Prizes, grants; rethinking planning
Projects for the year. UnConference: Educating Otherwise (Free, April 24) Grants. Hana Loftus, architecture podcast. Chris Stark: Climate podcast.
UnConference: Educating Otherwise (Free, April 24)
Grants, Education essay prizes
Chris Stark: Climate podcast, leaving CCC
Rules for radicals
Hana Loftus: Architecture, design and planning
(Micro)grants: A panel discussion
Ariane Bouche: Being ordained as a Buddhist priest, fund raising.
Links (end): UK SEND not properly funded, Lost Amazon civilisation; Memoir of an open marriage. Not for me (!) but a serious look on what it can be about; Michael Nielsen notes on runnings workshops; Hannah Ritchie on no excuse for rich countries (climate); Ethan Mollick on AI in 2024.
Thanks to everyone who came to my show in Jan. I’ve had amazing positive feedback. I find it satisfying to see how the show has developed over the years. It’s a form of “working in public” (like this substack). In part, this is satisfying as the work is a creative art and, in part, because my investing work is mostly private and not shared. Some people have told me how thought provoking and useful the show has been for them, that’s very gratifying, too.
Onwards for projects this year. The investing work continues as does the podcast.
Coming up are: Hannah Ritchie on her book, Not the End of the World: How to be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet. And,
Henry Oliver on his book Late Bloomers: Second Act.
Let us know if you have questions.
I hope to write/make a piece on looking at my face for 3 hours (!) inspired by Ruth Ozeki’s experiment. I’m also helping Improbable, who are thinking about a new home. The current thoughts on it are here - the Gathering - if you’d like to be involved. Next meetup is Jan 19th details here. For the past two years we’ve been exploring what it means to do those things together, at a new home for Improbable in the beautiful Bore Place in Kent - in a project called ‘The Gathering’.
What will it mean to have a home here? Who will it be for?
What does it mean to feel at home? How can we be at home, together?
What does it mean to belong to an artistic community here?
And, this side of the year, I’m hosting the Educating Otherwise UnConference on April 24th. Tickets now available (free). There are also travel grants. And prizes available. Cash prizes! This is thanks to Emergent Ventures.
We are offering up to 10 prizes of £100 for work relating to the theme of non-mainstream education. Everyone is welcome to take part but young people are particularly encouraged to submit entries. At least 5 prizes are intended for young people.
These could be essays, videos, blogs or talks about non-mainstream (or even mainstream pedagogy) education. Anything is open, for instance: How should we think about home education? The pros and cons of maths circles and their application outside maths? What would Dewey think of the education landscape today? How will AI change education? What Unschooling can teach us?
Submissions are open in early 2024 and will close end of March.
You could use your blog, video or essay as the basis for a session at the UnConference if you come. Details here.
Lastly, I hope to organise a Bigly Climate mega game with David Finnigan and Oscar. We’ve had a few R&d sessions on it, but I think we just want to test it out now.
I had a podcast conversation with my friend Hana Loftus at the end of 2023. Hana has had some extraordinary experiences from helping to build a house in rural Alabama to assisting Peter Brook in directing. Currently much of her energy is on planning and design where she has deep and complex thoughts on the built environment.
I learned a lot on my conversation especially though the lens of the recent project at Jaywick Sands. (The area is poor, with flooding risk challenges (see picture above for historic flooding). With no preconception, it made sense to me that a building and design that had an economic activity root (market stalls, business units) would form. This was established from a proper consultation with the community.
The extra topping was the notion of symbols, civic pride and design. The building is called Sunspot.
The colour and design speaks to the build as both a symbol and a building that physically demonstrates a piece of investment in the community.
Hana gave me a sophisticated take on the challenges regarding the symbolic meaning of certain old buildings. She is super supportive of keeping and repurposing old buildings. However, for new buildings, she observes that simply copying the buildings of old (in the UK this is often Georgian or Victorian styling) is not always ideal - you might be copying symbolic baggage that may be better left behind. I had not thought about this deeply.
Summary: Hana Loftus is a co-founder of HAT Projects. HAT are award winning architects, planners and enablers for the built environment. Projects include: London’s Science Museum Smith Centre, transformation of Trinity Works (a disused church), Ely Museum, Jerwood Gallery and Jaywick Sands’ Sunspot. As well as practising planning and design, she writes on the subject and plays a great fiddle and violin.
ARCHITECTURE: BUILDING ANSWERS FOR SYSTEMIC PROBLEMS & RETHINKING URBAN PLANNING
The overall podcast discussion is around the challenges and opportunities in architecture and urban planning. The topics range from finding systemic housing solutions for poverty-stricken communities in Alabama, exploring the importance of practical real-world experiences for architecture students,
"I think as a young architect, firstly learning how a building is actually put together; nailing bits of wood together, wiring a house, plumbing a house, pouring foundations, all of that practical stuff is critical... And anybody can do that. Anybody can get tools and learn how to build something."
and discussing the Sunspot project that addresses affordable business units in Jaywick Sands, a poor area of east England. Hana talks about the lifespan and adaptability of buildings. She highlights the critical aspect of maintaining quality in construction and the risks in cost-cutting, referencing the Grenfell tragedy.
We discuss the political challenges of the Green Belt policy, proposing a 'finger model' for development, and the importance of exploring rural domains. Hana emphasises acquiring practical experience and making a concrete impact in the world.
The whole conversation (self-recommending) is fascinating about what design and architecture can contribute to the world. (Transcript, video, podcast)
The rules for radicals (Saul Alinsky) came up again in conversation recently. I thought highly of rule 4.
"Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules."
I think this is powerful. System change or influence can often be about using the existing rule book, or someone’s words and ideas and turning them around. If you are thinking about leveraging change, it’s worth dwelling on. Full rules below. My podcast with activist Catherine Howarth covers some of this.
It’s well regarded amongst activists, so it’s useful if you are engaging with them from the otherwise too.
Rules for radicals:
"Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have."
"Never go outside the expertise of your people."
"Whenever possible go outside the expertise of the enemy."
"Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules."
"Ridicule is man's most potent weapon. There is no defense. It is almost impossible to counterattack ridicule. Also it infuriates the opposition, who then react to your advantage."
"A good tactic is one your people enjoy."
"A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag."
"Keep the pressure on."
"The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself."
"The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition."
"If you push a negative hard and deep enough it will break through into its counterside; this is based on the principle that every positive has its negative."
"The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative."
"Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it."
Always love listening to Jason Mitchell and Chris Stark. This from Jason's podcast at Man.
Jason: how can investors help governments on climate within the constraints of their duties to clients to provide best financial returns? Chris: There's not a simple answer to this. we need the investor community to champion strong policies that allow finance to flow. How is policy made? It's not made in a vacuum. … this kind of old model (taught at UK civil service finishing school) the idea that options are put to ministers, ministers make decisions, policies are implemented, and then change happens.
That's not how change happens. Change happens because we exist in a constant environment of interaction between the state and the private sector. There are actors on both sides constantly exchanging information. One key of strong policy to do anything is the knowledge that there are a set of people ready to respond positively to whatever is put in place.
The investment community are not just a collection of people investing in things. They are also a group of people who give strong signals to government to set the right policies to allow them to do that. I would see progressive feedback loop where policy is put in place. Investors react, good things happen, and then we do more of that.
…what we lack is policy that allows finance to flow to the real priorities. … one of the key attributes of low carbon energy systems almost uniquely are almost always the case is that they tend to be systems that require high upfront capital investment and then the returns come later. Unlike fossil fuel energy systems where the payback to investors comes through the commodity that's being burned in the first place, and that requires policy to spread those costs so that consumers can pay for them.
…wherever you are in the world, there is a job to bring down the uncertainty in the policy environment so that you get as cheap as possible finance into those low carbon energy systems to this transition to take place more quickly. And ministers need to hear that message from the investment community. …”
Chris is leaving the CCC to move on to Carbon Trust. The UK should thank him for his many years of civil service. My three conversations with Chris are here (2022) and here (2023) and here (Chatham House 2023).
I’m speaking online about grant making with people who really know what they are doing! It’s part of interintellect and details are here, 19 Jan 12pm ET:
Join Interintellect founder Anna Gát for a panel on grant making and grant winning with experts Atman Pandya (O’Shaughnessy Fellowships), Shruti Rajagopalan (Emergent Ventures India), Arnaud Schenk (Polaris), and Benjamin Yeoh (Then Do Better) .
Are you interested in grant funding and how grants are won? Would you like to explore the current landscape and the future of funding? Join us for a panel discussion with experts in the field of (micro-)grants and the new ways for independent researchers and makers to raise funding. Together, we’ll explore the complexities and prospects of this dynamic new arena.
We’ll discuss:
The current trends and our fortunate position in the grant-making mania
How are grants evolving as venture funnels? What implications do these changes have on traditional academic institutions?
O’Shaughnessy Fellowships and their unique position in the grants market.
Macro vs. microgrants
The role of grants in emerging geographies and talent equality
Support Ariane's Journey to Ordination in the Buddhist Triratna Tradition. In April 2024, Ariane will be participating in a 2.5-month retreat, culminating in her ordination in the Buddhist Triratna tradition. This significant milestone will see her receiving a new Buddhist name and taking vows that symbolize her commitment to ethical practice, as well as committing to a specific meditation visualization.
Over the past 4.5 years, she has been immersed in training for ordination, living within a Buddhist women's community, and building projects focused on community building particularly focused on guiding young women on their first steps along the Buddhist path. She will become the only Order Member in her 20s at her center in East London next year.
Ordination in the Triratna tradition represents a pivotal rite of passage, marking a turning point in one's spiritual journey. In an age where the pursuit of meaningful, faith-driven commitments can seem rare, the decision to seek ordination is a testament to commitment to a spiritual path. The themes of altruism, purity, loyalty, and courage that ordination embodies reflect both the challenges and the joy of the Buddhist life.
The cost of Ariane's retreat is approximately 4,000 Euros, with an additional month of expenses on either side totaling around £1,000. If you feel moved to support Ariane in this phase of her journey, contributions can be made via her fundraising page: https://gofund.me/28643a6e. Ariane would also be delighted to connect over a call or coffee with anyone interested in supporting her or learning more about the path to Buddhist ordination.
UK SEND not properly funded.
https://x.com/Samfr/status/1746240986395689371?s=20
Lost Amazon civilisation
https://x.com/benyeohben/status/1745953223515488563?s=20
Memoir of an open marriage. Not for me (!) but a serious look on what it can be about. (FT review) also see my Aella podcast.
https://x.com/benyeohben/status/1745744458082107772?s=20
Michael Nielsen notes on runnings workshops:
https://x.com/michael_nielsen/status/1745191543680737522?s=20
Hannah Ritchie on no excuse for rich countries.
https://x.com/_HannahRitchie/status/1744992825278620013?s=20
Ethan Mollick on AI in 2024