FAR's RESEARCH

"O brave new world, That has such people in't!"

-The Tempest, William Shakespeare Act 5, Scene 1, lines 181 - 184

In 1932 Aldous Huxley published Brave New World; an iconic work that has come to symbolize the perils of depending on technology for salvation, success or happiness. Huxley's work is still considered classic to this date; largely because the fear of technology's devastating impact on our social fabric is still alive and well. Historically this fear has thrived within the environmental movement: a group famous for their suspicion of the technological quick fix and their condemnation of technologies devastating effects on the environment. However the rise of the internet and its seemingly limitless potential for collaboration has changed the nature of this age old debate. As millions collaborate together in the search for extra terrestrial intelligence (SETI at home), victims of the 2008/09 economic meltdown stage protests and rallies through Twitter and Facebook, and the largest, grass-roots political campaign ever elects America's first black president, some are beginning to wonder if a brave new world is exactly the hope we've all been looking for. This thesis seeks to explore what this brave new collaboration means for the sustainability movement, and how its innovative power can be harnessed to shift our world towards a sustainable future.

Our Research Question:

In what ways can collaborative innovation networks contribute to transformational change towards a sustainable society?

• How could collaborative innovation networks be used in the future as part of a sustainable society?
• How are collaborative innovation networks being used today and what emerging factors affects the functioning of collaborative innovation networks?
• How are sustainability change agents (people whose collaborative innovation networks vision encompasses improving the environmental or social conditions of society) currently using collaborative innovation networks?
• What barriers confront the strategic use of collaborative innovation networks towards a sustainable future?
• How can the gaps be overcome - how can sustainability change agents use COIN's?