Integral Community Survey

An online survey was sent to a database of 80 people from which 15 surveys were completed in an open question format, 2 questions for each quadrant. After the closing date all the answers were downloaded and analyzed in the following way.

Answers were organized and read by respondent, to understand the context and flow of each one of them. Some of the answers were very focused on operational stuff, some on abstract concepts. Some people were talking only about their current experience while some where envisioning a future experiment.

Apparently there was a vast diversity of ideas, making necessary to integrate some of them into concepts that would transcend and include the original concepts. For example the following ideas:

• Bioregional network to create synergy on the actions taken
• Cooperation in between established community and surrounding neighbours,
• To establish since the beginning a relationship with the natural and social environment of the area
• A lot of movement around the community, people coming in and out for the different activities bringing new life and energies to the community
• Environmental interaction within the context of the community

Were integrated into the concept:

Bioregional network

This consolidation was made as an exercise of abstraction of essential or common ground concepts. Gone through this, all the answers were ranked by number of mentions in each quadrant. See complete list of ideas and concepts at Appendix B.

Some ideas are difficult to translate into simple concepts e.g.

• Structures that, though they are evolving, grow out of the subjective experience

However the ‘Human Systems’ diagram (see section 4.x) offers the following short definition for the previous idea:

Structural alignment (i.e. between culture and social structures)

Not all ideas could be grouped into broader concepts, some because were far too specific or contextual others because were the opposite, too abstract.

The format of the questionnaire gave examples of forces that belong to each quadrant and some people decided to elaborate on them. In all the 8 questions there were at least 2 concepts that had 2 to 12 mentions (e.g. governance or shared vision).

The following section presents the conclusions of QDyTS Integral Community Survey (ICS) exercise by quadrant. In each section parts of answers are shown to offer a contextual understanding of the matters analyzed in each quadrant; these answers were selected among those which understood better the essence of the question. A table with causes mentioned twice or more is presented followed by conclusions.

Lower Right Quadrant (LR)

Natural Systems / Social Systems

Also called “The Outer Collective” (Its)

Items covered in this quadrant include (Lundy):

•Actions toward others and the environment

•Skills and opportunities for participation & contribution

•Natural environment, ecological systems

•Built environment, human systems

•Community institutions (schools, health authority, justice system, religious institutions, etc.)

•Programs and services

•Laws, policies, protocols

•Organizational systems & structures

•Community infrastructure (transportation, housing, social planning council, technology, etc.)

•Governance systems & structures

•Economic system

•Systems & structures for participation & contribution

The two questions asked in this quadrant were:

1. According to your experience, what are the most important aspects in the “outer collective” quadrant that seem to support the ultimate success of a community?

2. What are the most important aspects of the “outer collective” that seem to thwart, or work against, the ultimate success of the community?

LR Supporting Forces

Sample answer

“having many of the basic needs taken care of; for instance, having a shared dining area with core kitchen staff to provide for everyone’s food needs frees up a great deal of time and energy that would normally be spent shopping for and preparing their own food. -a highly structured daily and weekly schedule creates a container to manage collective movements with ease and alleviates the need for endless ongoing group decision-making around inconsequential issues, such as: “when should we meditate?” “when is dinner?” or even “what should we do tonight?”. The seeming loss of outer freedom such a rigid schedule predicates is far outweighed by the inner freedom of not having to be preoccupied with the endless meaningless choices of modern life. Included in such a schedule should also be predetermined periods of unstructured time to allow for individual expression and to counterbalance the structure.”

Table 1.1 LR causes that support community development

Governance system	12
Bioregional network	6
Educational programs	6
Geographic location	4
Economic system	3
Organizational systems	3
Infrastructure for cultural and spiritual practices	3
Structured schedule of activities	3
Training workshops	3
Basic needs taken care of	2
Capitalize each individual skills	2
Community currencies	2
Core team	2
Healthy ecosystem	2
Participation	2
Sustainable living	2

Conclusions: People in the survey expressed that a governance system (efficient, just, egalitarian, inclusive, see list of answers) -12 mentions, was the main cause that supports the development of a community. ‘Educational programs’ taken together with ‘training workshops’ -10 mentions, is the second most important cause. The practice ‘sustainable living’, a broad concept grouped from ‘lowering the ecological footprint’, and ‘focus on a lifestyle that is environmentally sound and that attempts to give back to our planet as much as is taken from it’–taken together with healthy ecosystem is mentioned only 4 times. Comparing these answers with the list of Lundy we observe that “Community institutions (schools, health authority, etc) and “Laws and policies” are not mentioned. It remains to know why. Reliance on the a good governance system can be part of the answer.

LR Thwarting causes.

Sample answer:

The huge obstacle to success as we would measure it, is the prevailing legal and regulatory system. For example, we were prevented in doing many things that would have felt closer to our objectives by government regulations. In our area we are not allowed to have communal water and septic systems without putting in place exceedingly expensive technological and legal solutions to perceived problems. Thus all our houses have to have individual wells and septic, which are ecologically quite stupid.

Table 1.2 LR causes that thwart community development.

External laws and policies	4
Rigidity in governance	3
Lack of organization	2
Unfair governance system	2

Conclusions: Most important single reason mentioned was ‘external laws and policies’, especially those who do not favour private communal services. However if taken together rigidity and unfairness in governance are placed as the number one. This conclusion supports the idea found in table 5.1 where governance system is placed as the most important cause for success. Lack of organization can be partially solved through organizational systems that again would be decided and implemented through using the governance system. Lack of external resources, money among others, is not reported as the main cause of failure, as many people would tend to think.

Lower Left Quadrant (LL).

Culture & Communication.

Also called “The Inner Collective” (We)

Items covered in this quadrant include (Lundy):

•Shared meaning

•Collective norms, ethics

•Shared attitudes, values, beliefs

•Shared vision & goals

•Stories, myths

•Shared history, customs

•Language, symbols

•Culture of participation & contribution

•Family, organizational, regional, or larger social culture

•Approximate level of shared worldview

•Relationships between people; relationship between an individual and an organization or place

•Degree of mutual understanding;

•Type of communication used (auditory, visual, kinaesthetic, multi-media based, developmentally-appropriate, etc.)

The two questions made in this quadrant were:

1. Among the key stakeholders groups of this project, what are the most important aspects of their “Inner Collective” that seem to support the ultimate success of the community?

2. What are the most important aspects of their “Inner Collective” that seem to thwart, or work against, the ultimate success of the community?

LL Supporting Forces.

Sample answer

-a valuing of risk-taking and radical creativity -a value hierarchy which places the good of the whole above the needs of the individual -a belief that transforming oneself is a moral, evolutionary act with implications far beyond the individual

Table 1.3 LL causes that support community development.

shared vision	8
atmosphere of openness	5
capacity to renew the community	4
shared values	4
personal and collective transformation culture	3
Cultural diversity	2
culture of participation	2
shared learning experiences	2
shared stories and myths	2
shared vision life as a school	2

Conclusions: An interesting finding in this quadrant is that while most individuals recognize the importance to have shared vision and values in general, some of them specify which of these values should be hold. Reading through these propositions patterns of different world-views (see chapter 2.2 levels) can be observed: some of them value service, collaboration, radical creativity, openness and diversity (post-modern); others value freedom, norms and ethics, transformation and using the media power for change (modern) while others value mythic vision, commitment to simplicity, value nature as sacred (traditional). How to manage human systems that respect and integrate all worldviews or values can be one of the most difficult thing to do in any organization. The work of Beck (1996), Kofman (2006) and Barret (2006) is devoted mainly to analyse interactions in this quadrant, and to suggest tools and practices to empower organizations through the lower left quadrant. All of them claim that cultural capital is the highest leverage for social transformation. Some of the tools suggested by them are different languages for different worldviews, communication skills, and value mapping. The underlying assumption in their books is that by correctly identifying different worldviews and redesigning policies to suit them, one can become a more effective agent of change and evolution.

This question also shows opposed points of views of thwarting causes such as

“Being overambitious” v. “the expression <is impossible>”

Simple, yet strong truths like

“Too many idealists, not enough [pragmatics]”

There are answers that embrace a profound sophistication, such as

“Profound enough awakeness (1st Person) and devotion (2nd Person) to support service (3rd Person) in a lived, felt, subtle and causal and gross body enactment.”

There are interlinked ideas in a systemic way such as:

‘Atmosphere of openness’ (platform) is the ground where ‘diversity and creativity’ can be expressed (process), building the capacity to ‘constant renew the community’ (product).

Cultural systems (i.e. shared vision, values, stories and myths) occupy together the premium position in this analysis with 16 mentions together. Shared vision is the single most important cause. In chapter 2, integral framework, it was explained the importance of the alignment between policies and motivations of people; cultural systems are these motivations, what people see, why people value it and how they explain their collective journey.

LL Thwarting causes.

Sample answer

-culture of insularity or collective disconnection from and devaluing of the larger “outside” world -over infatuation with their own collective experience contributes to this insularity -overly hierarchical structure with a punitive leader contributes to a culture of “groupthink” in which individuals are hesitant to go against the grain, voice disagreement or raise questions. This leads to a lot of poor decision-making, as well as a background tone of fear of punishment.

Table 1.4 LL causes that thwart community development.

Individualism	3
unawareness of implications of mainstream culture	3
arrogance, “only one way to do the things”	2
Being overambitious	2
irrelevant vision	2
rigid mentality	2

Conclusions: Individualism, being one of the main features of our culture, together with “being unaware of the implications of our current culture” as main causes of failure of a community shows a strong implicit critique to current culture values. Not only those that can be seen like individualism or materialism, but the implications that can’t be seen like ‘lack of commitment to the common good”. On the other side “intolerance” and “rigidity” appear also as important. So apparently being aware of our culture yet being flexible with it, would be a good direction to go in order to support the development of a community. “Culture of insularity” and “individualism” (LL) and “over hierarchical structures with a punitive leader” (LR) are aspects that show the relationship between the LL and the LR quadrant, in order to have an efficient and effective governance system, there has to be also a worldview that allows it to exist. Communities with strong values about individualism will have different governance systems than those with an equilibrium between self interest and the common good.

Upper Left Quadrant. (UL).

Psychological & Spiritual

Also called “The Inner Individual” (I)

Items covered in this quadrant include (Lundy):

•Awareness, thoughts, feelings

•Attitudes, values, beliefs, intentions, needs, morals

•Inner health & well-being; self-esteem

•Sense of safety, trust

•Sense of connectedness, responsibility & caring –for others and the environment

•Motivation & experience of participation & contribution

•Mental models, worldview, cognitive intelligence, emotional intelligence,

•Psychological dynamics like shadow issues,

•General knowledge about any topic, capabilities of any type,

•Level of ego-development, level of emotional development, aesthetic development

The two questions made in this quadrant were:

1. Among the key stakeholders of this project (i.e. community members) what are the most important aspects of their “Inner Individual” that seem to support the ultimate success of the community?

2. What are the most important aspects of their “Inner Individual” that seem to thwart, or work against, the ultimate success of the community?

UL Supporting Forces.

Sample answer

deep, personal intention to go beyond ego for the sake of the whole -humility, which means a recognition of the limitations of one’s own knowing -willingness to embrace uncertainty -capacity to comfortably engage complexity for sustained periods of time -courage and autonomy to go against the grain and voice disagreement regardless of the personal implications -ability to be both fully autonomous and surrendered to the collective -ability to embrace multiple perspectives without losing one’s own

Table 1.5 UL causes that support community development.

Inner and psychological development	7
Caring for the good of the whole, service	5
commitment to self transcendence	4
Consciousness development	4
capacity to handle complexity	2
self esteem	2
Sense of connectedness	2
Sense of safety and trust	2
diversity in the community	2

Conclusions: Either as an intention, a practice or a result, personal development appears to be the main cause for a successful community. Apparently “commitment to self transcendence” is the single factor with biggest leverage as it is the starting point of all the others. This conclusion might sound individualistic rather that communitarian, but if one follows any hierarchy of human development (e.g. Maslow, Graves, Wilber) self transcendence is the level where humans are authentically concerned with the common good.

This clear intention to evolve and serve others is followed by a personal (UR) or collective (LR) practice which is grounded in a culture (LL). Outcomes from these practices are inner development, caring for the whole, self esteem, sense of connectedness, sense of safety and trust. Answers here show how relevant is a systemic thinking, as outcomes of this part of the territory are intimately related to the other three.

UL Thwarting causes.

“The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as a challenge and an ordinary man takes everything as a blessing or a course.”

Don Juan Matus.

Sample answer

The biggest thwarting inner force seems to be insecurity that creates fear. That insecurity generated fear leads to lack of communication, lack of listening, etc, all as protective devices. This then leads to factionalism, confusion, work not getting done as feelings are massaged, etc. All of us are broken and unhealthy in some regard.

Table 1.6 UL causes that thwart community development.

low level of emotional development	3
consumption culture	3
Fear	3
low self esteem	3
Distrust	2
lack autonomous drive	2
low level of awareness	2

Conclusions: Again “emotional development” and its implications “fear/distrust” “low self esteem”, “consumerism” and “lack of initiative” are mentioned as the main causes for disfunctionality in communities. Some of these forces could be either cause of effect to the others. In any case the relevant question is: what helps to trigger a positive trend?

Lundy mentions “psychological dynamics like shadow issues” as one of the components of this quadrant. Shadow refers to all the issues that individuals hold without knowing in a hidden or “dark” side of their psyche. Wilber (2007) explains that working with the personal shadow is one of the most effective ways to start personal evolution as this aspect of psychology can drain most of the energy of a person and manipulate the will towards actions guided by fear.

“There are few human beings who truly aspire to be absolutely responsible for

themselves. Most prefer to see themselves as unconscious victims of the forces within and without.”

Andrew Cohen

There are many disciplines that know how to work with the internal dimension, like self reflection, meditation and nature experiences. Lundy developed a 4 quadrant list to map this learning and transformation tools. Axialent has their own way of doing it. In their website‘s career opportunities section it reads as part of the conditions needed to apply for a job:

• At least two years of a personal process in physical, cognitive, emotional, moral, interpersonal and spiritual development. Including a regular meditation practice and physical exercises.

It is interesting to note that in this quadrant, intelligence or experience in community living was not mentioned as the most important, apparently as long as there is emotional and personal development.

Upper Right Quadrant. (UR)

Physical & Behavioural.

Also called “The Outer Individual” (It).

Items covered in this quadrant include (Lundy):

•Physical health and well-being, energy level

•Skills & Abilities

•Activities

•Program participation

•Consumer behaviours

•Diet, fitness

The two questions asked in this section were:

1. Among the key stakeholders of this project (i.e. community members) what are the most important aspects of their “Outer Individual” that seem to support the ultimate success the community?

2. What are the most important aspects of their “Outer Individual” that seem to thwart, or work against, the ultimate success of the community?

UR supporting causes.

Sample Answer

Health. Fitness. Exercise, Sleep, & Diet. Servicefulness. Efficacy. Efficiency. Clear-Seeing. Cheerfulness. Focused Action.

Table 1.7 UR causes that support community development.

participation in practices and programs	7
physical health	3
personal practice	2

Conclusions. “Practice”, intention is not enough. Either as an individual effort or as participation in the collective programs, healthy routines, teaching and learning by doing, is recognized as relevant causes for community success. This conclusion is reinforced by those of lower right quadrant: structured schedule of activities and training workshops help build community. However the existence of these workshops and activities (LR) can not be successful without “wholehearted engagement and participation” of the individual (UR). Programs related to physical health, such as exercise addictions treatment, and nutrition should be on top of the list.

UR thwarting Causes.

Sample answer

Physical ill-health seems to take a large tool on the energy supply that is available to be put into community. We have members who are dealing with forms of addiction which thwart them. But I’m not sure whether these are outer or inner.

Table 1.8 UR causes that thwart community development.

Bad health	4
Addictions	2
Consumer behaviour	2

Conclusions: Bad health in general and addictions in particular are mentioned as the top causes from the upper right quadrant that deteriorate a community. Bringing awareness to this risks and promoting healthy practices is already acknowledged in other quadrants, in concepts such as “promotion of health programs”, “basic need taken care of (central kitchen)”, “educational programs”. Just like “shadow issues” in the upper left quadrant, “bad health” is one of the main drains of energy in an individual. What is a satisfactory level of good health remains to be analyzed.

General Conclusions QDyTS Online Survey.

Long answers to open questions are very useful because they are rich in context and give a very clear picture of where a person is talking from. It gives a clear perspective of communities’ challenges and opportunities based on their experience. On the other side it makes it difficult to reach general conclusions. The exercise of breaking long answers into ideas and then grouping these into broader concepts, implies some looses in context and detail, but on the other side it offers a way for information to be manageable in order to find patterns.

QDyTS methodology is a tool to discover and classify information that we know, it works as a detailed check list that inspects 4 major aspects of reality in a specific project. It also helps to reveal hidden interconnections between all the variables.

The following table shows the 2 most mentioned factor in each quadrant.

Table 1.9 Most mentioned causes that affect community development.

Quadrant + Support - Thwart
LR+	Governance system
LR+	Bioregional network
LR-	External laws and policies
LR-	Rigidity in governance
LL+	Shared vision and values
LL+	Atmosphere of openness
LL-	Individualism
LL-	Unawareness of implications of mainstream culture
UL+	Inner and psychological development
UL+	Caring for the good of the whole, service
UL-	Low level of emotional development
UL-	Fear, distrust
UR+	Participation in practices and programs
UR+	Physical health

According to the QDyTS methodology with this information, we could start a process of community design now. This would counterbalance the organic (i.e. not planned) grow that many communities present. According to the survey these are the most important thwarting and supporting forces in each quadrant. They reveal important information of the main 4 aspects of community life. However this process does not explain how these forces interact between them, i.e. how the system works in an integrative/synergistic way. What is the cause and what is the effect? As a general definition it can be said that all forces are simultaneously cause and effect of all the others, and that some of them have reinforcing loops. And it makes sense: a healthy body/mind is a trigger for inner development, and a person with personal development will, in most of the cases, has the intention to adopt practices that build his/her body/mind health. This intentions and practices will be more common in communities that value higher states of development, invest in facilities and instructors, and reward individuals who embody healthy behaviours in body and mind.

So it makes sense that everything is cause and effect, but the question is where to begin, where are the high leverage buttons. Some would say that in the institutions, some in the economic instruments (outer collective) some would say it lays in the individuals willingness to become totally responsible for their life. The answer is: all of them are right, partially right. Addressing the 4 quadrants simultaneously is the way to go. But even then, even assuming this challenge, there are different categories in the forces analyzed in each quadrant. Again, some are causes and some are effects of others, and while it is accurate to say that in a truly systemic design all factors are co-dependent, the model proposed by Axialent states that at any certain point in time, there are causes that have more leverage that others, platforms such as ‘shared norms and values’, that empower processes such as ‘responsible communication and negotiation’ that produce outcomes such as ‘trust and sense of belonging’.