FAQs - Regenerative Communities Network

Frequently Asked

Questions What is the Regenerative Communities Network?

The Regenerative Communities Network is a collaborative effort to accelerate the transition from extractive economies toward regenerative practice and development. The Network focuses on regenerative activities convened by diverse stakeholders in bioregions across the globe called regenerative community hubs.

Work within regenerative community hubs is supported by a multi-stage cycle of engagement that leads to identification of and investment in regenerative projects. Updates are available here: http://capitalinstitute.org/regenerative-communities.

What are Regenerative Community Hubs?

Regenerative community hubs are collaborations anchored by long-term, multi-stakeholder collaborations of for-profits, nonprofits, government agencies, academic institutions, and other sectors dedicated to regenerative development in their bioregion. The “system conveners� of each regenerative community hub have partnered with Capital Institute in an inclusive and participatory process to build a regenerative economy in their bioregion. Our founding Hubs include:

Buffalo-Niagara, New York, United States Hudson Valley, New York, United States Tottenville, New York, United States Denver-Boulder, New York, United States Mexico City, Mexico Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica Regenerate Costa Rica (National)

What are the Regenerative Communities Network’s goals?

The Network’s goals are to: • Support the development of rich knowledge-sharing and skill-building networks within and across multiple communities • Increase regenerative capacity at the individual, organizational, community, bioregional, and global scales • Help drive significant amounts of aligned capital toward regenerative initiatives • Provide an integrated approach to practical action, research, and education in regenerative economics that ensures a profound interlock of theory and practice • Inspire a fresh policy agenda that explicitly recognizes and supports the fractal linking of a mosaic of place-sourced, diverse, and regenerative economies across scales as a counterpoint to conventional economics and economic development.

What is the Cycle of Engagement?

The Cycle of Engagement includes eight processes of participation that collectively contribute to the development of a placesourced regenerative economy. The cycle of engagement includes:

• Transformational leadership support for the founding organizations as they test regenerative approaches and collaborations across new edges • Deep listening culminating in community-based and community led storytelling about regenerative projects and the regeneration of the place itself

• Access to the Regenerative Communities Network digital platform, a powerful digital network built on leading Hivebrite software to enhance connection and shared learning • Systems and culture mapping to capture networks of key organizations, initiatives, and exchanges; casual relationships; geospatial data layers covering biophysical and socioeconomic factors; and other aspects of the bioregion - all enabling the community to “see itself as a system.”

• Collaborative identification and measurement of regenerative metrics that measure overall systems health • In person workshops, trainings, and informal meetups to engage key regional stakeholders • Identification of an ecosystem of regenerative initiatives that offer significant co-benefits, have strong teams and viable business models, and can collectively shift the community to a more regenerative state • Introductions to regional and national networks of capital aligned with regenerative projects.

What is the purpose of the Regenerative Communities Network Digital Platform?

The digital platform is first and foremost a tool in support of the on-the-ground work being led by Regenerative Community Network hubs. The digital learning community enables hub members and organizations to maintain connections in between face-to-face meetings, to access project documents, to learn from other hubs, and to help scale regenerative solutions.

While enabling place-based work in Regenerative Communities Network hubs, the digital learning community is open to all who are interested in and committed to building a regenerative world. It also serves as a lively forum for regenerative practitioners around the world to share news, stories, opportunities, tools, resources and simply connect with each other.

How do I participate if I’m not located in a Regenerative Community Hub? The digital learning community is your avenue for participation in the Regenerative Communities Network. If you or your organization are committed to regenerative development, you are invited to join the platform and:

• Invite others to join the digital learning community by sharing this link: https://regencommunities.net • Share your key resources with our community members • Interact with other individuals, groups, or hubs and their members • Follow place-based developments in open groups related to hub activity • Bring back lessons, examples, and tools you are able to glean from the network to your home community and to projects you may be working on • Post events you or your organization are hosting • Find events posted by other learning community members • Nominate your bioregion as a potential regenerative community hub

Do I have to pay to participate?

No. Individual participation in the digital community and full participation as a Community Regenerative Hub are both free of charge. The focus of Capital Institute, and the Regenerative Communities Network by extension, is to work in service of the larger movement to catalyze a global transition from extractive economics to a global regenerative economy one community at a time.

Is there a particular approach that shapes regenerative development as defined within the Network?

Regenerative Communities Network hubs are engaged in a cycle of engagement that uses Capital Institute’s 8 Principles of Regenerative Economics as a guide. These principles draw on both the science of living systems and indigenous knowledge systems.The Network’s collaborative nature, however, is meant to facilitate discussion and further development of the application of these patterns and principles, including the development of regenerative metrics that illustrate system health and opportunities for regenerative investment.

Who are Regenerative Communities Network strategic partners?

The Network’s six founding global strategic partners are Buckminster Fuller Institute, Ecotrust, Regenesis, Savory Institute, Small Giants, and SDG Transformations Forum.

What are the Regenerative Community Hubs working on?

Regenerative Community Hubs are each engaged in on-the-ground work uniquely defined by the cultural, economic, and ecological qualities of their communities.

For example, through collaborative work led by the University of International Cooperation, Regenerate Costa Rica is engaged with the Network to support 28 Territorial Councils across the country to select projects and develop strategic plans in accordance with regenerative approaches.

In Hudson Valley, New York, systems mapping has defined the early hub work. Mapping has helped connect more than 100 initiatives in the region, including private companies looking to support Biodynamic farming, a farmer training collaborative, a fellowship supporting new economy thought leadership and initiatives, and much more. The work they are engaged in has encouraged the sharing of resources, ideas, projects, and information across a community of place.

How are Regenerative Hubs chosen?

Regenerative hubs have been established based on requests Capital Institute has received from bioregions to participate in an an ongoing journey of regenerative learning and development. These hubs have demonstrated the local capacity to commit to the cycle of engagement outlined above, including participation of a critical mass of local community stakeholders. Interested groups and individuals are encouraged to email Capital Institute’s Director of Regenerative Development, Stuart Cowan, with a 200300 word description of their interest and related projects to begin a conversation about becoming an official hub within the Regenerative Communities Network.