The way a problem is described often reveals what kind of expertise is required to solve it. It can also indicate whose issue it is and what resources are presumed to be needed. Experts might describe problems in ways that are hard for most people to understand, creating a sense of alienation or distance from issues that could be crucial for individuals to tackle. Many important problems, like climate change, water insecurity, or human trafficking, are presented in ways that

Why group dynamics and resonance are important for economic development During my current one-year training course in ‘Process Facilitation and Democratic Communication’ ( School of Participation ), I have the opportunity to learn about new approaches and receive valuable input. I wonder where these insights could change our practice. Two topics in particular have given me food for thought so far: the science of group dynamics and the question of how resonant relationships in

We have all been part of a group project in which only a few did the work, while many went along for the ride. Many change initiatives face the same challenge. A few take the risks, raise the difficult points, or frame the opportunities, while many more join in simply because they fear being done in. Or they come for the coffee. In the early stages of a change initiative, you want to find ways to attract those willing to imagine new possibilities despite imperfect conditions.

If you have attended a training event by Mesopartner, then you have been exposed to the templates that we use in different ways during our process facilitation work. These templates are not only useful for training exercises. We utilise these templates in our daily work to support our clients in understanding their contexts or making sense of a situation so that they can take appropriate decisions.

Often when we try to promote technological learning and innovation, we find that people in government and industry focus narrowly on physical technologies in the form of things, machines, software code or processes. Few workplaces pay attention to the many social technologies needed to rearrange or adapt workplaces around new technological capabilities. Furthermore, different stakeholders have little open dialogue about how the gaps can be closed between industries and techno

In this post, we share some ideas of how to weave more dynamic entrepreneurial innovation ecosystems on a shoestring budget.

When promoting entrepreneurial innovation ecosystems, we often work with networks of innovators, problem-solvers, service providers, and supporting organisations. At some point, it is no longer clear whether we are promoting networks or fostering more dynamic innovation ecosystems. This post clarifies the differences between entrepreneurial ecosystem promotion and network promotion and why we so often use these labels interchangeably.

When working to improve the performance of any sector or value chain, we are often confronted with a range of meso organisations or programmes designed to support upgrading, skills development and better decision making in small businesses in the targeted sector.

The subject of how technologies evolve over time have been receiving a lot of attention over the last 40 years. Actually, much of the research work done in the late 80s and 90s are still relevant today. With all the talk of the fourth industrial revolution, the attention has shifted towards innovations coming from elsewhere away from what do we have to do in our own organisation to improve our performance, offer our clients amazing value, and to create the future we want to b

In the second half of 2024, Annelien and I were awarded a contract to mobilise, equip and support facilitators who weave together entrepreneurial innovation ecosystems in South Africa.

One of the oldest explicit principles that have shaped my thinking is “form follows function”. When I joined the GTZ (predecessor to GIZ) in 2003, this was one of the first principles that my manager (Mrs Gabriele Trah) often repeated when we received proposals from our counterparts, or when we were designing interventions in a particular context.

At the start of this year, I want to share some advice I received from Prof David Maister many years ago. David Maister was an early podcaster in the 2000s, and I loved listening to his podcast.