Workshop: Practical Tools and Methods for Change Agents

Instructor: Alan AtKisson, author of The ISIS Agreement and Believing Cassandra (Stockholm)

This course meets on-line on Mondays (May 3, 10, 17, 24) at 12:00 PM Pacific Time for 60-90 minutes.

This course will guide practitioners through the jungle of sustainability techniques and change processes, and help them learn when and how to apply  them successfully.  Using the ISIS Method as a guiding structure and sequence (Indicators   Systems   Innovation   Strategy), participants will deepen their understanding of both these general methodological categories, as well as specific sustainability tools, with AtKisson's ISIS Accelerator tools in focus. They will apply both the Method and a variety of tools they select (from the Accelerator suite as well as other tools) to develop a sustainability project or initiative, and will work to produce a detailed strategic action plan for that initiative.  Along the way, they will work both individually and in virtual groups to dig into case studies, examine the inner workings of selected tools, and consider the ethical dimension of strategy development.  On completion of the course, participants will have received a thorough orientation to the art of Sustainability Change Agentry and be eligible to apply for recognition as a Certified Practitioner of the ISIS  Method and ISIS Accelerator tools.  

NOTE: The ISIS Agreement is required reading throughout the class. Identify a practical change project to be the focus of your participation in this course. it can be real, or hypothetical.

To see AtKisson Describing the 7 Principles of Sustainability, check out ISSP's YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/ISSPcast.

Instructor Bio
Alan AtKisson has been working at the forefront of sustainability for over twenty years; and he has helped to initiate, guide, train, or strategically develop sustainability initiatives in many different countries.  As a consultant, he has worked with clients in many different sectors as well, from small businesses to global corporations, from large cities to small islands, from UN and World Bank funded programs in Africa to US military bases.

He is the author of two books, Believing Cassandra: An Optimist Looks at a Pessimist's World (Chelsea Green, 1999); and, most recently, The ISIS Agreement:  How Sustainability Can Improve Organizational Performance and Transform the World (Earthscan, 2008).  He is a contributing author to several other books as well, including The Natural Advantage of Nations (Earthscan, 2006) and The Future of Sustainability (Springer, 2006).  His articles and essays have been widely published in magazines, academic journals, and websites.

Alan is the originator of the "ISIS Method," a step-by-step process for teaching, learning, and doing sustainable development in practice, as well as the lead designer of the "ISIS Accelerator," a comprehensive set of tools designed to support learning, assessment, collaboration, innovation, and strategic action on sustainability, adopted around the world.