So much thought provoking commentary, yet again. Thank you.
I would offer that we need to apply permaculture design methodology to any national organisation. What does their site analysis look like? Are there zones to their structure based on energy input and return? When we consider orders of magnitude, what is it that happens at a local level that works and how does this translate to a national level? Have we adopted, by default, the historical hierarchy or have we modelled the organisation on natural systems (like fungal networks or forests) and if the former is the case, what does transition to the latter look like? Do we have clearly stated goals and what kind of work have we put into establishing the culture of the organisation? What are the yields for those involved and are they sufficient for the energy they invest? I’m sure you get my drift here. I love to apply permaculture design to organisations. The results are as transformative as applying it to degraded or eroded parts of the planet.
There are models for national organisations that continue to grow. Get Up, Change.org and other project based models tap into the generational desire for some kind of tangible, action-based activity while still nesting those projects within a national framework. What can we learn from these? Are there opportunities for motivated people to generate their own projects or does everything have to be ‘approved’ by a governing body (and if so, why?).
There is also an integrated pest management issue; how are the public forums hosted by the organisation managed? What is done regarding inappropriate content and comments? (I’m not on there much these days because I got a bit sick of advising people that things like glyphosate use and buying big metal garden beds are about as far from permaculture as you can get without actually laying down concrete!). What is the role of the online forum and why would members participate?
