Based on decades of research, Making Shift Happen examines the forces behind behavior change, providing a suite of powerful tools to transform the world. This book is a must-have guide for practitioners in nonprofits, governments, and businesses looking to design successful campaigns and initiatives that shift behaviors and mindsets toward positive environmental outcomes and a better future for all. Today’s excerpt outlines the basis of this system of change, laying the foundations for the rest of the process.
Today, March 31st, is International Transgender Day of Visibility. Founded by U.S. transgender activist, Rachel Crandall, this day is “dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments of transgender and gender nonconforming people while raising awareness of the work that still needs to be done to achieve trans justice.”
Understanding power and mastering power dynamics is perhaps the essential skill for change agents across all sectors seeking to ignite positive change in the world. Today, we share an excerpt from the Power Manual that explores the relationships within different types of power.
In the Color of Food, Natasha Bowens teaches us that beyond buying locally, the food and farm movement is about preserving and protecting the community. Today we share an excerpt from The Color of Food that celebrates the transformation of the South and the right to revive African American farmers.
To tackle our urgent environmental problems and achieve positive, durable change, we must design solutions based directly on how people think, make decisions, and act. Making Shift Happen provides clear instructions, and real-world examples that will empower you to apply hundreds of behavioral science solutions. Today, we share an excerpt from the introduction of Making Shift Happen on how this book was developed into the roadmap for organizational change that it is.
Much of the last few years has been talking about getting back to normal. But what if we strived to get back to something better than what we had? In The Edible Ecosystem Solution, Zach Loeks provides a practical guidebook that looks at underutilized spaces to reveal the many opportunities for landscape transformation that are both far-reaching and immediately beneficial and enjoyable.
For many people the COVID-19 pandemic turned the world upside down and unrecognizable in a matter of weeks. For John Restakis, it only accelerated the existing trends of rising inequality, deep political polarization, and the pervasive power of corporations. In his book, Civilizing the State, Restakis explains the contemporary and historical contexts of the liberal state. He reimagines it, not as a handmaid to predatory elites but as a partner state that promotes equity, economic democracy, co-operation, and human thriving, driven by deep democracy and a fully sovereign civil society.
Today on the blog we take a case study from Building Community by James Gruber focused on participatory decision making processes. Many people may question why this problem solving process is so important when we elect and hire leaders to make decisions for us.
Canadian Independent Bookstore Day is April 24th , and New Society Publishers is marking this celebration with the addition of the new Shop Local button to help buyers purchase books online directly from their local independent bookstore.
Today’s blog features an interview with Marlene G. Fine and Fern L. Johnson, the authors of the just-released book Let’s Talk Race: A Guide for White People.
Let's Talk Race: A guide for white people by Marlene G. Fine and Fern L. Johnson confronts why white people struggle to talk about race, why we need to own this problem, and how we can learn to do the work ourselves and stop expecting Black people to do it for us. Today on the blog, we take an excerpt from Chapter 6: Better Talk, in which Fine and Johnson suggest some guidelines to help white people better navigate conversations regarding race.
Today we share the first principle from James Gruber’s new monthly series on the twelve guiding principles for building a healthier community. The series provides specific practical actions and tools from Building Community for local community leaders who are successfully confronting these challenging problems and are working with their communities to find solutions.
Today James Gruber, author of Building Community shares the story of Mill Hollow, the community where Gruber’s journey to writing his book all began. This story reminds us how a community can extend beyond one locality and be nurtured virtually.