A Unique Moment of Potential
#1
Multiple Crises
Huge disruptions are occurring in traditional social and economic systems with the Covid-19 pandemic in particular, and the broader crises of environment, social equity and governance.
The disruptions significantly weaken the traditional economic system and support for it. Also, for the first time, people all over the world are sharing an experience of extreme vulnerability and an interest in their nation's response.
More and more people are searching for status quo alternatives.
#2
Emergence of Next Economies
New economics and next economies are at the development stage where they have the potential to become mainstream.
Tomorrow’s “next economies” are represented by a range of labels, including circular, flourishing, regenerative, restoration, ecological, common good, doughnut economics, décroissance / degrowth, wellbeing economy, strongly sustainable, Buen Vivir, and thrivability.
Their adherents are expanding to cities like Amsterdam with “doughnut economics”, countries like Slovenia with circular economies, and Costa Rica as well as New Zealand with regenerative approaches. With strategic support, next economies can move into the mainstream.
#3
Transformational Capacity
Knowledge about, and tools for, transitions and transformations have greatly expanded over the past two decades.
The barriers of complexity, scale and time horizons are being addressed with development of pathways based on new design and implementation approaches.
Next economies are at a particularly challenging and potent stage. An array of new economics and next economies movements has been growing largely under the mainstream’s radar since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis.
At that time, speaking of economic alternatives quickly turned to stultifying 19th- century concepts of socialism, capitalism, and communism. In the short span of a dozen years, economic alternatives exploded into an array of initiatives.
These next economies approaches are at their ‘chasm’ moment of transformation in terms of the innovation adoption curve. The visionary, often charismatic Innovators and Early Adopters are driven by a passion for innovative models and ideas, but are often idiosyncratic in their language and recommendations for change. Their language, framing and the highly innovative nature of their models are barriers to gaining support from the Early Majority.
We are connecting the Innovators and aiming at reaching the Early Majority comprising of pragmatists. They realize that change is essential and are willing to be market leaders – support the innovation before widespread adoption – but they must have a clearly spelled out rationale, pathways, and supportive infrastructure.
Adoption of any social or economic innovation by the Early Majority is critical to scaling any meaningful change, as it represents a fundamental shift in the “center of gravity” in any system. The Early Majority, however, needs to see and experience any innovation without going into theoretical details and be convinced of its feasibility before being willing to adopt and endorse it. This group wants to simply drive the car, rather than understanding the details about what is under the hood.
Collectively, and when aligned, next economies initiatives can co-create “proof pathways” and infrastructure. These can engage the many potential Early Majority actors in adopting the most promising next economy innovations—and with their support, eventually bring the entire system along.
This engagement necessitates innovative behaviors, strategies, relationships, products, and structures to ‘cross the chasm’. The adoption of such innovations necessitates deep learning that is core to Bounce Beyond’s work of experimenting with co-creation of coherent action across approaches to next economies besides scaling their infrastructure.
This new infrastructure is already emerging, but its successful development necessitates scaling, dealing with complexity, and overcoming established opposition. Infrastructure must be connected to articulated pathways to next economies with scale in capacity and shared language in order to take on the traditional economic system and attract the Early Majority.
This development is the focus of Bounce Beyond.
