Sociocracy in 
Intentional Communities conference 2023
Deciding how we want to live
A ProSocial Perspective on Sociocracy: How Community Culture Shapes Cooperation and Trust
Kathleen Walsh | 20:00 UTC
What does culture have to do with getting the work done? In a voluntary work force, cultural patterns can foster cooperation, trust and motivation or limit their expression. How can community culture be readily understood? Derived from direct observation of successful indigenous peoples’ practices in stewarding shared commons and and demonstrated effectiveness reflected in evolutionary and contextual behavioral science, the 8 ProSocial Core Design Principles are universal engagement patterns that point to cultural leverage points for strengthening whole group wellbeing by unpacking the difference between “power-with” verses “power-over” dynamics. This brief overview can help you understand how to strengthen whole group wellbeing by considering sociocratic procedures and processes through the lens of the ProSocial Worldview.
Bio
Kathleen has explored individual, group and planetary wellness throughout her life as a mental health professional, legislative activist, community member and systems thinker. She completed training in ProSocial facilitation in 2021, is a member of the ProSocial Commons Stewardship circle, the ProSocial World Learning and Engagement and Facilitator circles, the SociocracyForAll Intentional Communities and Ecosystem circles and lives in cohousing community in Portland, Oregon. She credits freedom to roam the woods surrounding her home in early childhood as her introduction to the wonders of nature’s inherent intelligent design and considers both sociocracy and the ProSocial Worldview to be important perspectives on how nature’s design can inform our thriving future.
The Sociocracy in Intentional Communities Conference 2023 is organized sociocratically by SoFA’s Intentional Communities Circle
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