Back in 2007 when we created the first plan for the nascent stages of Creating the Future, one of the goals of that plan was this:

• Use demonstration projects to prove that visionary change is both possible and practical.

During the term of that plan, we kept an eye out for demonstration projects that could provide evidence of the results that happen when work is rooted in The Pollyanna Principles. The more we sought such projects, though, the more it became clear that most logical first demonstration project would be the development of Creating the Future itself.

As we build both the infrastructure and the programs at Creating the Future, the Demonstration Project will therefore have us asking:

If every bit of our work is done in alignment with The Pollyanna Principles, what would that look like? If we are to walk the talk of our values, and those values include trusting the wisdom of those affected by all our decisions, what would it look like if everyone affected by our work added their wisdom to what we were building?

The answer is rooted in transparent engagement - modeling what it looks like to be as open and inclusive as possible in all the decisions that most people make behind closed doors.

How do we ensure our vision and values are infused into every action and decision, large and small, this new organization will make?

If one of the prerequisites to attaining our vision of a healthy, vibrant, humane community is that people are more connected (assuming that organizations are simply groups of people), and if one of the prerequisites to great connections is trust, and if one of the pre-requisites to trust is openness and authenticity...

...then what would that openness and authenticity look like in action? If our organization were being open and authentic in its work, what would that mean we would do? How would it work?

That led to even more questions.

What does it mean to build open, transparent, engaged governance?

To recruit transparently?

To make "branding" decisions publicly?

To build bylaws by engaging the wisdom of others?

To do all aspects of fundraising and business development openly, for all to see?

To make choices and operate by engaging transparently?

To develop partnerships and form collaborations in full view of the world?

Over the next several years, we will be exploring all our organizational options, decisions and actions openly, on the blog and in social media and wherever else makes sense to do so.

Being our own demonstration project infuses every action we take, no matter how seemingly “internal” or “non-mission” with the knowledge that those actions indeed have consequences for our mission and our vision. In reality, that is already true for each and every organization in each and every community. We are just vowing to consciously and mindfully remind ourselves that to be as effective as possible in creating healthy, vibrant, humane, cooperative communities, we need to do our work in ways that would make it perfectly fine if everyone in the whole world were watching. Because they are.

The bottom line for any demonstration project is that it serve as a learning tool - a case study for others. What we are learning already is that when the subject of the case study is "operating transparently," we all learn together about both the transparent approach to a decision as well as learning about the content of that decision!

As a result, in the first year of this transparency effort, the project has served as an open learning environment about fundraising, branding, board development and program development.

We will continue to share all we are learning from this effort, as it appears this will be less a "project" and more an "ongoing way of being" here at Creating the Future. And if that helps model for others how they, too, can aim every bit of their work at the difference they want to make in the world, it will be well worth the effort.

Follow to see how this experiment unfolds Walking the Talk Blog