Opening Together

At The Open System Institute we aspire to work with leaders and organizations around the world who are interested in opening up public education and igniting new democratic sparks in their community. We do this work in three ways:

  • Accelerate capacity for leaders further open systems and community change

  • Advise practices across organizations towards open system methods

  • Amplify exciting practices across the country to expand openness in communities

 

Our book is designed for leaders inside and outside of systems to work together to reimagine public education.

 
 

Our principles are based in rich experiences and case studies to support leaders in moving through the politically complicated work of co-creation.

 

Non-Profit Partners

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Higher Education Partners

Acceleration Simulations

The Open System Institute believes that community and social impact leaders can accelerate practice and impact when we come together and build simulations of the complex work we are asked to do in the field together.

We are excited to partner with organizations, institutions, and coalitions who are interested in designing context-rich simulations that represent some of the very real challenges leaders inside and outside the system. We leverage the practices and moves in the book to generate empathy, play, and purposeful reflection.

This past year, we have conducted simulations for national networks like Seek Common Ground in their Leadership Collaboration Network and for the Colorado Statewide Family Engagement Center.

Watch this video summarizing our work with Seek Common Ground to get a sense of the potential impact of our work together:

Advising for Open Futures

We are excited to partner with philanthropy, non-profits, and institutions across this country to advise on open system strategies for their context. From efforts as diverse as rural workforce co-creation, community visioning, to institutional redesign we bring expertise and focus to address your needs.

We leverage the open system principles and your expertise to support moments and opportunities for communities to move forward together in new and exciting ways.

Featured Partnership: Denver Education Visioning Process

The Open System Institute has been excited to partner with RootEd to design and launch the Denver Education Vision Project: The education system in Denver faces an important moment, and there is work to be done to provide an equitable education for every young person in Denver. Our intention is that this vision for the future of education will lead to more equitable outcomes through Denver’s public school system. Check out the learner journey maps here.

Amplification for Open Ideas

We are deeply committed to sharing the discipline of open systems in education with communities all over the world, amplifying the opportunity for a reignited democracy.

In book talks, sessions, podcasts, keynotes, and community conversations we work with you to tailor the content to your needs - focusing on specific open principles, community context, case studies, or concepts that you believe can help serve the communities you work in.

For the past four years, we’ve been fortunate to be a partner of the Broad Center at the Yale School of Management. Here’s what the leaders in the fellowship have had to say about our work together:

  • A very helpful concept and framework. The facilitators did a great job and the engagement was useful, including the pre-work. It’s a very relevant and timely concept that I can apply right away.

  • This session gave me so much to think about in terms of how to apply this in my current position and in my district.  I appreciated the balance of theoretical knowledge with actual granular strategies for doing the real work.

  • The presentation crystalized the content in a way that was extremely useful and action oriented. I feel like I have concrete strategies I can use with my team to create an Open System engagement process.

  • The Open System session provided a new, relevant framework that is directly applicable to my work. I came away with tangible ideas to change power structures in the state education system.

  • It's a book, but really it's a philosophy about how leaders can work in communities to co-create the kind of futures that you want to see.

With many more such partnerships in the works, we are always exploring new opportunities to meet leaders where they are and co-design high impact learning.