It’s Time to Revisit “Crisis As Catalyst”
Last year, in the middle of multiple crises, we partnered with CSR Communications to launch a resource to help funders guide a conversation about how a crisis can be a catalyst for civic reimagination.
Crisis as Catalyst was downloaded by funders, practitioners, and thought leaders — all eager to ask questions like: What could crisis response look like in this moment? What happens when the moment fades but the needs remain? How do we strive to balance the urgency that response requires with the thoughtfulness, pragmatism, and sustained energy that recovery necessitates? How do we invest in resilience, not just survival?
For many of us, this year has felt like a slow return to “normal” or “pre-2020” life. We have been hearing from many people in our networks that they are concerned the world is trying to return to an old reality that perhaps does not exist and/or may not serve us anymore (if it ever did). Many of the same questions are being raised again.
We know that civic engagement is often highest in times of crisis; it is a natural human response to help in times of need, and that’s a good thing. But we have an opportunity to learn from that and elongate our civic response into a civic reimagination process. What can we learn from our past that might spark a new way forward for us now? Over the last few weeks, PACE and CSR partnered with the Do Good Institute at University of Maryland to see what lessons from the past we might glean from our short-term and long-term response to crises.
We invite you to read the lessons from history, sit with the questions for today, and lean on Crisis as Catalyst as a tool. After all, this was the moment it was made for.
