a fantasticproduct. With it you obviouslyhave many tools in hand buthave still made no policy.Communicating in your ownteam, with the volunteers inyour own organisation, with abroad grass roots or thegeneral public is an art in itself!The use of Facebook, themaking of short film clips andreports, the right approach toTwitter, all demand brain anddevelopment work. The

potential is enormous, butwithout a targeted policy,confusion arises. Work remainsput to one side, yourorganisation stays invisible.

In the structure of yourorganisation, ICT also plays arole. Via the Internet, addresslists are jointly maintained,agendas shared and jointdocuments designed.

Make policy

As an organisation or networkof organisations, it is cruciallyimportant to anticipatedevelopments. The macro-developments around ICT offertremendous opportunities andeach organisation will thereforealso have to stand on theimaginary surfboard todetermine the direction andsize of this wave. This requires aconsidered ICT policy, a wellthought out document thateach organisation will have touse as a compulsory documentin its practice. Incidentally, forthose who want to develop ICTpolicies and are looking forpoints of reference: just Googlethe search term ‘ICT policy' . . . abrief critical analysis certainlyprovides tailor-made material.

43

column

The leisure economy revolves around a very valuable commodity, people’s leisure. If there’ssomething that people want more of, it's free time - filled with quality. What more do I want? I’m anentrepreneur in the leisure economy. I find myself in an ever growing market with products thateveryone should be happy with.

In the development of products in this sector it is important that the consumer is genuinely put atthe heart of the business. When doing this you constantly wonder how you can optimally givesubstance to the consumer’s free time. The answer: be open to new developments. This way newproducts and new business models will materialize. We are seeing that parties not previouslyinvolved in the leisure economy are now adding value. That’s when you get true value from thechanging game!

Products and services in the leisure economy should be relevant and differentiating. Thus we seethat the ideas behind the former Amsterdam building of the Dutch newspaper 'De Volkskrant’ (ThePeople’s Paper) gain a sequel in a ‘People's Hotel’. There, tourists and Amsterdammers can findvarious facilities for meeting each other. 'Tourist meets Amsterdammmer' is thus literally defined.The Rijksmuseum in our capital is also working on a different business model: it’s sharing itscollection with anyone who wants it! Via the Rijksmuseum’s ‘Riijksstudio’ and ‘Google Art’ they aresharing their collection in high image quality with the whole world. Millions of followers are sharingthe collection, talking about it and gaining affection with the Rijksmuseum and its philosophy.Because everyone can now download the Night Watch in high quality without any problems andbuild up their own collection.

Typically these institutions build up their organizations from a philosophy. When doing this, they don’tinitially look at their offerings in a classically segmented target group but focus on that group ofpeople who are like-minded in their ideas. They know how consumers think, what they want toexperience. And that’s where they connect. They are no longer interested in the classical museumoffer, but in the visitor and user who comes to feel and experience. You’re seeing that theseentrepreneurs in the leisure economy - because the museums are also entrepreneurs - start fromcompletely different business models. They unerringly know who their target group is and how itshould be attracted. They know exactly how to behave without compromising their ideas. Thismethod of product development offers many opportunities for entrepreneurs in the leisure sector.They are the “game-changers”.This is important and more particularly, new for governments that want to enhance the leisureeconomy. Working from a philosophy, thinking innovatively and then translating this into practice isthe challenge. It’s then that the experience of the consumer can exceed their expectations!

So, you must determine the philosophy and goals together. You'll find that you're then able toencourage people and organizations to come up with solutions. Grab hold of this with a sharedeye on the horizon. It’s then that you arrive at surprising concepts. This creates a fertile ground forinnovation and products that remain constantly up-to-date.Let governments also change the game.

Jeroen Drabbe, entrepreneur in the leisure economy

Governments; change the game of theleisure economy

What are new prospects and practices in the leisureeconomy?

44

The Competent Society

Governance and Rural Alliancesfor the Common Good

Part Three

Developments at the basis

45

How many social initiatives are there in your neighbourhood? People form relationships

because it’s in their genes. I live in a small community of about 500 people, in the

countryside. We have a theatre group, billiard club, a neighbourhood association, a

club that organises our annual party,a group that maintains our local woodland. The

last time we put on a play, about half of the community were involved. Those

relationships are the cement of our communities. Increasingly, they also provide a

breeding ground for the alliances that shape the future of our communities.

In North-West Europe there is a "quiet revolution" taking place. Society is changing from

being vertically arranged and controlled centrally and top-down, to a horizontal,

decentralized and bottom-up society. That does not happen from one day to the next.

However, the 'right to challenge', where local social alliances may bid on government

tenders is such a new development. Over 50% of German renewable energy is in the

hands of the public, mostly small cooperatives. We are also seeing this change in the

structure of the economy. The 'new economics' is digital and decentrally organised.

The simple financial transaction (products in exchange for money) becomes a

complex of services where quality, identity, care and sustainability are prized non-

monetary values. The sharing economy is growing. Whether it’s now 'Uber' , the taxi

service that makes each car an inexpensive shared means of transportation, or the

electric shared car of an energy cooperative. The third development is about power.

Power is connected to knowledge and the ability to use these to mobilize resources.

Powers over health care, energy provision, mobility or education are important driving

forces in our society. There’s a micro power growing in our society, drawn from

thousands of local initiatives that shape society. This happens because knowledge and

technology are becoming increasingly more accessible. Using ‘open source, ’ the most

advanced computer programs are now freely available. Innovation is accessible to

any attic. And we are only just at the beginning of this development! The 3D printer

even brings the manufacturing industry to our garage in rural areas, where we can

construct what we want!

These three developments (organised horizontally/bottom-up, digitally and decentrally,

Foreword

46

with power from a headquarters that is part of a solid network), determine the structure

of our Rural Alliances. Connecting citizens, businesses, education and government, in

joint ventures and innovations. They are the thousands of blossoms that bloom and that

together shape the ecosystems that give our society its new and sustainable structure.

And just like any other ecosystem, the build-up of this complex structure has a pattern.

It involves fertile soil, the pioneers, the building of cohesion and mutual dependence

on the growth towards a full and complex system that socially, economically and

environmentally ensures long-term stability.

The theatre group in my small village enacts its plays in the open air. One of the actors

plays me, the alderman of the municipality. He enters riding a recumbent bike (my

trademark) and says that the community centre has to be climate neutrally renovated.

The three other aldermen are smoking their big cigars in this play. They look pityingly at

the idealist and shake their heads. In the real world, a year later, we discuss how the

solar panels can have their place on the community centre and how the

neighbourhood association is going to ensure that new homes will be carbon neutral.

Drama as a play, but also as an introduction to the real work. That’s how it goes.

Thijs de la Court

47

The start of an initiative

What is the birth of an initiative? Every idea germinates best

in fertile soil. And each project evolves from idea through to

realization. The following of logical steps ensures a sound

chance of success. 10 golden tips for the construction.

There must have been amoment when an idea orinitiative was born. Good ideashave many fathers andmothers. Their birth is rarelytraceable. Sometimes we knowhow it all began. Mothers sittogether and conclude thatthey need childcare. Otherwisethey can’t go to work. And thenone woman says: “Come on,let's make a plan and seeksome help for this. " Or thosemen who meet up at theneighbourhood party andcoincidentally have all readthat bit in the newspaper aboutthe energy cooperative in themunicipality and who then say:“Let’s join as a neighbourhoodbecause I’d certainly like tohave solar panels on my roof.But they need to be qualitypanels. ”

In her ‘community alliancebuilding model’ Lindsey Gillroydistinguishes four stages ofdevelopment:

The first stage is when people,companies and the authoritiescome together. That group of

women, who want to deal withchild care, will go looking forassistance. The bringingtogether of these auxiliaries isoften the moment that theseed of an initiative begins togerminate.

The second stage is the“building of a structure”. Oftenit’s an idea that comes first.However, a vision and mission,a plan and an organisation arestill required. The seed gainsroots, leaves and a trunk withbranches.

The third phase that LindseyGillroy identifies is that of“Making things happen”. Theday nursery open its doors, thesolar panels are on the roofs.Something is really happening.It is a time of action andbuilding routine. Mistakes arediscovered, plans revised, thefirst pioneers leave the group.

The fourth stage is the"expansion of success. " Fromisolated pleasure, it’s nowlooked at to see whether theresult can also function in otherplaces. The childcare issuccessful and ensures thatwomen are able to work.Overall it’s an importantinitiative. The solar panels yield

exceptional returns, the groupsets to work on energy savings.Other neighbourhoods alsowant to set to work. Looking forthe ‘game-changers’ andscattering the 'seed’ further.New sprouts grow. The initiativesessentially contribute to a safe,social and sustainable society.

Karel Lhermitte, who works inFlanders in Belgium for one ofthe Rural Alliances’ partners,looks at me somewhat pityinglyas I present these steps to him.Karel is closely involved in aproject that helps communitiesto welcome newcomers and toinform them about culture,identity and traditions of thelocal community. “Your idealmodel is great, but all thesephases are intermingled. So ofcourse it doesn’t run smoothly.The women will have gone tovisit an initiative in anothervillage; the men will havecertainly learned somethingfrom the experiences of otherenergy associations. That’sright”. De facto, it is anextremely complex ecosystemin which social initiatives, ouralliances, emerge, grow andprosper. In such an ecosystemthere are also parties whoensure that the soil is fertile, thespace is created for growth

48

and knowledge is shared, sothat initiatives get off theground elsewhere. And it's justlike in real ecosystems: thematurer the system is, the morecomplex the relationships. KarelLhermitte works in Belgium withhis organisation, the ‘InnovationCentre for Agricultural andRural Development’. Theydeveloped a method forwelcoming people into theagricultural landscape. “Forexample, we are seeing amigration of city or townspeople to the countryside. Theycan contribute greatly towardsinnovation and sense ofcommunity. However they haveto be able to find connectionswith the customs and mannersof our countryside. They shouldbe welcomed and activelyinvolved in the community.Then you have a fertile groundfor initiatives. "

Lindsey Gilroy and Jill Venus,researchers of the RuralAlliance network and fromTrinity Saint Davids University inWales, immediately recognizethat any scheme of building alocal initiative is brought downby the complex reality. "Theyare tools to help organise yourthoughts, " says Lindsey. "You usethem as a 'checklist' , becausethose who don’t make anaction plan or governancestructure actually learn a lotabout themselves. A plant stillreally grows from seed, and itneeds a stem, roots and leaves.Even if you just want it for the

flowers, fertile land and acultivation plan are quite handyif you want a return. " Jill adds,with a nod to the woodedbanks and meadows thatdetermine the structure of theWelsh landscape: “You don’treally think that the hedgerows,the meadows and woodsended up as beautifulcountryside by accident, doyou? Behind each piece ofdevelopment there is a systemof thought, an ecosystem ofexperiences and solutions.Broadly socially learned,developed into an economicand social creation of value.You don’t capture that in aphased plan. But at the sametime you see remarkably similarprocesses across North WestEurope, from which we canmutually learn and that havehelped us to describe aprocess in a handbook forbuilding rural alliances. "

49

Jan Jonker, a professor at the Radboud University in the Netherlands, brought together a largenumber of initiatives and methodically set to work asking them what was now important for theirdevelopment. A number of tips and tricks emerged. These can be used when you sit together asa group for the first time in order to let the seed germinate:

Tips for your own initiative

1 . To desire or to wish without action is ‘dreaming’. There's nothing wrong with dreaming aboutthings you want to achieve. But if you find that you have a goal, then turn your dream intoactions. Antioine de Sain Exupéry puts it this way: "A goal without a plan is just a wish. "2. Take action, give presentations, tell about it in your surroundings. Desire is the fuel needed foraction, also for others who might go along with your community.3 . Put the focus on doing. At the start, don’t worry too much about the ‘how’. Set to work andlearn from doing. Experience comes naturally. Every community has its own story.4. Research whether there really is a chance for your idea. In your immediate environment, askwhat people think of it.5. Do you need encouragement, inspiration and support? Check out the websites, go tocommunity work, or search the Internet for organisations that are often ready to help you. It'sincredible how much help is waiting for new initiatives. Use and embrace that but at the sametime remain yourself.

Tips for your environment

6. Even inventing the wheel is often a very useful activity, although the 'saying' does prevent itfrom being superfluous and meaningless work. The fact is that you get to know the system andprocess, the fine layers that make the work so special. You also learn that each initiative isdifferent again because each social ecosystem has special characteristics. At the same timeyou have to steal diligently: filching well is better than devising poorly. And tell everyone who yougot the idea from! That is the new sharing, the future of our networked society.7. Make a community map with each other. An overview of all groups, an analysis of thestrengths and weaknesses of your local society. Involve your environment with it (within RuralAlliances the Rural Vibrancy Index has been developed for this, a tool that provides insight intoyour community).8 . Make an overview of all activities and interests in your community and look at theconnections. Are there activities in which a lot of people participate? Why are these activities sopopular?. What can you learn from that?9. Make an overview of the skill sets in your group. There will be web designers, lawyers, legalexperts, carpenters, electro technicians, educationalists and many more skills present. The skillsthat people professionally make use of during the day, can be put to use for their community inthe evenings and at weekends. Rural Alliances has developed a Skills Plotting Methodology.10. And look to financial knowledge in your environment. There is often a moment when afinancial foundation should be laid under your plan. Money and money management are thenof significant importance. Use the Rural Alliance manual about alternative financing systems forthe countryside. Because you'll have to deal with crowdfunding, revolving funds or local funds. Agood accountant and bookkeeper are then worth their weight in gold!

Ten Golden Tips

50

Rural Alliances in practice

Sue Thorne, supporting forceand cornerstone of the RuralAlliances’ network, represents alarge group of partners fromher network. They meet, duringa conference in Ireland. Shetries to get them to be quiet.“People, focus centrally! Justdrop all bilateral consultations.We’re now trying to sum upeverything. ” It seems to noavail. The partners who areworking on renewable energyonly ponder on it more deeply.An intense discussion develops.Also the group that’s workingwith cultural heritage can’trefrain from putting forward yetanother idea. The teacup landson the table with a loud bang.It’s still intact. Everyone brieflylooks up. “And now stop!” saysSue. Amiably she gives the firsttable the floor to report.

The partners of this Europeanproject have already put theirprojects together, in shortsummaries with plan, numberof parties involved,achievements and challenges.Sue has combined them on theRural Alliances’ website, in akind of handy booklet. Thereare almost 80 cooperativeventures from Ireland,Germany, France, Belgium, TheNetherlands and Wales. Ourlaboratory material, afragment of what is going on inNorth West Europe, of course.The hundreds of thousands ofinitiatives cannot be capturedin a book, website or othermedium. They form a social

movement, of which we cansample the flavour.

There are eight distinct themes:

1 . Local Pride2. Care, health and happiness3. Destination management4. Inclusion5. Landscape6. Mobility7. Culture, arts and branding8. Renewable energy

1 . Local Pride

The ‘Vlaamse LandMaatschappij’ (Flemish LandAgency) functions as a (remote)agency of the Flemishgovernment. It supportseconomic and social processesin rural areas, including inrelation to the city. Thecountryside around the urbanconglomeration of Brussels ishome to over 400, 000 people.They form the actual peripheryof a city. By working with thisgroup to strengthen the qualityand identity of the periphery,commuters gain connectionwith their immediateenvironment. The connectiongives pride and thereby a senseof responsibility. That is thefoundation upon which healthysocial initiative is able to grow.

Esbeek is a village in DutchBrabant. 1200 inhabitants in avast agricultural landscape. Thevillage cooperative hasreturned. Together, villagersrefurbished the local pub (theyeven took out a joint mortgageby issuing shares). There’s ahealth care and energycooperative. In particular thereis pride, in the local identity. Theresidents of Esbeek letthemselves be seen throughoutthe Netherlands as acommunity with its ownstrength.

In virtually every village and town, people work together to shape theirworld. They build alliances, connections that give them and theirsurroundings strength. 77 Rural Alliances in France, Ireland, Wales,Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany are connected with each other.An inspiring network from the practice of the European countryside.

51

2. Care, health and happiness

In Kortrijk (or Courtrai), near theFrench border, there is anorganic farm called ‘Hof vanHeule’. They call themselves“The Manor”, with an historicalprestigious character of the flatFlemish countryside. A farmthat combines youth welfare,local produce and ecology.Hof van Heule is located nearlarge urban conglomeratesand provides the care, healthand tranquillity of thecountryside.

In the Mayo Abbey TrainingCentre you also see, as in a lotof Rural Alliances, the careaspect returning. The bus thattakes the children to the daynursery also picks up theparents. The Centre providesthem with meals, activities andconviviality. That in conjunctionwith an organic garden and acookery school makes MayoAbbey a very special place.

3. Destination management

In the south west of Ireland, alighthouse has been renovated.The bright white ValentiaLighthouse stands out againstthe green hills and blue seaand sky. We see it throughoutall Rural Alliances: people arehappy to make an effort forcrowd-pullers in the villages. Aplace to "go": a windmill, alighthouse, a local museum oran exhilarating mountaintop.Around this renovated andpolished goal, comesorganisation andcommunication. And with it,the countryside gains identity,closely linked with pride.

4. Inclusion

In Lochem, Netherlands, themaintenance andmanagement of public spaceis done together with peoplewho have difficulty gettingregular work. A new companyhas been set up there inwhich authorities, the businesscommunity and socialdomain work together tokeep landscape and publicspace attractive and in goodorder. At the same time, it’s areintegration company wherepeople can gain workexperience. And there is roomfor people who need to stayprotected while working. Forexample, in the maintenanceof the greenery and recyclingof second-hand materials.

Rumst in Belgium, likehundreds of other localauthorities, is a fair trademunicipality. The FairTradecampaign municipalities workwith criteria. If you meet therequirements, you can holdthe title 'fair trademunicipality' (seewww. fairtradetowns. uk). It’s anhonorary title for many.FairTrade criteria also caterfor local sustainable products,about which the people ofRumst have made a film. Anapproach that shows thatFairTrade is also about being‘close by' . For example,because local farmers get afair price for their produce.

52

6. Mobility

Medifi in France is working onthe countryside of Brittany inresponse to the growingisolation of the villages. Onlythe car keeps them alive. Forthe elderly and people withlittle money, this is a problem.Medifi works together withparties in order to make forexample, a combination ofparcel post and passengertransport. As we know, owing tothe advent of the Internet,delivery vans drive throughoutthe entire country.

In Lochem, the energycooperative along with anenergy company and themunicipality, has made electricshare-cars available. Membersof the cooperative are able tohire these for 5 Euro per half-day. One of the cars is themunicipality’s lease car, whichis available for society outsideof working hours. Thus smartuse is made of each other’scapabilities.

7. Culture, art and branding

In County Mayo, an old railwayhas been converted into acycle path: the Great WesternGreenway, which meandersthrough a fantastic landscapefor 42 kilometres. You cansafely cycle and walk along itand in summer the Greenwayattracts tens of thousands oftourists and holiday-makers.That provides opportunities forartists to show off and sell theirproducts. They set this uptogether, with activities, shopsand their own logo.

In the Merode in Belgium, thecultural history is summarized ina communal book.Entrepreneurs from the regionwork together with a largenumber of local groups whoknow all the history of the area,while tourist organisations andthe nine municipalities providesupport. As a result, bothknowledge and network arestrengthened as the image oftheir own culture and identityfor the touristic andrecreational visitor.

5. Landscape

In Boxtel (NL) the 'Foundation forBeautiful Paths' is active. Thisfoundation brings owners ofpublic space, country estates,waterways, woods, walkingtrails, etc. into contact withgroups whose daytime activityis carrying out maintenanceand upkeep. In this way thefoundation ensures that peoplefind a socially responsibledaytime activity and that thesurrounding countryside ismaintained and remains ingood condition.

In South Kerry, in the south westof Ireland, lies the village ofBeaufort, with 228 inhabitants.They live off tourism andagriculture, and together theyhave set up the MountainAccess programme to protectand strengthen the quality ofthe landscape and at the sametime make the landscapemore accessible to tourism.Thus ecotourism is the basis oftheir future strategy.

53

8. Renewable energy

Small-scale hydropower is oneof the major sources ofrenewable energy forcommunity groups in Wales.Communities in the BreconBeacons National Park havealready been making use ofthis renewable energy for yearsand reinvest the returns in newsustainable and profitableprojects, so that their strengthgrows through their ownearning power.

Many of the alliances that weknow are working onrenewable energy, often incooperative context. In theNetherlands, some of thecooperatives have linked upand make their capabilitiesreadily visible. In Lochem forexample, where a fast-growingand professionalising teamfrom ‘LochemEnergie’ isworking on renewable energygeneration and energyefficiency.

Value creation

Sue Thorne brought all theseactivities together in oneoverview. You can look them upunder search terms such as

"we have a‘businesscase’. In thenew economy,characterizedby circularthinking,

networking ofdomains andbusinessmodels thatcombine

financial andsocial values isdifferent"

'Renewable Energy', 'Pride' or'Mobility' . This wasn’t an easytask because all projects werecharacterized by their scope.Organisations dealing withrenewable energy also appearto invest time and money inelectric car sharing. Care islinked to landscape,agricultural activities and

culture. Tourism is againconnected with pride andstrengthening the economy,often focusing on smallercompanies (inclusion).

These alliances arecharacterized by 'multiplevalue creation’. They are notorganised within the rigidboundaries of one domain butin a network! In almost allcases, they create values oneconomic, social andecological domain. This alsochanges the business modeland the governance structure.

New Business Model

In the old economy,characterized by linearthinking, where separatedomains and business modelsfocused on production andearning money, the term'return’ focuses in particular ona fairly simple transaction: wesupply a product, the customerpays and if our costs are lowerthan what financially comes in,then we have a ‘business case’.In the new economy,characterized by circularthinking, networking of domainsand business models thatcombine financial and socialvalues is different.

The Irish Mayo Abbeycommunity illustrates that.Located in the hills of aneconomically marginalcountryside, thecommunity combines

54

believes this is important, wereceive a subsidy for theremaining third part. This waywe finance a solar park for thetheatre, which thus gets freeelectricity. Plus we acquiremembers. After 6 years, thesolar park has been paid offand the incomes are flowingonce again via‘LochemEnergie’. It is a ‘slowbusiness case’, which anordinary company simply wouldnot think of. But we can do this.We literally create value for thetheatre while we grow into alarge collective. Apart fromthat, we are also setting to workwith that collective in the fieldof energy conservation andsustainable renovation. Theretoo we will also earn money. Inshort . . . by means ofestablishing links, the theatre isable to survive. LochemEnergiegrows, the production ofrenewable energy grows andemployment is enhanced andat the same time, thecommunity becomes stronger.

Governance of a network

In the new economy with newbusiness models, in the missionand vision of an organisation orinitiative, the demand is put onthe "values" that are added.The financial manager is askedto make that visible in the'business plan' and thereporting. The initiators areasked to create relationshipswith other potentialstakeholders. A web is drawn of

childcare, adult education, acommunity centre and anorganic garden. Together theyoperate a bus that brings boththe children and the elderly toand from the communitycentre. The hallmark of MayoAbbey is connection andmultiple value creation. Theorganic garden trains peopleto become certified gardeners,but also produces for thecentre’s cookery school wherejob seekers gain a new future.The cookery school alsoprepares the meals for thecommunity centre where theelderly meet up with eachother.

In Dutch Lochem also, the localcooperative energy association‘LochemEnergie’ is bringingabout similar connections.

Tonnie Tekelenburg, one of thedriving forces behind‘LochemEnergie’ tells how theailing theatre is able to comeby free solar energy with thesupport of LochemEnergie. "Weearn money throughmembership of ourcooperative. Thus what weneed are members. If we canmanage to acquire a fewhundred extra membersthrough the 'Friends of theTheatre, ” then we havesufficient income to purchasepart of a solar park. If we callupon all those members tocontribute voluntarily, then weobtain yet another part. Andbecause the government

all relationships, with theschool, business community,culture and care centres.Information is openly sharedand there is no longer talk ofcompetition but of synergy.Cooperation and reciprocalservices are the backbone ofthe activity and leadership iscoupled thereto.

The community with all itsexpertise, enthusiasm andinvolvement, is the basis ofsuccess.

55

New roads in the new economy

The council meeting overruns.23 councillors look severe whenthe alderman again reportsthat there is not enough moneyfor the maintenance of theroads. “See what our countryroads look like alderman! Holesare appearing. They’re unsafe.Our children have to dodgeboth fast moving cars as well asholes when cycling to school. ”The council member returnsthe microphone with asomewhat hopeless gesture,while other parties prepare amotion to make extra moneyavailable. 600, 000 Eurosappears for the purpose ofrefurbishing the roads. Thealderman looks satisfied.

This kind of discussion takesplace everywhere. Roads arecosting society loads of money,while municipalities have tochoose between infrastructure,health care, culture orgreenery. In this case, in therural Dutch municipality ofLochem, the alderman andcouncil have had enough. "Weneed 3 million Euros annually inorder to maintain our roads, yetnot even 900, 000 Euros areavailable, " the councillor tellsthe council. "But I don’t want toincrease this budget structurallybecause that will be at theexpense of other importantissues that are also crying outfor money. So together with

citizens, the businesscommunity and

knowledgeinstitutes, I’m

going to take a relook at theroads. The council memberslook sceptical. “I’m curious tosee what that will now deliver”,mutters the opposition. “Weshall see. You just come with aplan”.

Months go by. The aldermanhas called his official teamtogether and asked for expertadvice. Is it possible to buildroads differently so that theydon’t deteriorate or at leastdeteriorate less? Are all roadsreally actually necessary? We’veput too much asphalt down inthe past without thinking that ata given point in time the roadhas become worn out.Research shows that the use ofthe road has becomeconsiderably more intensive.Increasingly heavier lorries drivedown the narrow country roadswith increasingly higher speeds.The road foundation crumbles.If nothing is done, in ten years’time the municipality will belooking at having to investsome 20 million Euros. In suchcases, a solution often onlyappears if you look at it from adifferent angle. The alderman:“We are asking the companiesthat build and maintain roads,the road users and localresidents for advice. And weare going to see whether weare indeed able to maintainthe roads within those 900, 000Euros per year, a saving of70%!”

The regional road builders are

at the table. Arms folded. Menwho look somewhat gloomyand oblivious. Road experts,financial experts, a professor ofinnovation and the aldermangive lectures. The civil servantsand citizens called togetherlook somewhat questioninglyaround the room. Thealderman looks at the gloomymen: “You know everythingabout roads. The users andlocal residents determine whatthey need from a road. Younow have complete freedom.Design a road that issustainable to maintain, meetsall safety standards andfeatures that users and localresidents demand. And do thatwithin our budget. ” The menshake their heads. “That can’tbe done Mr Alderman. Theseare the costs; there aren’talternatives”. But the aldermandoesn’t give up. Reinder Boon isappointed as processsupervisor and should organisefollow-up sessions. Together withthe community developer,Denise de Jonge, whomobilizes the residents.

Many sessions follow. Users fromthe cattle feed sector, dairyfactories, fire and ambulanceservices state what roads theyneed. Local residentsparticipate in a comprehensivesurvey and relate how they usethe roads. And the businesscommunity that builds theroads looks for answers.After a series of sessions,no solution is to be

In the construction and maintenance of roads innovative

processes don’t come to mind that quickly. Yet in the context

of the European Rural Alliances programme, attention is

indeed paid to this. With collaboration between companies,

local residents and authorities. With a new road, in a new

economic form and a huge financial return.

56

Roads were placed in a digital ‘touch-table', a kind of large iPad. Seven road types weredifferentiated. At the time of deciding on the type of road and available budgets, these forexample, are tools for setting to work with a group of local residents. Because in the discussion,each road may get a different function, with which the maintenance budget alsochanges. Planning roads yourself is possible with this. The use of such a high-techinstrument must be done carefully. First, a common language, about goals,methods and quality. Working in small groups can only be done in this way withthe actual planning.

seen and the politiciansimpatiently fumble at the door. . . the alderman stands hisground. “You have to, alongwith users and local residents,come up with a solution.There’s no other choice. ” Threeof the six 'infrastructurecompanies’ pull out. Finally theredeeming answer appears.Unbelievable! Two proposalsthat indeed provide answers tothe question. Qualitatively goodroads with far less use of rawmaterials (much moresustainable) and 70% cheaperthan the initial forecast! Thelocal residents are enthusiastic.The process supervisor gleamswith pride. "We can go evenfurther, " he tells the alderman.They’ve developed fantasticplans, but this is only thebeginning of the innovation. Itwould be another 80 or 85%cheaper than the currentdesign, with better quality,greater sustainability and

satisfied local residents.

What has now led to theinfrastructure companieschanging their minds? "If yougive us the room, then we'll alsotake it, " says one of the roaddesigners. “In our design we’regoing to assume that we’ll bemanaging the roads for thenext 30 years. If so, it will be alot cheaper for us. Because weourselves can plan whenmaintenance takes place. We’llsupervise it ourselves. We caneasily write off our machinestwice during that period of timeand also take on our peoplepermanently. One of thedesigns is based on a very solidfoundation, with thin metalling.“This is now possible becausewe’ll write off the foundationover 30 years. With such anoperational reliability, it’s easilyfeasible. Then we can directlyset about it properly. Over timeit will save you enormously in

materials andcosts. We’llmake themetalling thin.There's still a lot ofinnovation towardsother and better materials. "The other design hardly differsfrom the present roadconstruction. “We’reconcentrating on very goodmaintenance. That takes someextra manpower. But if youmake timely repairs to cracksand holes, then that savesenormously in costs later on.Thus more inspection and moresmall measures significantlyreduce the price. Besides, italso saves in materials andenergy consumption”. Twodesigns for 30% of the price!Local residents can choose thedesign they like best. It willprobably end up being a mix.

The next step is made. Becausean even greater return can be

57

achieved. The men from theinfrastructure companies areno longer sitting with their armsfolded. "Yes, but you have tomake sure that we can share inthat return. " If construction andmaintenance can also bedone for a lower amount that900, 000 Euros, then part of thatamount will go to theinfrastructure companies. Theyare then making profits withinnovation and that is a game-changer.

The municipal council’sreaction is cautiously positive. Atransfer of the roads to thebusiness community takesplace here. And then there isalso a concept of profit sharing

in the return on the innovation.But the population, closelyinvolved in this design, isenthusiastic. And can win overthe council members.

This project is part of the RuralAlliance programme. It’s a formof collaborativeentrepreneurship betweenbusiness community,government and citizens. In thiscase, the economic return isoverwhelming. In that sense, it'sa real game-changer. Themunicipality sees a structuralcost item of 2 million Euros peryear evaporating. But alsohere, value is created onmultiple levels: socially(residents are involved,supporting the supervision,experiencing increased safetyand accessibility), ecologically(because materials and energyconsumption are drastically

reduced) and economically(because there is structuralemployment arising from it).

This roads programme is justthe beginning. More returns arepossible by really looking at thefunction and form of the roads.And while this allianceflourishes, we see otheralliances and business casesemerging around it: treemanagement in a commonprocess produces healthiertrees and makes themanagement almost costneutral. With the constructionand maintenance of the sewer,similar design andmanagement processes alsostart. In the social domainthere’s a lot of hard work beingdone on new models ofcooperation that arecomparable.

Roads come in all shapesand sizes. Looking at thefunction of a roadtogether with the roadbuilder, users and local

residents is very worthwhile.A double track of concrete

slabs in the countryside can be highlysustainable and extremely functional. Witha limited part of the road network that isdesigned for through traffic, such asustainable and manageable trafficnetwork can be designed - with businesscommunity, local residents, users andauthorities. In one coalition. Good forsafety, accessibility and finances.

58

Dare to askabout ‘collaborative consumption' and the‘Weconomy’

The theatre fills with thedelegation members of RuralAlliances and local partners.After some quiet opening wordsfrom the host, a young manjumps up on to the stage, NilsRoemen. A popular speaker,from large businesses andindustry to the small backrooms. With some 10 people,his team of ‘dare to ask’ isworking overtime. Herepresents the new trend, thesociety wherein sharing is thenew ‘having’. Where asking forhelp is easier than ‘sorting it outyourself’ and the exchange ofservices is the most importanttransaction in an economy thatis also called the Weconomy.

“It’s quite unbelievable as tohow much 200 people in thiswell filled auditorium actuallyknow. ” Niles stares into thesomewhat dark auditorium. “Isit possible for the light to beturned up a bit?” Slowly allvisitors come into picture. “Ihave to set up myorganisation’s bookkeeping. Itry to collect and disseminateideas so that everyone gets toknow everything that’s needed.But I know nothing aboutadministration. " Nils lookssomewhat sadly into the hall.“Are there people here whotrained to be a bookkeeper oraccountant?” Five fingers shootinto the air. “Great! Can I makean appointment with you afterthis lecture?” There are nods ofagreement. “That’s how itgoes”, Nils continues. And he

asks the public to nominaterequests for assistance. As asmart broker, for each questionin the hall, he knows how tofind an expert with an answer,or at least where to begin. “Thisis what we call ‘socialovervalue’” continues Nils."There is so much unusedknowledge in this room, letalone in this town, in thisprovince or this country!"

Nils with his team, has madethe term "dare to ask" into aleading household name onTwitter. #durftevragen(#daretoask) appearsthousands of times a day in thisnetwork. And the questionersget answers. Of course, it canalso happen in many otherways. By simply startingsomewhere with setting up acentre and in all openness andinnocence, asking everyone forhelp. It is quite staggering as tohow difficult we find it, and howmuch it yields if we just dare toask. In the auditorium theexercise continues for at leastan hour, whereby dozens ofconcrete results are achieved.

Nils and his team stand for asocial development that ischanging relationshipsthroughout the world. Thishappens under many titles:peer economy, sharedcapitalism, sharing economy,people economy or thecollaborative economy. Theseare all terms for an opensource society wherein not only

the sharing of knowledge, butalso the sharing of services andproducts, become a guidingprinciple.

Apps offer great tools forsearching in yourneighbourhood for transport(the electric car sharing ofLochemEnergie for example),or for tools or a ladder, orneighbours who enjoy cookingand want to produce an extrameal for a modest payment.Sharing leads to enormousadvantages. Appliances thatspend 99% of their time in thecupboard, now gain aworthwhile life. The second carand sometimes the first, is ableto be sold. Because just roundthe corner the electric car isready and waiting. And if it’sbeing used, there’s anotherone just around the next corner.The environment isunburdened, it saves money,promotes social networking.And in doing so, it becomespart of that multiple valuecreation and the new, circulareconomy.

Shared capitalism

Incidentally, there are alsocomments to be made aboutmajor players in this field ofsharing economy. Parties likeUber (inexpensive taxi services)or Airbnb (a website for peopleto rent out lodgings), capture a

'Knowledge' is available everywhere in our society, also in our

villages and surrounding countryside. When talking to each

other and asking for information, unexpected alliances come

about. The new economy is a ‘sharing economy’. Some people

call it the ‘Weconomy’.

59

substantial percentage of theturnover, while guarantees onquality and income arelacking.

A taxi driver once calculatedfor me that in order to obtain aminimum wage, the Uber taxi

Seek knowledge by plotting skills

The auditorium fills up. It doesn’treally matter what room andwhere it is. Everywhere in theworld this happens: a citizens’initiative puts an appeal in thelocal newspaper. Looking forpeople who want to participatein something that thecommunity is ready for.Renewing the communitycentre, organising care for theelderly, a windmill or solar parkproject. Then you’d better hopethat the room is not too full. In'my' room, Wil sits at the table.With laptop, a beamer andmind map on the screen.People have come here for an

Any initiative needs knowledge and skilled volunteers and

professionals. How do you find them? By means of targeted

searching. There are practical methods for this, such as

‘skills plotting’, a tool that has been developed in the context

of ‘Rural Alliances’.

men and women have to work60 hours/week. “While theladies and gentlemen in SiliconValley are striking it rich. ” Hisresponse: “We’re building ourown app so that our users knowthat they get quality and fairprices. ” Because this

energy cooperative - this time.They introduce themselves. Wilnotes down names, asks whattheir profession and experienceis and where they live.Participants come from anarea of more than 200 km2, atown with seven village centresscattered across thecountryside. When the 70people have finally beenintroduced, on the screen thereis a mind map full of namesand knowledge.

An intense discussion followsabout the purpose of thecitizens’ initiative. Plans areproposed, revised andadopted. The first campaigngains shape. A candidateboard is needed, along with acharter and regulations. The

administration and financialmanagement need to beworked out. Wind and solarenergy have to be considered.A group should set to work onenergy savings. And of coursethere have to becommunications, via a websiteand a brochure that will bedistributed house to house inevery village.

Wil picks up his mind map.There’s a web designer, printerand communications expert inthe room. These will thus be‘doing’ the website andbrochure. The accountant,bookkeeper and civil-lawnotary sit together in order towork out the legal and financialstructure of this initiative. Achairman of a village council,

development is unstoppable,we then join in and try tocounter exploitation. Thesharing economy certainlyprovides opportunities but hasno room for naive positivism.

60

participants. In an hour asmaller group can already getto learn a lot. For example,about hobbies (and the skillsthat are needed for these),work experience, the requestsfor knowledge within theproject or programme that isimplemented and opportunitiesfor training. Because skills andknowledge demand constantattention and there is a hugeavailability of knowledge andtraining opportunities.

Process support

What Wil did, with his laptop,mind map and beamer, seemsso simple. Yet the methodologyof ‘skills plotting' is also easilyusable. However, building anorganisation is rarely easy. Anenormous amount of energycan be lost through conflicts orby putting responsibility on thewrong people. Or thoughpoor organisation ofcommunication and feedback.It’s a speciality, a craft, to start

up groups thatare justbeginning and tobring harmony,speed andreliability to a result.This speciality is properlymanaged in many areas by‘community developers’. Theirwork is to help people todevelop joint strength, toenable plans to come togetherand to set up sustainablecooperation.

Involve these communityworkers in building up theinitiative. They can beinvaluable.

secretary of the swimming poolassociation, an experienceddirector of a large company sitdown together to set up aboard. There are enoughexperts in the field oftechnology to form two workinggroups. The other people allturn out to live in the variousvillages. They are contactpersons and will bring roundbrochures.

In just one evening anorganisation has come about.It's incredible!

Within Rural Alliances(www. rural-alliances. eu), atechnique has been developedunder the term 'Skills Plotting’ bywhich this can be implementedstructurally. Because whereveryou are active, it’s good idea tochart the skills of yourcommunity. Using such a tool isextremely handy, as you willimmediately have a broadunderstanding of thecapabilities of your

The ‘do-democracy’ according tothe ‘Brabant model’In the Dutch province of North Brabant, authorities, the

business community and civil society work with the 'Brabant

Model’. An operating procedure in which alliances are

forged on the basis of equality, with different roles

This vast agricultural provincelies in the south of theNetherlands, near the Belgianborder.North Brabant is known for itsfantastic knowledge networks(including the cooperation ofthe cities of Eindhoven, Tilburg,Breda and Den Bosch), itsmodern livestock breeding(strong in the bio-industry) andfantastic nature conservationareas like the Peel and the

heaths and woods aroundOisterwijk. A new star is the'Oisterwijk model' , now alsoknown rather as the 'Brabant'model. An approach tomobilizing society that canserve as an example for NWEurope. Researchers from RuralAlliances have delved into thisfurther and published a CaseStudy.

Here the summary.

The countryside around thetown of Oisterwijk was facingrecession and growinginequality in society. Ageingand brain drain threatenedvillages while the governmenthad to cut down tremendously.

61

organisation.

Co-production and Control:The authorities think with you.Ensure that licences areapplied for on time, publicityis easily arranged and providemeeting rooms.

Coach: The authorities alsoprovide coaching. A teamplayer, who will help in solvingconflicts, making the rightconnections and makingchoices at the right time.

Celebration: The celebrationis the time when one or moreinitiatives come into thepicture. The parties involvedprovide each other aplatform. From thatcelebration, room againappears for new ideas andenhanced cooperation.

The Brabant model is a goodexample of an approach inwhich roles of authorities andsocial parties (citizens andbusiness communities)reverse. The initiative lies withthe citizens, theirorganisations and businesses.The authorities facilitate andcontrol where necessary. Theauthorities provide a coach,so that the process gainsspeed and space.

Within the Netherlands, themodel is gaining lots ofsupport and follow-up. This isbecause citizens andbusinesses want more thanjust the freedom to take

action. They also see that theareas of governmentresponsibility, in the field ofcare, energy supply, natureand landscape managementor public transport can beorganised differently; thatother business modelsbecome the basis of futuredevelopments and in doingso the government also gets aspecific role. Not alone toallow the thousands of ideasfrom society to flourish butalso to provide a responsethereby to the most pressingof societies dilemmas.

The model fits well withdevelopments in other partsof Europe, where they have tobe given content within theirown cultural and socialcontext. In essence, it alsoinvolves giving substance toan enhanced form ofparticipatory democracy. Adevelopment that has its ownpace and form in eachcountry.

Health care, publictransportation, education andother facilities became thevictims of this. Thegovernment scaled down.The society had comeforward. In Oisterwijk, andlater wider in North Brabant,this was methodically pickedup. The 'Brabant Model' is theresult of this. A strong bottom-up citizen participationaimed at local development.

Essentially it involvescollaboration betweenauthorities and socialinitiative. The model followsthe six 'Cs':

Creation: An idea for anactivity is born. Society ischallenged to create ideas,to meet up with each otherand to put its creativity to use.

Contribution: A good ideademands collaboration.Discussing with each otherand finding the support ofothers. That usually doesn’tneed to be the authorities butvery often just other parties.Such as a theatrical society,which organises itsperformances together withthe local hotel and cateringorganisation and the tourism

62

Newcomers to a town or village always have to orientate themselves. Every region has a term forthese newcomers. Where I live they are called 'Import' . “No, I'm not from here. I’m import. ” Thenewcomer breaks through traditions. He also doesn’t know about them. Sometimes he speaks aslightly different language and has different customs. And before you know it, there is an almostunbridgeable isolation.

In my organisation, the ‘Farmers’ Association & National Guilds’ in Flanders, we’re doing somethingabout this. The newcomer is given a warm welcome, by way of a visit from a villager, who takesalong a box of local produce. Information is also included such as a map and list of contacts inthe social network. There are 'vouchers' from local businesses offering for example, a free meal ora discount on their local products. The box is made up locally, by citizens and businesses from thevillage where the newcomer has moved to.

Robert Putnam says in his fantastic book “Bowling Alone’ (2000): In building relationships, but also inbuilding social capital, the principle of reciprocity is fundamental. This principle states that I will dosomething for you, without me expecting something directly back and maybe even without meknowing you. But, somewhere along the way, you or someone else will do something positive backfor me in return.

We are a rural organisation and movement in densely populated Flanders. We work with over69, 000 rural families, including 16, 000 farmers. Through our local and regional branches, wemanage to reach people in local communities. That social involvement is the cornerstone of oursociety. And trust is the touchstone. As Robert Putnam states: “Social trust in this sense is stronglyassociated with many other forms of civic engagement and social capital. Other things beingequal, people who trust their fellow citizens volunteer more often, contribute more to charity,participate more often in politics and community organisations, serve more readily on juries, giveblood frequently, comply more fully with their tax obligations, are more tolerant of minority views,and display many other forms of civic virtue. ”

That is why the newcomer is really welcome. We need him and her. The knowledge, the creativity,the new connections and ideas. These form new threads in the web that constitutes our society,and thereby we change as does the newcomer. And we jointly build on a sustainable future.

Karel Lhermitte

Innovatiesteunpunt@landelijkegilden

I wish you most welcome

column

63

The Competent Society

Governance and Rural Alliancesfor the Common Good

Part Four

The institutional level

64

Our democratic house is creaking at the seams. A storm is raging. We’re seeing forces

of accelerated innovation, sharing of knowledge and emancipation. The authority of

the government is under discussion, the role of the municipal council is under pressure.

Coming towards us we’re seeing climate change, raw materials shortages and

fundamental systemic crises in our market system. Without a radical change in our

behaviour, use of technology and market structure, we don’t have an answer. There’s a

sense that our democratic house is being lashed by gusts of wind.

This storm is not going to subside. Our democratic house needs to be rebuilt if we want

to use its power positively. We need to be looking for strong, innovative and adaptive

forces in our community. Building alliances with people and organisations that provide

answers to the challenges we face. We’re inviting them to take the helm, to map out a

new course. And we see them coming: the cooperative energy association that

pursues renewable energy and energy saving and mobilizes people; the care

cooperative that provides care for the elderly on a human scale with local

professionals; the tourist and recreational initiatives that want to promote the value of

our landscape, nature and culture and put high priority on hospitality; contractors and

fitters, retrofitting the sustainability of our existing buildings; the road builders, who

together with the population give shape to affordable, safe and sustainable roads; the

neighbourhood organisations that manage to set up community centres, dispel

loneliness and give people meaningful and positive daytime activities.

A new, participatory democracy is gaining power. The authorities are taking on new

roles. Initiator, process supervisor, quality controller, connector, coach. Th

e municipal

council is getting away from thick policy documents designed in the ivory towers of the

town hall. Legitimised democratically, they are setting out the broad outlines,

discussing the fundamental dilemmas, verifying the process quality. These are the

topics that are discussed in the fourth part of 'Governance for the Common Good’.

I hope you enjoy reading it!

Sebastiaan van 't Erve, mayor of Lochem,

Rural Alliances partner.

Foreword

65

Administrative lessons from RuralAlliances

In their daily reality, the activities of Rural Alliances offer

important lessons for administrators. Researcher Thomas

Hoppe, from the University of Twente, and policy adviser

Donald v.d. Akker of the 'Dutch Climate Alliance', compared

literature and practice. That resulted in 8 specific guides for

administrators who are looking to influence the dynamics in

their environment!

1 . It’s about ‘communityinvolvement’

“The alderman’s hired anagency to get a citizens’initiative started" . . . chucklesone of the Flemish participantsduring a regional meeting ofhis organisation. The men standin a small circle, lookingsomewhat pitying at eachother, a glass of beer in thehand. “As if that’s going towork!” they resound sharply.They shrug their shoulders. “Aman like that! He doesn’t knowanything about us, he hires inan agency, chucks moneyaway and ends up destroyingmore than he builds. It’scriminal!”

We’ve all heard this discussionthroughout Europe. It's notbravado pub talk but everydaypractice. From discussions withRural Alliances it seems that'trust' is the keyword. In classical‘governance structures’,

aldermen, councillors andpolicy officials are the bearersof local and regional power.The joint analysis of issuestogether with citizens, leadingto a cooperative search forsolutions and the transferring ofresponsibility for the actualbuilding of those solutions iscrucial. Hiring a highly paidoutsider to supervise a processcan be a sign of mistrust!Indeed, what it says is thatofficials seem to believe thereis insufficient skill and power inthe local community!

Being vulnerable, taking risksand developing confidenceare the foundations of any workinvolving people in thecommunity. Avoid meetinglocations where authoritiesdominate if you are aiming forcivic participation. Go and visitpeople at home, find a backroom of a pub (where manywonderful ideas are born!) ormake intensive use of thecommunity centre! Officials:minimise your role; ask othersfor advice, ideas andproposals. Ask the communityto really help! Take your citizensseriously and address them asadult partners.

2. Deal astutely with power

Power conflicts belong withchange. The art of leadership isto deal adroitly with power. It’sa bit like judo. Power is thedefence mechanism oftraditional systems, old valuesand existing relationships insociety. The changes beingbrought about by RuralAlliances can be a threat tothese structures of power. Judorequires moving with forces andactually converting them intofavourable energy. It’s useful tomake a force analysis and toidentify where the greatestresistance is. That’s politicalhandiwork. For example, bybeing prepared to let theprocess of change come tofruition 'submerged’ for one ormore years. So that the initiativecomes to the surface when it’ssufficiently strong. Or by makingpowerful players into co-ownersand letting them take thecredit. That’s not easy, becausethey are often the very forcesthat act as a brake! The'governance question' for theauthorities incidentally, isimportant here: if you want tosteer change, you will have tochange the steerage. You haveto train for judo and similarly,also when dealing with power.

66

67

Seek help from experiencedstrategists!

3 . Create an ability to learnand experiment!

The mayor adjusts his chain ofoffice and reaches into hispocket. His New Year’s speechopens with a wide gesture.“People, colleagues andfriends. This year is in thecontext of renewal. We areopen to new insights,encouraging agility andinnovation. That’s what isexpected of modernauthorities. We are aware ofthe fact that we all want tolearn and that this comes withtrial and error. So makingmistakes is good! Ourorganisation has to learn todeal with this. " The officials - Ican hear them muttering softly- don’t believe him. “He saysthat well, but who are we goingto have our performancereview with? Not with ourmayor, but with our boss. Nicewords but we’re going to be onour guard!” The governmentand many other largeorganisations are struggling tokeep up with the changes insociety. They miss 'adaptive'ability. Learning, and thereforeinevitably trial and error, is thebasis of that power. Anorganisation without adequate

adaptive ability is destined tofail! What’s important isimplementing the changethroughout the organisation.Change will invite a counter-action, trying to push backagainst its impact. "Give thatprogressive official their owndomain, a world where he orshe can have their way!" That’sthe way to neutralise that force.An experiment is often talkedabout, a ‘pilot’. With such anapproach you already knowthat the change is beingpushed to the side-lines.Because while virtually theentire organisation justcontinues doing what it did,some people wear themselvesout in an experimentalenvironment in order to bringabout change. In spite of that,it's good to bring change in anexperiment; a transition arenawhere you can learn anddevelop strategies. But theninvolve the entire organisation,including the finance andcontrol departments. Don’tallow the experiment to get aplace somewhere on the side-lines, ensure it is key to theadvancement of a learningand developing structure!

4. The social business case

Counter-intuitively,dependence on governmentfinancing can be deadly for aninitiative. Of course, there areservices in health care,employment, roadmanagement or security that

simply belong to core functionsof the authorities. But as soonas you move to the edge of thecore functions, it becomesdifferent. Just think oflandscape management,tourism, renewable energygeneration. Around thoseissues, a subsidy can lead tovulnerability and dependence.A change in the political windcan easily destroy an initiative.Dependence on a governmentcan also stand in the way ofindependence. To prevent this,groups can develop a socialbusiness model, generatingtheir own income stream andguaranteeing their futureexistence and independence.And that’s not easy. Younginitiatives are vulnerable, haveno cash flow and don’t knowthe market well enough. At thestart-up, government fundingisn’t unusual as long as it is shortterm. The initiatives must set upwithout further ado. Thegovernment financing shouldaccelerate independence. E. g.via revolving funds, whichprovide credit to startinginitiatives; or by offering abonus on crowdfunding for asocial and cooperativeenterprise. Thus there areauthorities within Rural Alliancesthat offer an additional 25% onlarge scale crowdfunding. Thatway you mobilize 75% of thecapital and ensure a jump-startfor a social business case.

Of course, the authoritiesthemselves also have their 'own'

68

social business cases, mostlywithin their core activities. Inrelation to care for example,the setting up of a carecooperative is one example.Together with volunteers andfamily caregivers, thisorganisation will invest in healthpromotion in theneighbourhood. Costs for theauthorities are thus reducedand insurers become interestedin contributing. And becausethe small scale carecooperative also has loweroverheads, it manages tomake a return which can bereinvested in the care. A similardevelopment can be seen inenergy cooperatives. Energycooperatives are alreadyproviding many millions ofturnover in social businesses.We’ve seen it in Lochem withroad management where,through the creation of analliance with citizens, roadmanagers and the authorities,savings of 2 million Euros peryear are being achieved!

5. Setting the agenda andcommunication

Trying to swim against the flowdemands astute setting of theagenda and communication.An example of this is the saying"healthy fish swim against thestream. " It’s a form of ‘framing’.In a political and administrativesetting, you are acknowledgingthat it’s good to belong to thegroup of "activists" . Having thatmessage supported by a well-

known and widely acceptedexpert, can help tremendously.A strategy of setting theagenda and communication iscrucially important in thetransition. In most cases then,the "sender" is not theadministrative head or thepolicy official. It becomesmuch stronger when thechange is broadly advocatedin society by independentparties. Such as schoolchildrenwho ask for renewable energy,the elderly who advocate acare cooperative, businesscommunities that encourageuse of the electric share-car.

The ‘persuasive story’ also playsan important role here. Theseare stories that describe howan alternative is developed withall parties involved and whichlead to solving problems,strengthening social cohesionand local economies andimproving the environment. Forexample, in the sustainablerenovation of homes, theenergy bill goes down,employment rises and comfortin homes increases, while theCO2 emissions fall! Whowouldn’t want to be part ofsuch a campaign? Theorganisation of celebrations isalso part of it. There, results (notthose of the administrator orofficer concerned, but ofsociety!) are put on show, prizesare awarded and the fanfare isstruck up for everyone in thecommunity.

6. Stepping back andchanging

The government is becomingsmaller; its role is changing. It isno longer the principal in ahierarchical line. It is part of anetwork and in that 'ecosystem',it fulfils its specific role ofnegotiator, quality controller,supporter and, above all,democratic foundation. This istaking place throughout NorthWest Europe: growth in scale,network government,increasing ICT possibilities, cuts,changing social attitudes aboutthe role of the citizen are allhere. This has consequences forthe organisation andgovernance of the authorities.The shifting of tasks from thepublic to the social domainmeans for example, that withinlocal and regionalgovernment, officials have tobe present, who can guidesuch complex processes.Shaping a social business case,even within the authority,demands creativeentrepreneurs who are ablehelp devise new revenuemodels and value creation. Butthe foundation of democraticlegitimacy is also changing.Participatory democracy isgoing to dominate.Representative democracy,thus the role of electedrepresentatives in the municipal

69

council for example, ischanging as a result. Thesecouncil members willincreasingly have to tackle thebroad policy direction, ratherthan detail. Where is our societygoing? What are the dilemmaswe face? They will also have tomove the democratic controltowards testing the quality ofthe process. (Are the citizensgetting the opportunity tospeak? Are the right questionsbeing asked in the process?).

This demands a lot from theauthorities (and other partieswho are in a dominantposition). New skills and newdirection and validation requirea vision, mission andgovernance structure that isshared. Tension is unavoidablewith this because a civil andpolitical struggle is going tooccur. Power is often seated inthe management layer that hasbeen present the longest, thatwhich in terms of culture andstructure, has the leastmotivation in the change. Thisrequires brave and sometimespainful decisions. Democraticlegitimacy is of fundamentalimportance for this. Thus forexample, the involvement ofcouncil members in an opendiscussion is essential.

7. Process shaping and networkmanagement

Collaboration also means thatthe parties are mutuallydependent (orinterdependent). . Thatdemands trust. The strategicand political skills of anadministrator or officer will betested in that situation. Becausein the local arena, alongside‘trust, ' a subtle game is beingplayed involving manoeuvring,forging strategic (and vital)coalitions, facilitating, givingincentives at the rightmoments, persuading,identifying pioneers andsympathisers and provokingaction. But connecting,switching, orchestrating andmediating are also the order ofthe day! This way theadministrator or official oftenbecomes the helping hand,guiding and supportingchange.

‘Trust is hard won, easily lost andnever fully regained’ is a well-known saying. That makes thejob of process and networkmanagement challenging. Andauthorities are becomingincreasingly mistrusted. Oneway of changing this is if theadministrator or officerconcerned takes on a newtask. That of being therepresentative of thecommunity in the regional andnational administrative authorityand with the aim of removingbarriers to new business models

and increasing opportunities forlocal partners. The removal ofbarriers (such as legislation inthe field of taxation or spatialplanning) and helping localpartners in finding the way tothe institutions such as fundingstreams, helps in findingconfidence.

Providing process support is keyelement in this era of networkmanagement. That’s no easytask, especially in relation tothe enthusiastic pioneers. Theirskills are those of single-mindedness, indomitableenthusiasm and stamina. Thepioneer is often cock-sure andessentially not dependent onthe network of people andorganisations. The use ofspecialists in process support,such as community developers,can therefore be crucial inguiding the development of acivil initiative along the correctprocess steps. That againrequires new choices from theauthorities. Once the 'product'(and its funding) were key, nowthe 'process' (and its funding)are the priority. A 'product' istangible and definable.Inherently, a “process" is openand unpredictable. Here too,it’s good to involve core publicservices like finance andcontrol with the choices thatare being made. Because atany given moment, theconcept may have to prove itsquality and effectiveness . Andin a process and networkenvironment where creativity,

70

flexibility and openness shapethe core values, how do you'measure' that anddemonstrate ‘value’? Thismeasurement of things is thecore task of finance andcontrol teams. Politically, theadministrator is also going tohave to consider how the openprocess can be defendedagainst a critical opposition.

8. Look for the boundary,change the game

Defence mechanisms are putinto operation from existingsystems in order to preventchange. Agreements, rules ofthe game, legislation andregulations tend to mean thatnew and unconventionalparties have difficultycomplying. Thus it may be thatan energy cooperative isunable to gain access to thepublic power grid because it’ssimply forbidden from doing so.Or that a party providing localcare to the elderly has todemonstrate so muchknowledge and experiencethat no local organisation canindependently get off theground. In many municipalitiesthere are regulations around‘tendering' that are in the waybecause the authorities maynot ‘discriminate’. They aretherefore unable to givepreference to just one party(e. g. the local organisation thathas developed a socialbusiness case), however muchthey would like to.

Seeking out those boundariesand negotiating a way aroundthem can be cruciallyimportant. And it turns out thatmuch more is possible thanwas thought. Changing therules for tendering, as long as itis democratically based, iseasier than is sometimes madeout. Through cooperation withmarket parties, monopoliescan be broken more easilythan was previously thought. Forexample, the cooperation of alocal energy cooperative with anational or internationallyoperating power company canindeed ensure that access tothe power grid becomesavailable. This demands activeand creative searching forboundaries and the selection ofparties with whom you cannegotiate change! Here too,political and managerialcompetencies are needed thatwere previously less necessary.The 'submerged' preparation ofa policy intervention, togetherwith a large number of parties,in order to then challenge the'establishment' from that jointstrength and solid network, issomething that administratorshave little experience in. This isbecause previously they werepart of that 'establishment' ,while now they are facilitatingthe change! This game requiresperseverance, a unified vision,commitment and compliancewith agreements between theparties, who as partners, wantto bring about change.

71

come. Surely that’s somethingwhich everyone would beproud of? They hadn’t thoughtvery strategically. A few weekslater I received an email with anew question: “We have alocation. The roof of a ridingschool where hundreds ofpeople come every week. Thisis being newly built and is thusideal. The owner would like it,but how do we get hold ofmoney for the investment?"Now it became interesting.Because why did the chairmanof this workgroup ask this of meand not the people from theneighbouring energycooperative who he knew. Thefact is that they have money. Ofcourse, collaboration is difficultfor pioneers. I replied: “Justsend an e-mail to yourcolleagues in the neighbouringvillage, they have access tomoney. " For a couple of weeksit was quiet. After that, the newquestion came: “Who can helpme at that organisation?"Although it was a question youalready knew the answer to, Istill replied. Months later Ireceived a letter from thevillage council, signed by bothenergy cooperatives. Did I wantto take a share, e. g. in 4 or 8solar panels. By means ofcrowdfunding, the socialbusiness would make a profitwithin 8 years! And so theinitiative got off the ground.

1 . Ownership of the initiative lieswith the stakeholders:

That is the first principle whichthe authorities must takeaccount of. It’s relatively simpleto say that an initiative is ownedand remains in the hands ofthose who have the mostinterest. In practice it’scomplicated. In the aboveexample it’s the people withideas who don’t get enoughresponse. They can also forman isolated group and will thenhave to move towards sharedownership. Pride, thus visibility,plays an important role here.Pride can also lead to territorialbehaviour. And that putsactivities at risk. So you see, itstill takes some time from theone village to enlist the help ofthe energy cooperative of theother village. In short, those'stakeholders' are seldom ahomogeneous group.Understanding that the startingsituation is complex and payingattention to this is crucial. Helpfrom someone experienced inmanaging processes, forexample from communitydevelopment, can workwonders.

2. Providing recognition iscrucial:

An initiative gets off the groundwith all due care. For example,

It's dark as I cycle to the farmwhere the neighbourhoodoften gets together. They’vealready talked for a year, takennumerous initiatives, but thecause seems to be bleeding todeath. The process supervisorasks if I can bring someinspiration. The 7 initiators aresitting together. “We’ve hit a bitof a dead-end”, says thechairman. “We’ve got somegreat plans but it seems that noone’s taking them up. Theneighbourhood just isn’tresponding”. One of thewomen adds: “I proposeddocumenting our local history.Every farm has its own story. ButI only got a few responses”. Wehear this quite a lot within theRural Alliances’ network. Agroup of pioneers, full of ideas,who don’t win over thecommunity.

We go on talking. I waswondered openly why thisgroup hadn’t picked on aactivity with which they couldindeed win over thecommunity, in order to thengive the other (more difficult)plans a chance later on? Forexample, a solar park in aplace where many people

Treading the steps of a fullydeveloped initiative

The role of the authorities

In part 1 of 'Governance for the Common Good' six development steps were

mentioned under the title 'Building Rural Alliances': Ownership of the initiative;

Recognition; Dissemination; Professionalising; Up-scaling; Taking leave of the

Pioneers. What is the role of the authorities with each step? What are the the

do's and don'ts for administrators and officials.

72

73

recommendation or openingdoors to funders. It isinseparably one of the mainpriorities of the officialconcerned, who helps seeksolutions and who engages anadministrator to help openregional or national doors.

4. Professionalization is a majorstep towards organisationalmaturity.

Many excellent initiatives havefailed at this point. Forexample, becauseprofessionalism means thatpeople are employed andvolunteers are given a specialstatus. It can lead to conflict,especially if the 'governancestructure' of the organisation isnot clear. Because how often isit that the administrator orinitiator is also not a paidemployee? And how often doesthe power appear to lie withthose few pioneers from the firsthour, while the members orusers of the organisation haveno idea how decision-makingcomes about? We seemoments of too high anambition, too much missionand too little support, wherebythe organisation crashes. It is ofcourse down to thestakeholders to intervene here.The authorities, as supporter orcoach, can and must play arole here. Especially when itconcerns a fundamentaldevelopment for society. Theliaison officer or administratorconcerned looks for an open,

a solar park on riding stables.It's then time for celebration,because recognition is crucial.Here too pride, and so visibility,is of essential importance. Themayor can present himself aspart of the process but it isimportant that the initiatorsappear on the front page ofthe newspaper. Recognitiongoes beyond the immediatepublicity. The initiative can bementioned again in themunicipality’s annual report orduring the mayor’s New Yearspeech. Not least, the doorsare opened to morecooperation. The initiative has ahotline to the town hall! Andthat means there’s an officerwho can respond quickly toquestions, who can listenproperly and in particular candiscuss the enquiries and questsfrom the initiators. Thus the firstquestion is: does yourmunicipality have such anofficial?

3. Dissemination, with supportfrom businesses and institutions,is the step that immediatelyfollows.

In many cases it runs parallelwith stage 2 - the recognition ofthe initiative. Because findingsupport at the start means forexample, creating an advisorybody, forming a committee of

trusted and mature 'frame' ofconsultation. Based onfundamental principles of goodgovernance and transparentadministration, an appeal canbe made to patience andpolicy. The key here is the goodrelationship on a human level.How else do you speak to eachother, if you think that theinitiative is still too fragile totake on a paid employee? Orthat the initiators have toinvolve the public in atransparent way, if the initiativeis going to come to fruition?

5. Up-scaling is often essential:

Often simultaneously - andsometimes earlier - comes theneed for increased scale.Because how do you pay thatprofessional, when you have sofew customers? The jump to thisprofessional level requires greatcare. After all you can’t let thecustomers down, can you? Theauthorities here aren't standingto one side. Thinking togetherabout marketing, constructinga communication plan, askingthe municipality’scommunication departmentfor help. These are forms ofservice in which the authoritiescan and should mean a lot asa partner. At the same time it isimportant to indicate when theinitiative will stand on its owntwo feet. What is the revenuemodel with which a certainscale of size and alsoindependence can beachieved? Then maybe it’s that

74

scale that should be pursuedjointly. After which once againthere’s the celebration and theinitiative stands on its own twofeet.

6. The pioneers leave theinitiative:

that is perhaps the mostimportant moment in thebuilding of an organisation.Those driven forces,cornerstones of any initiative,have to make way for otherswho are better in the questionsof the long-term, theorganisation and governance.And especially for those whohave the patience to gothrough and guide long-termdevelopment processes.Because almost by definition,pioneers are impatient, poorlisteners and pushy go-getters.Good at the start, but oftenfrustrating in a maturestructure. The authorities maywell have an important role ingiving timely support here.Pioneers have, for example, thetendency of being'indispensable' . Before thathappens, a proper discussionneeds to be had. Becausefrequently, that indispensability(through the boundless energythat’s been invested in theinitiative along with boundarysurpassing perseverance in theevent of resistance) that has tobe offset by the timely divisionof tasks and theprofessionalizing of theorganisation. In numerous

cases it seems that thepioneers have quite a problemin being "missed". Timelyprovision and guidance of thatcan be the role of theauthorities or communitydeveloper.

In the Dutch Province of NorthBrabant, a study was madewith Rural Alliances into thestory of four local alliances thateventually matured withsuccess. This study, carried outby the University of Tilburg,confirms the above steps(published in a Dutch languagestudy entitled Kernkracht (CorePower) (February 2015). Thosefirst phases are characterized,as the researchers observe, bylots of ‘wheeling and dealing’,' improvisation' and ‘rummagingaround'. Terms that denote anunprofessional structure, inwhich the pioneers 'regulate'something without putting informal steps. This is the bottom-up structure that characterizesvirtually all initiatives. However,this approach largelydisappears at the time ofprofessionalization and growthin scale. Then there are articlesof association, rules, afunctional and transparentadministration andaccountability.

The second observation is thatalmost all initiatives revolvearound ‘getting things done’.‘Movement’ should be seen tohappen and people want tosee the impact in their direct

living environment. Theexample of the solar panels ona riding stable ties in with this.And under that protection ofthe concrete 'do, ' morecontent and structure can bedeveloped. The other wayaround, i. e. working from widecontent and structure, doesn’tfit in with what the researcherscall the ‘do-democracy’.The researchers askedthemselves what conditions arenow essential for success. Thereare three:

1 . The pioneers:In each case, we see one or afew pioneering types who takethe lead and win over otherpeople. “These pioneeringtypes are usually active andentrepreneurial with lots ofstaying power, ” the researcherssaid. The entrepreneurs arespecifically referred to. Someinterviewees report that it isessential that realentrepreneurs are also in thegroup of pioneers, “who have anatural drive".

2. Not alone, but together:“The second key factor is thatthe pioneers don’t so much doit alone, but in particular, do ittogether with others. It soonturns out that besides theinitiators who take the lead,many others also put their

75

weight behind the initiatives,whether or not this happenswithin formal structures. ” saythe researchers. Soon, there isoften a board or committeebut in addition, there are allsorts of work groups. These are‘work driven’ and not ‘structuredriven’. They pick up a job andmobilize people in and aroundit. Once the work has beencompleted, the group usuallysplits up. Or they pick up a newjob.

3. Local action:“Those taking the lead and themany active people whoparticipate, learn to createsupport for their initiatives andactivities. They know how to getsupport within their owncommunity. The story tallies withthe sense of (cultural-historical)identity of the community. " Theydon’t only do this in their owncommunity. They also speak tothe municipal authorities andmanage to get through to thecouncillors without problem. Itis this broad basis in society thatcharacterizes successfulinitiatives.

The issues

Of course there isn’t anythinglike fait accompli with this - itisn’t necessarily easy. Ourcountryside (the towns as well,for that matter) arecharacterized by many 'issues'that can throw a spanner in the

works. The 'personal issues' forexample, of pioneers who getburned out, or conflict withother initiatives. Often there aremen with ‘too muchtestosterone' as I once heard acommunity worker say. Or'issues in the community’, fromold quarrels in the village thatare revived after ten or fortyyears. It can also be about therelationship between the‘incomers’ from the city and theoriginal population.Relationships that could takeyears to become functional.Then there are the "institutionalissues" where an initiative runsup against huge amounts ofbureaucracy. The ploddingbureaucratic mills and theendless stream of forms to fillout, constitute such an issuewhere many initiatives fail.Finally, there are the‘democratic issues' that areabout the representativeness ofthe initiative. The 'doers' of thefirst hour are often not so ‘into’talking and justifyingthemselves. If you want fastresults but don’t justify yourselfto your community, then youmay get into trouble. The saying“alone you go fast, togetheryou go further' speaks volumes.In addition, the democraticnature of the initiative itself isalways of importance. Howoften do you see a group ofmen who love a good businesscase and its implementation,shut out dissidents and doubtersbecause these take up toomuch energy?The researchers make 6recommendations toadministrators, where they

stress that the personalapproach is of paramountimportance:

1 . Be present! That means: bethere at the initiative’smeaningful moments. It alsomeans that you yourself, as anadministrator or officer, shouldbe part of interacting withpeople from the initiatives inorder to understand what’sgoing on.

2. Empathize; immerse yourself!In fact, the issue is both aboutattitude and ability. Showempathy where possible and asadministrator - if feasible - putyourself in agreement with theactive doers.

3 . Employ the subsidiarityprinciple! You could also callthis ‘hands-off management’. Ifresidents or entrepreneurs canarrange it themselves, let themarrange it locally. What peoplewant and can, then let themdo!

4. Give recognition!

5. Provide clarity! Be clearabout what can and can’t bedone and be aware that thereis a difference between theletter of the law and the spirit ofthe law.

6. Be critical but modest! Don’tdamage the energy and keepan appropriate distance.

76

77

Financial Game-changers

Insulating your house properlygenerates money, employmentand comfort. You’ll earn back acavity wall insulation in 2 to 3years. A return of more than33% on your investment! How isit then, that so many homes arepoorly insulated? If you build ahouse nowadays, you can do itpretty well carbon neutrally. Youbuild houses for the future. Andin about 20 or 30 years’ time,there will be widespreadrecognition that carbonneutrality is necessary. Yet westill build most homes in theold-fashioned way and as amajor source of CO2 emissions!

The economy and ouradministrative andorganisational systems are notconstructed as rationally andsmartly as we like to think. This isbased on a number ofunderlying mechanisms.

Passing on costs

For the use of fossil energy, wepay the actual costs, energytaxes and transportation costs.The environmental costs, suchas the long-term effects of achanging climate, hardlytranslate into the current price.That’s for future generations.

And since climate change onlybecomes tangible some 30years after the actual emissionof CO2, it’s really our childrenand grandchildren who will bepaying the bill. We’re borrowingfrom the future. We do thatwhen we look at the workingconditions and environmentalimpact of coal mining forexample. These are indeedacute environmental and socialcosts, but in no way do theytranslate themselves into thecost of that coal. But if wechoose to pass on those costs,then the economy would looksubstantially different. Fossilenergy then becomesexpensive, renewable energybecomes cheaper. Materialsuse then becomes expensive,labour becomes cheaper. Thatis the fundamentalpolitical/economic context inwhich this debate is takingplace. And as long as nothing isdone to this mechanism, ourset of instruments in theeconomy remains limited.

Fortunately not everything worksalong the lines of pureeconomic mechanisms. Wecan for example, consciouslybuy sustainably. Green energy,only using FSC certified wood,not buying products that aremade with child labour,introducing organic catering atthe town hall, pouring fair tradecoffee and tea and sustainably

investing the reserves, is alreadya good start. Joining nationaland international networks(such as FairTrademunicipalities or Covenant ofMayor for a carbon neutralmunicipality) is a logical part ofthis. At the same time, withinthe municipality, you build onthe change of the financialgame.

Multiple value creation

By jointly insulating houses,perhaps even renovating themto being carbon neutral, youaddress many issues at once.Your energy bill goes down,your comfort increases, CO2emissions decrease drastically,employment grows. If you reallydo it together, then you alsomanage to strengthen thecohesion in your community!What is also interesting is thatthe value of your homeincreases as does itsmarketability. The breakingapart of the separate 'silo's'between environment, work,social force, education andeconomy shows that the returnis many times greater thanimagined. Urban agriculture forexample, would not beprofitable from a purelyeconomic perspective. Afterall, the land is relativelyexpensive, while food is beingproduced on a large scale andcheaply. But urban agriculture

Change occurs mainly if it leads to increased returns. Money plays an important role

here. Small financial incentives can have an enormous impact. But also the systems

within which the money transaction takes place are crucial. The moment we are

making money on social and environmental sustainability, we see an accelerated

turnaround. What’s needed for this?

78

serves many more goals:people work there together,while it’s often the food bankthat’s being produced for.Schools become involved sothat children can learn wherefood comes from. Parents canshare their experiences,whereby loneliness decreases.Plus the increased socialcohesion leads to higher safety.

For the authorities, this is notalways an easy story financially.Their budget is drawn up alongvertical lines. The cheap sale orrent of land (landdevelopment/property) thendelivers a return within thesocial domain (education,healthcare, community work)and that of security. But theperson responsible for landdevelopment and property willhave to be very persuasive if,for example, the municipalcouncil has to justify such asale. Yet municipalities do thison a large scale in a number ofpolicy areas. For example, byinvesting in industrial estates sothat more jobs and economicdynamism, (and thus ultimatelymore revenue for themunicipality), are created . Orthrough establishing areas withplants and trees, leading to amore attractive village or townand ultimately to a higher valueof the house, s and a healthierliving and working environment.This approach is not exactlythat new.

Build your business cases

The concept of Total Cost ofOwnership is still only ingrainedin the financial language ofmunicipalities and otherauthorities to a limited extent.That leads for example, to ususing techniques that mightcost little in terms of investmentbut are expensive in operation.The dominance of 'short termthinking' contributes significantly

to this. Limited budgets ofauthorities encouragepoliticians to cut back at the'front' . It’s only after theiradministrative period that thestructural costs becomeapparent. And then alongcomes the next politician, alsofaced with limited resources,only to make the problemworse. A simple example ispublic lighting, which in manyareas is far behind the latesttechnology. The outdatedfixtures and lamp posts cost afortune in terms of electricityand maintenance. Butinvestment in easy-to-maintainand energy efficient LEDlighting is sparsely done.Because although you earnback the investment in time, itdemands a heavy investmentup front. And virtually everyadministrator/politician findsthat a difficult story to sell. As aconsequence, in NW Europemany millions are being wastedin inefficient systems. In order tomake the business case, achange in the financialmanagement system is oftennecessary. Right now, mostauthorities still work with anaccounts system that makes itdifficult, to invest long term andto channel back returns to themunicipal budget, let alone toa joint cooperative account.Apart from that, making thesebusiness cases requires achange of roles. Often it takesexternal bodies to make thebusiness case for change whilstmunicipalities hold back.However this should be seen byboth sides as an opportunity forcollaboration and jointlydeveloped working.

Business cases in a network

The time may come when theauthorities also see social issuesas a collaborative task. Budgetsthat are spent in health care,public greenery, road

maintenance,security or forexample, inenergy, can befully transferred tothe 'market' . You cansee this happening throughoutEurope. What’s missing here islocally ownership, the socialbusiness case and integrationinto multiple value creation.People in health care areworking evermore tightly to theclock. Companies competewith each other with thesharpest prices with low quality,short term labour contracts andconsequently increasinguniformity. Energy companiesoffer customers discounts andgadgets as they compete forfavour but invest in fossil energywhile returns mainly go toshareholders. That can andmust change. But then theauthorities will have torecognize that they have towork with a complex network oflocal, regional and nationalpartners. And that they mustalso operate as a partner inthis. The business case istherefore in the hands of anetwork of stakeholders andthe authorities are director,mediator and quality controllertherein. They set conditions(such as social return oninvestment aimed atstrengthening localemployment), bring the partiestogether and put focus on thecommon interest. And theyensure that the quality, also inthe long term, is assured. Oneof the Rural Alliances forexample, is the LochemCompany for Maintenanceand Management of PublicSpace - an alliance of publicauthorities, business wastecompany, welfare organisation,

7979

80

financing possibilities come intothe picture. Regional ornational authorities areresponding to this by makingrevolving resources availablefor such innovative businesscases. Reserves that otherwiselie unused are now used asrevolving investment funds.Returns from the projects payoff the investment and allow itto be used again!

Cooperative revenue models

The final challengeis whenthese business ventures are putinto a cooperative revenuemodel. For example whenincreasing the sustainability ofthe existing buildings by workingwith energy cooperatives,collaborative builders andinstallers, financiers andknowledge institutes, financialreturns are generated. If a partof that return is now invested inan equally sustainable projectwhich itself generatessurplusesyou then earn moneywithin the system, whichultimately automatically leadsto further strengthening of thecommunity and sustainability; ina development that knows noend. A very simple example ofthis is the return that a smallvillage in the Brecon BeaconsNational Park obtains from ahydropower project. It hasbeen agreed that this return (ofsome tens of thousands ofpounds/year) is reinvested inprojects which themselvesagain also have a sustainablereturn (e. g. electric carsharing). And the return fromthere will thus be reinvestedagain in sustainability - with areturn. However, this will onlywork if the revenues areinvested in sustainable,cooperative AND profitableschemes. A municipality thatincorporates such returns in theannual budget, ends updestroying the initiative as the

funds disappearand are notavailable forfutureinvestment.Another condition isthat entrepreneurs arerepeatedly placed in a positionto cooperate with theseinitiatives.The results of this process aresocially, economically andenvironmentally powerful. Iffully based in local democracy,they constitute a significantmodel for genuine and longterm sustainable development.

recycling business and theregional social services. Thislocal authority-dominatedbusiness gets the long-termresponsibility for neighbourhoodmanagement andmaintenance of greenery androads in public spaces.Design, construction,maintenance and finance

Business-led approachesinvolving public-private-community driven partnershipscan bring about major changein society. That can workextremely well in a 'socialbusiness case’ where themunicipality (from its role as ademocratic quality controllerand assessor of objectives)continues to determine thedirection. The energy policycan be transferred in part toparties that are betterequipped for that purpose,given their scale andexperience. Public Lighting canbe taken care of extremely wellby specialized parties, who areengaged in this business on alarge scale. Through increasesin scale, the tender for newfixtures will be cheaper, whilemaintenance and energy costsdecrease owing to newtechniques. The authorities thenpay off the investment fromthat return. In the buildingindustry we also see theseconstructions: design,construction, maintenance andfinance in the hands of aconsortium in which theauthorities actively participate.This way authorities can alsomodernize the energy sector.For example, by means of thelocal cooperative energyassociation and cooperatingcontractors and installers,knowledge institutes and anumber of strong nationalplayers taking thesustainabilization of existingbuildings in hand. By joiningforces and up-scaling, new

81

I spent many long days workingin the dynamic landscape ofour coast. As a youngecologist, I did research intothe changing complexity ofecosystems in their successionto complexity. The beach plainson the coast provided superbmaterial. Young mounds ofgrass, moss and debris washedashore were the first refuge forspiders, woodlice and now andagain, a beetle. Two hundredmetres further on, the moundswere a bit older. A first bush,some herbaceous plants andhumus provided room tovarious beetles, a dozenspecies of spider, and somebutterfly caterpillars. A web ofdependence formed. Adevelopment that you couldobserve in profusion on oldmounds just a bit further up.Each spot had its own micro-climate with dozens,sometimes over a hundredorganisms, visible to the nakedeye. They offered a hidingplace for rabbits andsometimes birds sat nesting ontheir eggs there. This was aperiod of research that gavekeen insights into leadershipissues.

Simple and uniform systems arecharacterized by a hierarchyand often by violence. In thatworld of the 'survival of the

Leadership for change

In her award-winning management book ‘Zakendoen in de Nieuwe Economie’

(2014) or ‘Doing Business in the New Economy, ’ Marga Hoek distinguishes three

forms of leadership: transactional, transformational and circular leadership. In the

New Economy, a fundamentally different leadership is needed than in the old. A

description of this provides an interesting insight into the new forms of governance that

will dominate the coming years. Much of this article is based on her book.

fittest’, it’s the strong force ofthe predator that dominates.Often the power of numberscounts. These systems have apaucity of species and aremonocultural in character. Theyfit best with the 'old leadership',also known as "transactionalleadership”. Transactionsdominate the business model.The ‘turnover' determines thesuccess and employees arerewarded through an increasein salary or a company car.Failure is often unequivocal:you don’t contribute to theturnover, so before you know it,you’re sent into the desert, thesand plain. It’s eat or be eatenand external factors dominate.

In the New Economy, other skillsare demanded. Survival of the‘fitting’ comes closer. But thenyou have to understand what’s'appropriate’. Returns aremeasured by the broadecological, social and financialcontext of the organisation.Reward systems also becomemore complex. In addition tothe financial incentive, moreroom is now created in order todesign the work oneself. Bymanaging and arranging one’stime, taking projectresponsibility, startingexperiments. Hence newleaders are often defined astransformational leaders. Theyappeal to the intrinsicmotivation of employees. Inaddition to the financialreward, they also steer theprocess leading to that reward.

A transformational leaderappeals to norms, values andabilities of employees.

Decision-making power

In the transactional structuresit’s the hierarchy thatdominates. Withtransformational leadership,the power of decision alsobecomes decentralised. AsMarga Hoek states: "a leader inthe New Economy enablesothers to take the lead andoperate first in a serving andthen again in a leading role. "

Six characteristics of the NewEconomy

1 . In the New Economy, the‘customer’ is a permanentclient. Transactions arereplaced by long termrelationships. We see that in ourRural Alliances, where serviceslike the electric share-car arechanging the world of the userfor the long term. You are notbuying a car but hiring accessto mobility. And the party thatbrings about this service alwaysremains with you. Also, youdon’t simply buy ‘energy’ froman energy cooperative. You’rea member, with voting rights.You’re invited to take part indiscussions and shape policy.Before you know it, you’re avolunteer and leader.

2. Business cases are no longerabout the proprietaryorganisation (I sell a product,

82

how much do I earn from it),but about the total of thebusiness case (how do I involveeveryone who derives and addsvalue in this business?) Now thequestion becomes: with whichparties am I able to createvalue? By definition, RuralAlliances are built around thismultiple value creation. Forexample, the experiment inBrittany, to combine passengertransportation withtransportation of packages. Itties in with a transition(dominance of Internetpurchases) and adds value tothis (taking people out ofisolation).

3 . The value cycle is central tothe use of raw materials. Rawmaterials remain available andthus the linear business casechanges into a complexcircular creation of value. That’sone tough challenge in ourlinearly shaped society. Whatwould the world look like if wedidn’t produce waste butlooked at all the materials as araw materials bank? It requiresinnovation and a newrelationship between producersand consumers. After all, theproduct contains raw materialsthat should come available in asmart way when the time isright. The rise of renewableenergy perhaps has the biggestimpact on this aspect of theNew Economy. We also see it inthe re-use of materials. Wastestreams are now becomingrecycling streams and thereby

creating meaningful work andso contributing towards socialand community self-reliance(as in the case of a repaircafé).

4. Scale gets a very differentmeaning in the New Economy.For example, in thedevelopment of decentralisedenergy, we see a full mergerbetween large and small scaletechnology on an economicbasis. The solar panel,produced in very large scaleproduction systems, reinforceslocal autonomy at the microlevel. That autonomy is againfacilitated by large scaleenergy production (in times oftransition) that produceselectricity when the sun isn’tshining and the wind notblowing. And here too, it’sabout an evolutionary process,wherein decentralisation isincreasingly going to dominate.Not at the expense of ‘centralorganisation’, but with its help!Centralised and decentralisedare increasingly becomingcomplementary domains thatreciprocally exchange services.

5. Innovation is becomingcollective. The enormous 'opensource platforms' clearlydemonstrate that. All majorcompanies are linked toinnovative networks of smalland astute entrepreneurs andresearchers. By taking up anentrepreneurial way ofcollaborating with innovativeparties, suppliers, users and

even competitors,entrepreneurs increase theirfinancial clout; they extendknowledge and thus enlargethe efficiency and feasibility ofinnovative activities.

6. Financing is about enablinga common goal. The keyquestion is no longer "what canbe earned with thistransaction?" The new thinking is"what can we also makepossible with this funding?" Weare looking more and more to‘slow’ business cases. Earningfast leads to high transactioncosts and interest rates. Bysharing the risk with those whoadd and use value, e. g. viacrowdfunding, lower costs arepossible. Borrowed capitalbecomes limited. There isgrowing focus on howstakeholders themselves cancontribute value.

8383

84

Six characteristics of newleaders

Marga Hoek typifies the newleadership as follows: “Guidingan optimal integration ofentrepreneurial objectives andin the rapidly changingeconomic playing field, inorder to maximize valuecreation for the benefit ofecological, social and financialassets. " A similar newleadership applies foradministrators of authorities.The ecological, social andeconomic values are thereforecentral to a sustainable world.New business models need tosafeguard this and cooperationbetween parties (such asentrepreneurs, authorities, civilsociety organisations, researchinstitutes) forms the foundationfor this. It is in that playing fieldwhere the new leaders are tobe found.

1 . Communicative andconnecting:

Collaboration is the foundation.Leaders in the New Economyare pre-eminently connectors.Rural Alliances alsodemonstrate how importantthat connection is. Leaders ofthe New Economy are able toenter into relationships asplayers in a network. Thedynamism is huge and thereare other competenciesrequired.

2. Curious about collaboration:

We are well aware of the factthat collaboration is importantbut curiosity really adds anelement. Administrators andCEOs in the old economy arestill only curious about their ownorganisation or company. Theylook after a shop in which theone-dimensional gamedominates. But the NewEconomy requires substantial

interest in the outside world.The question “What does theworld need?” may be posed.How does your organisation orbusiness relate to that question?And you then discover thatinnovation can take place in anopen relationship with smalland large partners.

3 . The long term:

Unilever’s CEO, Paul Polman,said: "leaders think about theirlegacy”. The sustainablerelationship with end users iskey. Identity and relationshipthus become dominant andlocal parties in particular, havea pretty good lead there. Wesee here the importance ofpatience: quick returns aretempting but seldomsustainable. Building trust,public support andparticipation all require timeand patience.

4. Transparent and authentic:

These are values that arecrucial both within and outwiththe organisation. Leaders of theNew Economy 'stand' for thevalues they represent, even intheir own behaviour andmotives. That is visible. Theleader in the New Economy is asource of inspiration, able tomotivate, stimulate andactivate. Ethical to the bone.Because there is also opennessand hence vulnerability. Thesame applies to organisationand business. The authorities,business community and socialorganisation providetransparency through easilyreadable reports and openinformation about the entirevalue cycle.

5. Locally and globallyconnected:

“The mobile and digitalrevolution sets virtually no limits

on internationalentrepreneurship. Theglobalization ofknowledge bringsthe forefront ofinnovation to the door, ” saysMarga Hoek. That means thatleaders in the New Economyshould be able to think both bigand small. In addition, a leadermust also think ‘collectively’; theworld is behaving increasinglyas a collective organism, nolonger confined to separatecompanies, markets orcountries.

6. Facilitating for innovation:

' Innovation' is not somethingyou can just buy. It is part ofyour own genes and thenetwork to which you belong.Previously (just think ofMicrosoft) innovation was justpurchased and added to theproprietary R&D department.Now you are seeing thatinnovation is part of a culture oforganisational developmentboth horizontally and verticallywithin all departments. We willalso be seeing that innovationspace needs to be providedamongst a network ofstakeholders who can openlyexchange new concepts andnew approaches to traditionalproblems.

85

Enjoy your conflicts!

Conflicts become creative through mediation

Unfortunately we avoid conflicts. We talk politely about something else and quickly

look for common language. But conflicts are rather interesting! Transition and

governance are largely about change of positions, power and interests. This process

cannot be without conflict. With the support of mediation we give positive value to it.

We’re sitting in the ‘living room’of a community centre of avillage where a large project isplanned. The local river is tobe restored to its old course.More than fifty years ago andwith great difficulty, it wasstraightened out to helpfarmers who wanted to get ridof the water from the area asquickly as possible. They’d hadenough of flooding. But now,with all the concerns aboutbiodiversity and climatechange, millions are beingspent on re-establishing thesewide meandering rivers butwith modern flood protection.The village is situated in middleof the area where the project isbeing implemented. A localaction group came into beingthat stopped all consultationswith the Water Board on thisproject a few years ago. I wasgiven the challenge, asrepresentative of themunicipality, of putting thisprocess smoothly back ontrack. It’s not for nothing thatwe’re sitting in the village’s livingroom. A quiet, familiarenvironment. Coffee, tea,

biscuits . . . comfortable chairs.The key interest groups arerepresented. I'm here as theneutral negotiator with the taskof bringing together the partiesin this conflict. There areadministrators from the villagecouncil, the history society, thenature association, the localswimming pool (along whichthe river runs nearby), thecountry estate (which has toexchange a lot of land), thefarmers and the Water Board.In my role as mediator, I sitdown and say: “I don’t knowwhether this project should orshould not continue. Frankly,that's not up to me to decide.You are all the parties involved.You want to reach a solutiontogether. I’m a neutralfacilitator. ” The participants inthe discussion look somewhatsceptical. This conflict haslasted more than 10 years.There’s a lot at stake. It’s aproject involving millions. “Shallwe start off by listing all yourinterests?” I ask. In a complexexchange, the subjects comeup for discussion. The farmers’interests lie in obtaining goodland, accessible pastures and astable water level. The culturaland historical association isconcerned about the buildingplans for a "stately manor

house" on the country estate."That house must not interferewith the historical fabric of thelandscape. " The swimming poolassociation wants room to bemade for more recreation andtourism. “The meandering ofthe river is a great opportunity,so we have to be listened to!”

All the interests are put up onflip-charts and hung on thewall. “Are we agreed that if wecater to all interests, this can bea good project?” I ask. It’s quietfor a moment. A number ofparties in the room had nevercommented positively aboutthis project. “Yes”, says therepresentative from culturaland historical association. “But”,and he points his finger towardsthe chairman of the countryestate, “then they must take ourdemands into account. Thechairman sips his coffee andleans back comfortably in hischair. "Obviously, if thesedemands are reasonable, thenwe’ll do that. " And so the roundcontinues. Half an hour later wehave a positive result. We agreeon a follow-up in order toproperly set down on paperwhat conditions the projectmust meet. And also for thepurpose of involving someparties who were absent from

86

the discussion. A few weekslater, the leader of the project,the Water Board, was able toget going. There will be anadministrative group thatregularly consults with allstakeholders. There’s also aterritorial process for thefarmers, for the purpose ofensuring the best deal, so thatthe farmers get good land. TheWater Board guarantees thatfloods will occur very rarely. In afew hours, more than 10 yearsof conflict have beentransformed into a respectablecollaboration. Two years later,after everything has beenworked out in detail, smallerconflicts have been resolvedand the municipal council isconvinced, the project getunder way. Dozens of lorriesand cranes are ready. Allstakeholder representativesreceive boots and a shovel.Together they dig out the firstturf sod, laughing and happy. Asymbol of cooperation resultingin an invigorated nature,intensified agriculture, moretourism and recreation and agood place for the countryhouse!

What we’re describing here is aform of ‘Alternative DisputeResolution (ADR)’. ADR is a real‘movement’ with manythousands of groups all over theworld. Within ADR, mediation isone of the most importantmethods. Mediation is 'afacilitative process in whichdisputing parties engage the

assistance of an impartialmediator, who has no authorityto make any decisions forthem, but who uses certainprocedures, techniques andskills to help them to resolvetheir dispute throughnegotiated agreement withoutadjudication. ” Mediation has anumber of crucial features. Theprocess is confidential. Ithappens behind closed doors.What happens there is on avoluntary basis. And themediator is neutral andbehaves as such.

A great deal of mediation takesplace in a legal context. Forexample, it can replace ajudicial procedure. More andmore frequently, the judge in aconflict will ask whether anattempt at mediation hasalready been made. If not, thejudge will often first point to thisprocedure as an obligationbecause in the vast majority ofcases, the parties jointly comeout better than if a judge has toadjudicate. You also see it inthe social context. Forexample, if such a conflictarises in a team where teambuilding or coaching doesn’tsufficiently help, then mediationmay be an alternative.

The mediation process isstructured and methodicallybuilt up. There are severalphases: intake, exploration,negotiation and completion.The mediator is a trained andcertified expert who

consciously and methodicallyruns through the steps and hasa wide range of techniques athis disposal. The essence ofwhat the mediator is trying toachieve is perhaps bestdefined as behaviouralchange. Parties in conflictliterally stand facing eachother. Arms folded acrosschest, the focus on infinity, themouth drawn tight. Often theyno longer ‘listen’ to each other.They are little interested in otherpeople’s concerns. Thus newbehaviour is important. It canbe surprisingly simple. It mayinclude exploring togetherwhat behaviour is necessary toresolve a conflict. The majorityknow that though. Listening,reciprocity, openness,questioning each other, areimportant conditions. Themediator must create theconditions. In the aboveexample, the vulnerable partiesin the village ‘living room’, (thevillage council, farmers,historical society), were giventhe opportunity to enter into thediscussion in their own home(the village hall). There waspeace and a warmenvironment. And they listened.The results, as well as themethodology were sharedopenly. And when the ‘armsfolded across the chest’, thebody language showed thatsomething had gone wrong. At

87

that point the mediatorintervened,by simply observingthat a defensive posture hadbeen adopted and then byasking for the cause.

Different flows

Mediation is a mature form ofconflict management. Thisincludes variousmethodological flows. Thedominant flow is the'troubleshooting methodology',in the course of which themediator himself focuses onthe process in particular andless on the contents of thenegotiations. That does notmean that ‘content’ doesn’tplay a role but the mediator forexample, puts equivalence inprocess and knowledge first,and tries to bring content into ashared or objectified context. Invery many cases it’s a veryfunctional form of conflictmanagement. For example, inthe case of the dissolution of amarriage or employmentrelationship. But the examplementioned of the riverrestoration also involvedproblem solving: interests weremade clear and participantswere encouraged to come upwith solutions that cater tomany interests as possible.There are two other

methodologies that are oftenof great importance for RuralAlliances. This is where complexgroup processes deal withsocial changes.Transformative mediationassumes that parties to aconflict come from differentpositions and (alleged) rights.Focus is then on improving thequality of their interaction andmutual communication. Theunderlying idea is that theproblem solving methodologyactually conceals underlyingconflicts. In the case of themeandering river that was alsotrue: the power of residentsincreased temporarily throughthe setting chosen and themethodology. Early agreementcame about quickly by steeringtowards communal interests.But the cause behind theconflict, such as mistrust andfundamental disagreementabout power relations, was notdiscussed. In transformativemediation this does happen.'Empowerment' and'recognition' play an importantrole here. For Rural Alliancesthat may be essential. Forinstance, because from theircurrent role, the authorities arenot willing to grant the ‘localinitiative’ the power andstrength it needs to grow andprosper. Transformativemediation lays this bare andhelps in building up newrelationships. That demandsvery specific interventions. Themediator will occupy himselfmuch less with content, but

rather will focus on how theparties want to deal with thatcontent and how they relate toeach other. The process ismuch slower but goes fardeeper.

Narrative mediation is anentirely different methodologythat assumes that it is good tolet go of the stories that buildthe conflict (and are oftenlinked to power anddomination, or evenimpotence and suppression)and as conflicting parties, tocreate a new story together. Inthe instance of the river, themediator would for example,be able to put the disputedmatters behind (after severalsessions with individual partiesto the conflict) by agreeing thata new story is made around thefuture of the river, the area andits inhabitants. In that process,there’s recognition of theemotions and interests of theparties involved. The mediatorregularly steps away from theneutral role and directs thediscussion to get thealternatives into view. So thatfor example, the mediatorprevents the conflict beingresolved in the direction of thedominant power with (weaker)parties involved having to‘make the best of a bad job’. Inshort, the mediator ensures thatthe parties can set to work witheach other in a mature wayand on an equal footing. In thissense, narrative mediation linkswell with social constructionism.

88

Social constructionism assumesthat (groups of) people see thereality from their particularinterpretation or knowledge. Inshort, the reality of a farmer inan area that has long knownfloods and poverty is verydifferent from that of the city-based chairman who exerciseshis executive duties overhundreds of acres of countryestate. Narrative mediationprovides a bridge betweenthose realities and, in thatsense, perhaps connects bestwith the conflicts that we oftenhave in our society in transition.Narrative mediation (just liketransformative) also usuallytakes more time than problemsolving. But may, throughmutual understanding of rolesand methods, structurally endin new forms of cooperationand thus have structuralinfluence.

Mediation as a field ofknowledge

Mediation is a mature field ofknowledge. For eachapplication there are extensivemethods, training courses andcertification programmes. Yetmediation is only applied to alimited extent in the field thatwe’re talking about here:Governance for the CommonGood. Mediation methodologyshould be a permanentinstrument of any authority. It isdesirable, if not essential, inorder to accelerate thetransition and implement it in

proper stages. Given their tasksand resources, the authoritieshave the best position to usemediation but that does notmean that other parties , suchas farmers' organisations,entrepreneurs in the leisureeconomy or cooperativeenergy associations cannot getinvolved. They too can usemediation and invite theauthorities to participate.

89

Away from the 'comfort zone'

Governance is a neutral term. An organisation, large or small, needs structure, objectives, missionand organisation. There are structures that should be regulated e. g. power, decision-making, andaccountability. That’s good. But there’s a problem at the same time. Because before you know ityou’re building an institution that maintains itself. Not for a mission and an objective but because it“exists" and reproduces itself.

‘Governance for the Common Good’ is a term that grows from the feeling that this process doesnot always produce the best outcomes. The dilemmas faced by our society demand critical self-reflection. How can we find the road to governance for the common good if we keep the sameinstitutions that have led us so deeply into trouble?

Einstein said: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we createdthose problems. ” A governance structure that ensures that the institutions renew themselves has yetto be invented. Fortunately the ‘whistle-blower’ is becoming increasingly better protected. The manor woman who exposes serious errors from within the institution, challenges the power. He or shemakes sure that the comfort zone of the power is restricted to the boundaries of integrity. Andfortunately, next to 'power' there is 'countervailing power' . Often small, not highly organized andwithout the necessary resources, but often very effective in holding institutions to account.

Stronger than that are the developments that structurally challenge existing ways of doing things.Cooperative energy associations that construct an alternative for the established energy giants.Regional products that add value to local economy and landscape. Care cooperatives that tacklethe upscaling of care. Locally organised electric share-cars that reduce the isolation of rural areasand improve the environment. Supported by technological development such as the increasinglylower price of solar and wind energy, storage systems, the 3D printer and widely accessibleInternet, these are disruptive to the dominant institutional framework, challenging it to change takeon new ways of working and to make change happen.

Today’s forward looking institutions appreciate these disruptive forces. They facilitate them, protectthem in their early development, financing the innovation that comes from them and listen to thenew insights they offer. Resulting in the dominant power structures stepping out of their comfortzone to renew themselves. To serve the common good. That too, is part of governance.

Thijs de la Court

column