Precedents & Inspiration
Precedents & Inspiration
“A pattern is not a blueprint; it is a template that includes many variations that are similar but not identical - each variation reflects a particular time, context, [and] set of actors.”
— Silke Helfrich & David Bollier
Some guiding lines of inquiry for Float have been how can we work with novel processes, draw on learnings from near and far neighbors, and experiment openly?
Participatory funding is not new and over the last year we’ve been exploring the deep roots of community-led resource management, long established participatory funds, and emerging patterns of democratic funding for networked ecosystems. We’ve drawn inspiration from place based communities doing co-budgeting and sharing circles, pathbreaking funders and activists exploring community-led grant making, and open-source networks that push the boundaries of decentralized collective resources processes through emerging technological infrastructure.
It is not our intention to try to reinvent the wheel, but we also know that for a process to be truly participatory we cannot simply copy paste precedents. Context is everything. While every technology, every place has its own grammar and rhythm, shared protocols provide a common language through which diverse contexts can speak clearly to one another.
With this in mind we have set out to design a process that draws on recurring patterns of collaboration and established precedents, but which offers meaningful engagement and enough flexibility to respond to the specific moment, time and place. As an experiment we hope to discover patterns and protocols that can then be shared more widely with others undertaking the same journey.
Afterall, agroecology emphasizes the importance of place, environment, cultural norms and practices in agriculture - to develop technologies that respond to the complexity of our ecosystems we need processes that are both structured and adaptive.
Precedents & Inspiration
“A pattern is not a blueprint; it is a template that includes many variations that are similar but not identical - each variation reflects a particular time, context, [and] set of actors.”
— Silke Helfrich & David Bollier
“A pattern is not a blueprint; it is a template that includes many variations that are similar but not identical - each variation reflects a particular time, context, [and] set of actors.”
— Silke Helfrich & David Bollier
Some guiding lines of inquiry for Float have been how can we work with novel processes, draw on learnings from near and far neighbors, and experiment openly?
Participatory funding is not new and over the last year we’ve been exploring the deep roots of community-led resource management, long established participatory funds, and emerging patterns of democratic funding for networked ecosystems. We’ve drawn inspiration from place based communities doing co-budgeting and sharing circles, pathbreaking funders and activists exploring community-led grant making, and open-source networks that push the boundaries of decentralized collective resources processes through emerging technological infrastructure.
It is not our intention to try to reinvent the wheel, but we also know that for a process to be truly participatory we cannot simply copy paste precedents. Context is everything. While every technology, every place has its own grammar and rhythm, shared protocols provide a common language through which diverse contexts can speak clearly to one another.
With this in mind we have set out to design a process that draws on recurring patterns of collaboration and established precedents, but which offers meaningful engagement and enough flexibility to respond to the specific moment, time and place. As an experiment we hope to discover patterns and protocols that can then be shared more widely with others undertaking the same journey.
Afterall, agroecology emphasizes the importance of place, environment, cultural norms and practices in agriculture - to develop technologies that respond to the complexity of our ecosystems we need processes that are both structured and adaptive.
Some guiding lines of inquiry for Float have been how can we work with novel processes, draw on learnings from near and far neighbors, and experiment openly?
Participatory funding is not new and over the last year we’ve been exploring the deep roots of community-led resource management, long established participatory funds, and emerging patterns of democratic funding for networked ecosystems. We’ve drawn inspiration from place based communities doing co-budgeting and sharing circles, pathbreaking funders and activists exploring community-led grant making, and open-source networks that push the boundaries of decentralized collective resources processes through emerging technological infrastructure.
It is not our intention to try to reinvent the wheel, but we also know that for a process to be truly participatory we cannot simply copy paste precedents. Context is everything. While every technology, every place has its own grammar and rhythm, shared protocols provide a common language through which diverse contexts can speak clearly to one another.
With this in mind we have set out to design a process that draws on recurring patterns of collaboration and established precedents, but which offers meaningful engagement and enough flexibility to respond to the specific moment, time and place. As an experiment we hope to discover patterns and protocols that can then be shared more widely with others undertaking the same journey.
Afterall, agroecology emphasizes the importance of place, environment, cultural norms and practices in agriculture - to develop technologies that respond to the complexity of our ecosystems we need processes that are both structured and adaptive.