This is a list from our book titled “Regeneration: The Future of Community in a Permacrisis World.” As we continue our exploration at the institute, and on this site, we will add to these tests.
Using our definition of regeneration, we compiled this list. We called it The 22 Tests for Regeneration. What have we left out?
- Regeneration is local – it must be place-based.
- Regeneration begins with jobs to be done – it starts with the urgent needs of the community. What does the community value most? What needs to happen to create value for the community?
- Regeneration goes beyond sustainability and resilience – it cannot be a proponent or neutral to the Death of Nature; it must seek and employ renewable sources of energy and reverse the death-spiral our natural ecosystems are facing
- Regeneration creates community wealth – it cannot enrich private shareholders while destroying public value
- Regeneration strengthens existing community assets, talents, and capabilities
- Regeneration builds trust – the relationships of the members of the community are strengthened by participation in community regeneration projects
- Regeneration is inclusive – it includes all sectors and members of society without discrimination; it empowers and supports the young and marginalized
- Regeneration takes time – progress can be gradual and requires patience (trust is not built overnight)
- Regeneration requires collaboration – it drastically reduces the distance between Nature, organizations, and peoples – to build a climate of solidarityand interdependence and brings people and institutions (public, private, and plural) together to work on the Common Good
- Regeneration is a function of deep democracy and consensus building
- Regeneration builds resilience. At the end of a regenerative project, the project is able to maintain itself and continue doing good work without its original founders
- Regeneration respects Human Rights starting with the rights of indigenous communities and an honest accounting for the atrocities of history (colonialism, genocide, ethnocide, slavery, incarceration, and exploitation)
- Regeneration respects the Rights of Nature
- Regeneration takes the long-view – it focuses on short-term impact but only in alignment with a long-term vision
- Regeneration is non-ideological – decisions are based on evidence, facts, and desired outcomes which promote the Common Good
- Regeneration shares power among all sectors of the community. Unions, for example, are embraced as part of a company and not viewed as “socialist”
- Regeneration requires accountability at all levels – the traceability of all flows, particularly economic and monetary benefits is transparent and open to all
- Regeneration may require radical innovation – because many of the changes required are institutional as well as procedural.
- Regeneration is built on nurturing and strengthening local ecosystems – natural, social, and economic
- Regeneration challenges existing economic models to establish justice as a strategy
- Regeneration is not isolationist – it adopts a cosmo-local perspective and nurtures and facilitates collaboration between places – based on respect for local values and shared learning
- Regeneration is a paradigm shift
