Appendix

Transformative Alignment

There is no clear definition of transformative alignment. Merriam-Webster defines transformative as “causing or able to cause an important and lasting change in someone or something.” Merriam-Webster offers a few definitions of alignment, with the most apt being: “an arrangement of groups or forces in relation to one another.” Dictionary.com defines alignment as “the agreement or cooperation among persons, groups, nations, etc. with a common cause or viewpoint.”

Together, with added context and experience, the definition of transformative alignment means “a deep and systemic change in how we radically cooperate with each other and collectively govern together towards a common cause or purpose.” There are four key elements to transformative alignment.

Support critical connections among network leaders to create pathways towards greater alignment in the field of work; Practice deep democracy and radical collective governance as a way to practice governance in ways that do not replicate the harm we are trying to undo; Work to dismantle racialized barriers, particularly geographic, that create divisions, scarcity, and other challenges to moving towards a just transition; Listen and invest in Black, Brown and Indigenous leaders — among collaborations and networks to shift the emphasis of policy and resources towards those most impacted and leading the work.

When all four elements are done, we can create the center of the flower, from which emerges the full power we need to transform our society and economy.

Deeper exploration of transformative alignment and how we can embody it.

Critical Connections: Relationships are often severed because of a variety of challenges due to the scarcity trap, lack of funding, time or space constraints, structural racism, lack of trust, etc. Working in isolation leads to a lack of deeper awareness of what is possible. People who hold the keys to our solutions need to be connected to each other to create opportunities for change. Critical connections means connecting leaders from different sectors of work, geographies, social or cultural homes, and issue areas, who can build vision and solutions together from a position of abundance and strength, beyond ego, but towards collective wisdom. For more about this element, please dive in and read adrienne maree brown’s Emergent Strategy.

Deep Democracy and Radical Collective Governance: Building a new energy economy, or beloved community, is just as much a process as it is an outcome. We cannot expect to shift paradigms and realities if we operate solely under the current constructs. There needs to be experimentation in how we build together, people to people. A key piece of the framework is to set and create space for people to dive into new (or old, yet forgotten) ways of collaboration and governing decisions to help catalyze possibility. Much of this element is shaped and influenced by the various transformative practices of Movement Strategy Center, particularly its resource “Getting There Together.”

Dismantle Racist Barriers: Living into the possible does not mean ignoring the reality of today. Immediate and tangible efforts must be made to tackle our greatest economic and social sin of racism. This aspect focuses on addressing deeply racialized barriers in our institutions, society, and culture to create a new relationship of people to people, to institutions, and to culture. In particular, this looks at the racialized geographic barriers that haunt our political and economic challenges of today. Much of this element is shaped and influenced by the MAG framework for “Deep Equity.”

Invest in Black, Brown, and Indigenous Leaders, and other marginalized and oppressed communities: Black and Brown communities have been minimally resourced and have been put into some of the most extractive situations in their own neighborhoods as well as within their own work. If we are going to see a true paradigm shift into a new energy economy, we need to shift whom we are listening to, following and resourcing fully. It is important to note that, as Audre Lorde says, we live intersectional lives. Racism is at the heart of any structural deficit and divide and other communities — LGBTQ, disinvested rural communities, the poor, and immigrant communities — face similar challenges. We need to think in terms of abundance and amplification, and a critical race analysis is at the center of all this. And we must acknowledge how the power structures resource whiteness in these very oppressed communities to divide us from each other. So we need to challenge this as we think about resource shifts, while acknowledging the severe disparity in resourcing BIPOC leadership, particularly in Black communities.