Living Web

Living Web - Free thriving resilient Groups

 LivingWeb

Basic Premises

  • We keep our sanity when we are in connection with others who share some basic premises while offering helpful resonance.
  • In times of crisis groups can turn into spaces where people offer and experience help, in manifold ways. When markets and the state may no longer work for us, when family and neighborhood are somehow not available, these groups emerge as spaces we get needed support.
  • Many groups are working wonderfully well over many years. Some groups falter when the founding person no longer holds the threads together or when tensions shop up.
  • Other groups cannot unfold their solidarity potential because communication is centralized.
  • Some groups run into walls when it becomes apparent that they do not “belong to themselves”, but that an organization or a person “owns” them.
  • Other groups have many regulations that take energy away from the original purpose of the group. 

 

The Idea of a Living Web

  • Enabling a basic set of rules that enableparticipative decision making without paralysis,
  • sharing the burden of holding the group
  • direct communication when needed,a resilient governance that is as simple as possible and that can be adapted to fit the needs of the purpose and the members
  • support from other groups when needed. 

 

For whom?

  1. Existing groups with the wish to exchange with others, to get support, to find more participatory self-organizing ways to organize etc.
  2. People who want to set up a group in a new way.

global / regional / local

  • Maybe the members are virtually connected across the globe, with “life” happening digitally
  • maybe they are regionally connected and meet again and again,
  • and maybe the group is connected locally and digital communication is just for coordination while “life” happens when people meet in person. 

 

4 Types of Groups

  1. Being Together: Sharing time and stories.
  2. Learning Together: Building knowledge and capacity.
  3. Growing Together: Enabling personal development.
  4. Impacting Together: Supporting societal development. 

 

How it works: The 3 Rs

  • Roles: Each group has a set of roles designed to enable purpose, coherence, and smooth functioning. This way the burden is shared and the group is resilient. Avoid that one person holds many roles for long.
    • Steward (in the first phase) resp. the Host after that, who enables purpose and coherence, steers the unit, and connects with other stewards/hosts.
    • Facilitator: Enables purposeful meetings.
    • Information Manager: Ensures information flows effectively.
    • Top Link: Represents the group in the hub
    • Governance Caretaker: Ensures processes are respected – whatever the group defined
    • Onboarding: Enables new members to orient and become part of the “We.”
  • Rhythms
    • In the first year the Steward holds more responsibility and decision power, until the group takes shape; after that the roles morphs into a “Host” role.
    • yearly cycles: Have one Update Meeting each year to update purpose, processes and roles.
  • Relations
    • Enabling connections within the group: Choose a messenger app that works for all;we recommend non-commercial apps like Signal, Telegram or Element; but maybe you want to go for paid services (Threema?) or free commercial ones (Facebook Messenger, Wapp, Pumble, Discord, Hylo, Slack, MS Teams, …)
    • Enabling mutual exchange and support with other groups: The role Top Link connects with others groups via a “hub”; Here your group can exchange experiences and gets support if needed. 

Limits

The Living Web works well for groups with small groups. If you are a group with property, employed people, complex legal structures you need other forms of resilience structures. Get in contact if you have ideas how we could establish something like the Living Web for organizations! 

 

More Information

  • How to connect with a hub?
  • Are there templates for Update Meetings?
  • How do hubs work? How are they connected?
  • Pls connect with Bernhard Possert Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein. to give feedback and to co-create. 

 

 


older material: 

Documents:
Living Web Introduction: https://leo.it.tab.digital/s/r7tNPpnK78C2W2Y 
Living Web Einführung: https://leo.it.tab.digital/s/K4w4FeWWq2cQd6x  

Forms and results:
(all results can be commented - pls use this right with care; for recommendations pls use the designated form)


Hub 0
Hub 0 is a Hub that is always accepting cells that do not find another Hub; it is not a Hub to stay until the cell finds a better hub fitting to their needs.

 

Inspiring Resources:

 

To be developed:

  • Templates for Living Web Map – Cell and Hub
  • Examples of Living Web Maps – especially Essence