Catalysing Integral Transformation: A Local-Global Movement for the Integral Renewal of People and Planet

Innovation

How We Know: Regenerating Knowledge

Catalysing integral transformation requires the continuous regeneration of knowledge. We understand social knowledge as a “living phenomenon”; and in order to be relevant to the ever-changing social realities and burning issues humanity is confronted with, it has to be continuously renewed. This, however, needs to take place in locally relevant ways, contributing to and building on the particular nature and culture of each context, while at the same time being in resonance with society as a whole and with the world. This is for us another crucial facet of being “integral”. Our Integral Worlds theory and our growing body of integral knowledge, developed by the Trans4m movement, is trying to respond to this challenge – and is introduced in this section on Innovation.

Many of today’s solutions for the burning issues of our time do not work, or do not show results on a long-term basis. In our view, in most cases, they are not sufficiently underpinned by culturally and societally authentic forms of learning and knowledge creation; often, they are not grounded in local context, not owned by local people, nor is local and global knowledge purposefully interconnected. Usually, they ignore cultural particularities. 

In the transformative work we catalyse around the world, we always emphasise locally lead and owned knowledge creation processes. Based on our work on Integral Research and Innovation, these processes employ research paths that are befitted to the personalities of the researcher-innovators and to the cultural context in which they operate. In addition, we design such social innovation processes in a way, that the local knowledge grounds are suitably activated, so that new knowledge can build on and link back to the indigenous knowledge roots of a particular place and society, be it in Zimbabwe or in England, be it in Sri Lanka or in Brazil. 

Following these principles, the Tran4m community has built up an extensive body of local-global integral knowledge, always including applied integral practice, that is altogether presented here in overview form.

Your are invited to explore our:

  • Integral Worlds Theory, featuring samples of key integral theories, forming altogether part of our Integral Worlds approach
  • Integral Innovations: where we illustrate with examples from all continents how we put Integral Worlds theory into transformative practice
  • Transformation and Innovation Book Series, by Routledge (Gower), with by now, 18 volumes representing Africa, Asia, Middle East, Europe and America
  • Integral Green Society and Economy Book Series, by Routledge (Gower), where we demonstrate with two societies (Zimbabwe and Slovenia) how we work on a societal level
  • Integral Library: where we share stand alone book volumes, journal articles and, in time, a “resource library” with book summaries with cutting edge thinkers representing all worlds – that are relevant to the local-global integral knowledge field