For many people it is sufficient to consider sociocracy as a system for organising a community, an NGO or a company, and a variant of it seems more than enough to cope with. However, sociocracy was created with bigger ambitions, and the issues that divide sociocracy into variants can divide a community as well, as a community has even more purposes than a company.

For communities it is useful to be aware of the different variants, as they present the questions and different points of view that divide the sociocracy into variants. It is also important to take steps to integrate and bridge differences and build a community that is more inclusive and able to sustain diversity.

Frands Frydendal's workshop at our EIR meeting will set out the full context, some of these difficult issues and the help that an inclusive approach to sociocracy can provide.

After the EIR Frands will offer a 3-day basic sociocracy course in our ecovillage from 14-16 September and an advanced level course from 19-21 September. If you are interested in participating please send us an email to semilla@semillamontealegre.org

Places are very limited!

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The word "sociocracy" was invented in 1851 in the Age of Enlightenment for a future system of government for entire nations, in which reason should rule over all kinds of irrationality.

Endenburg's invention of the "Method of the Sociocratic Circle" (SCM) was an innovative novelty in that sense, even if it was only a pilot project for companies compared to the original vision of a sociocracy for nations. However, the SCM did not solve all the old and difficult organisational problems at once.

Moreover, as Endenburg's invention allowed for much faster processing than anything seen before, new and unforeseen problems arose.

This could not break the intrinsically healthy SCM; but it did lead to a certain division of sociocracy with at least these formalised variants: Holacracy, Sociocracy 3.0, Organic Organisation and SoFA (Sociocracy For All) - and a bunch of non-formal, often disconnected and unhealthy "Ant Sociocracies".

In the image on the left, they are all symbolised as green leaves of a flower, with a red bud, which has not yet unfolded its true purpose: A constitution for a just state.

Born in 1956, with 3 children. Retired as a potter and physiotherapist.
Now activist in Danish and European ecovillage networks.
Certified Gaia trainer.
Main focus on processing tensions, what we disagree on, and agreements including a holistic approach to all issues that support this: Organisation, decision making, governance and conflict resolution on top with support from personal and group depth psychology, philosophy and culture.

Frands proposes an integrative sociocratic approach to governance, incorporating patterns from as many variants of sociocracy as necessary. He has studied 5 variants of sociocracy since 2011: SKM/SCM (Classic Dutch) - Holacracy - Sociocracy 3.0 - O2 (Organic Organisation) and SoFA (Sociocracy For All) at practitioner or trainer level. He has also studied Dragon Dreaming with John Croft, and likes to include or teach that.