Identifying Key Contributors

The success of an ALJ depends on the right mix of people who bring cross-sectoral expertise, systems thinking, and a commitment to working beyond the status quo. Ideally, contributors should:

• Work across multiple levels of the system (from grassroots organizing to institutional change).
• Bring diverse capacities (e.g., arts, technology, community organizing, health, finance, governance).
• Operate at or beyond conventional boundaries (experimenting with new models of collaboration, policy, and action).
• Thrive in constraint-driven environments (bootstrapping, self-organizing, and adapting in real time).
• Be keen for a highly-emergent environment, welcoming of uncertainty and able to open themselves up to navigating complexity as an unavoidable condition of working on activating living systems potential

Our work is about transitioning from is to what could be and back again to make it a reality. The Three-Horizons framework  is a useful reference. Being determined to push the boundaries and experiment out beyond norms is a great quality to bring into organising an ALJ.

Making the Call: Launching the ALJ Invitation

The hub team initiates the process by:

• Posting an event page or invitation that clearly communicates:
  • The purpose and vision of the ALJ.
  • The key themes and challenges it will explore.
  • The stakeholders and participants being aligned to co-create the experience.
  • The open call for facilitators, contributors, and key roles.
• Ensuring clarity on roles within the ALJ, so participants understand how they can engage meaningfully.

Different ticket types could be made for different stakeholders, granting and gating access as desired: locals, desired skill capacities, institutions, external funders, external capacity providers etc.

Forming the Facilitation Core

• A facilitation team emerges around the ALJ, coalescing as a core group responsible for shaping the journey.
• This team works closely with the hub team on the ground to:
  • Understand the unique needs and dynamics of the local place.
  • Develop place-sourced practices that make the ALJ deeply relevant to its context.

Designing the Core Processes

• The facilitation and hub teams co-create a localized version of the four core processes that will guide the ALJ’s flow.
• These processes should be:
  • Grounded in real-world conditions—designed for emergence rather than pre-set agendas.
  • Tangible and embodied—ensuring participants actively do rather than just discuss.
  • Iterative and responsive—able to shift as new insights emerge.