Engaging Local Communities

Stop telling people to protect wildlife. Start paying them. That's the idea by a new experiment in Kapuas Hulu district, in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province, which is testing whether conservation can be made to work with local incentives rather than against them. The initiative, known as KehatiKu, asks residents to record wildlife sightings in exchange for modest payments. In its first year, the program has generated a large volume of data while drawing hundreds of participants into regular contact with the forests around them, reports Linnea Hoover. The premise is straightforward. Participants download an app and submit photos, audio, or video of animals they encounter. Payments vary by species, from a few thousand rupiah for common birds to more substantial sums for rarer animals such as orangutans. Observations are verified before payments are distributed at month’s end. The process is simple enough to fit into daily routines, yet structured enough to produce usable data. The scale is notable. More than 800 observers across nine villages have recorded roughly 300 to 400 sightings a day. That has produced a dataset covering species from hornbills to gibbons. The cost, by the standards of conservation programs, is low. Borneo Futures, the project’s organizer, estimate spending of under $1 per hectare annually across a 200,000-hectare area. The effects extend beyond data collection. In some villages, residents have begun to discourage hunting and trapping. Informal agreements have taken hold, supported by the new income stream tied to living wildlife. For a few participants, the activity has become a primary source of earnings, comparable to or exceeding typical local wages. The approach reflects a frustration with earlier efforts. Large sums have been spent on species protection with mixed results. KehatiKu attempts a different route, placing small, direct incentives in the hands of those who encounter wildlife most often. Early results suggest that modest incentives can shift attention and, in some cases, behavior. If that alignment between livelihoods and living wildlife holds, it may offer a practical model for conservation that grows from the interests of the people most closely tied to the forest. 🦧 Full story: https://lnkd.in/g-63cfyi

New York Magazine has a new piece out on what travel sports have become for today’s youth. Essentially, private equity is buying up the rinks, the tournaments, the required hotel blocks, parking lots, and then selling you the video of your own kid playing because they've banned you from filming it. It’s definitely worth the read. The part that has me thinking the most is toward the end, and it’s the good news🙌🏼 It talks about the state of Minnesota and their 250 public ice rinks and 60,000+ kids playing hockey, with most families paying only $200 to $400 for a whole season. In some parts of the state, your first season is free, with equipment included! They have volunteer coaches, kids get grouped by ability, and nobody gets cut. Now guess which state produces more Division I hockey players than any other in the country. 🏒 I've written before about Norway doing something similar with soccer: no published scores or rankings until age 11, no national championships until 12, and somehow they medaled more than anyone at the Winter Olympics and made the World Cup quarterfinals earlier this summer. Different country, different sport, but the very same idea. Norway and Minnesota may be thousands of miles apart, but they’ve landed on the same answer: keep it fun and make play accessible. Play is the way. 🙌 Read here: https://lnkd.in/grscBUcS Image credit: Victor Llorente / New York Magazine

Participatory research is increasingly recognised as a way to produce more inclusive and policy-relevant evidence. In the last few days, I came across a very interesting resource, the 𝘠𝘖𝘜-𝘊𝘈𝘙𝘌: 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩-𝘓𝘦𝘥 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 (𝘠𝘗𝘈𝘙) 𝘛𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘵, offering a practical framework for engaging young people as active researchers on topics that affect their lives, including eco-anxiety. The toolkit was developed within the 𝘠𝘖𝘜-𝘊𝘈𝘙𝘌: 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘤𝘰-𝘢𝘯𝘹𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 project, funded under the Erasmus+ programme and bringing together partners from several EU Member States to support young people in contributing to decision-making processes. The toolkit offers accessible frameworks and methods to co-design and co-implement participatory research with young people. While participatory action research can foster agency, inclusion, and collective action across communities, supporting and expanding youth-led initiatives is essential, especially where youth voices are marginalized. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eYV9dh8X #ParticipatoryResearch #Youth

500 students share one computer in Niger. Yet they're conducting advanced physics experiments that students at elite schools can't access. The secret? WebAR turning basic smartphones into portable STEM labs. Think about that. In Sub-Saharan Africa, fewer than 10% of schools have internet. Student-to-computer ratios hit 500:1. Yet mobile subscriptions jumped from single digits to 80% in a decade. Students already carry the infrastructure—we just weren't using it right. Traditional EdTech Reality: ↳ VR headsets: $300+ per student ↳ Heavy apps requiring 5G speeds ↳ Labs costing millions to build ↳ Rural schools: permanently excluded The WebAR Revolution: ↳ Runs in any browser, optimized for 3G ↳ No app store, minimal storage ↳ Science scores improving 10-15% ↳ Every smartphone becomes a laboratory But here's what grabbed me: A physics teacher in rural South Africa has one broken oscilloscope. No budget. Her students scan printed markers, and electromagnetic fields pulse across their desks. They run experiments infinitely—no equipment damaged, no reagents consumed. One student told her: "Engineering is for people like me now. The lab fits in my pocket." What changes everything: ↳ Mobile-first matches actual connectivity ↳ Browser-based works offline ↳ Teachers need training, not new buildings ↳ Inequality becomes irrelevant The Multiplication Effect: 1 teacher with markers = 30 students experimenting 10 schools sharing content = communities transformed 100 districts adopting = educational equality emerging At scale = STEM education without infrastructure gaps We spent decades waiting for labs that won't arrive. Now any browser becomes one. Because when a student in rural Africa explores the same 3D molecules as someone at MIT—using the phone already in their pocket—you realize: WebAR isn't shiny technology. It's a quiet equaliser making world-class STEM education fit into 3G connections and $50 phones. Follow me, Dr. Martha Boeckenfeld for innovations where accessibility drives transformation. ♻️ Share if you believe quality education shouldn't require perfect infrastructure.

Another African startup has shut down after raising millions of dollars. This time, it’s Okra — the Nigerian fintech that pioneered open banking across the continent. They raised $16 million. Built a cloud platform. Expanded. And now… shut down. This isn’t just about one company. It’s a reflection of our continental priorities. We keep funding abstraction over foundation. Fintech is not the enemy — farmers absolutely need mobile payments, digital wallets, and inclusive credit scoring. But we are over-digitizing a continent that still can’t process what it grows. We’re building APIs and cloud-native banking systems… while exporting raw cashew, soy, sesame, cocoa, maize, shea, and coffee — only to import the finished products at ten times the price. Before another startup raises millions to build another financial layer, let’s ask: What if that $16 million had gone into: • Agro-processing plants for cashew, cocoa, soy, maize, coffee, and sesame? • Roasters, crushers, presses, dryers — infrastructure that powers real transformation? • Traceability systems to ensure transparency, food safety, and ethical sourcing? • ESG-compliant value chains that meet the standards of global buyers and climate-conscious markets? • International certifications like HACCP, BRC, Organic, Fairtrade, and FDA that unlock premium export potential? We don’t just need software. We need factories. We need standards. We need systems that make our agricultural products globally competitive. Africa will not be transformed by code alone. It will be transformed by turning what we grow into what we consume — and what the world demands. Let’s rethink what we’re funding. #AgroProcessing #AfricaRising #ValueAddition #Traceability #ESG #FoodSystems #InternationalTrade #Fintech #StartupLessons #IndustrializeAfrica #Agribusiness #Cashew #Cocoa #Soy #Coffee #Sesame #Maize #DuapaAgri

Over the last year, nearly every FMCG executive I’ve spoken to whether sitting in Chicago, Paris, or São Paulo has echoed the same challenge: “We need to get closer to the consumer, faster.” Global brand, local nuance the future of FMCG growth depends on how well your leadership understands the street, not just the spreadsheet. It’s no longer enough to run a global playbook and hope for local resonance. Why? Because the center of gravity in FMCG has shifted. 84% of FMCG companies are now increasing local decision autonomy in key growth markets. (Bain FMCG Operating Model Report, 2023) → That means your CMO can’t be the only one with a finger on the pulse. → Your regional GM can’t just execute HQ strategy. → And your global leaders can’t lead with assumptions they need cultural fluency and operational humility. In other words: local-for-local is not just a supply chain shift. It’s a leadership shift. The most successful candidates weren’t those who had rotated through five global hubs. They were the ones who could… → Read the cultural nuances of consumer behavior in that specific region → Navigate the regulatory quirks that could derail a product launch → Influence global teams while building trust with local retailers → Speak the language literally and commercially They understood the street not just the spreadsheet. And they had the rare ability to connect what’s happening on the ground with what needs to be shifted at the center. These are the leaders FMCG needs now. → Strategists who don’t just adapt to the market, they anticipate it. → Operators who don’t wait for HQ they build and test in-market. → Connectors who know when to push back and when to align. Because in today’s world, speed and relevance win. And that doesn’t come from waiting for global sign-off. It comes from empowering the right local leaders. Here’s where I see many companies trip up: They treat “local” as junior. As operational. As reactive. The truth? Your next competitive edge may be a GM in Manila, a Marketing Director in Lagos, or a Commercial Lead in Warsaw who’s trusted enough to build strategy from the ground up. That’s what global FMCG companies are starting to understand and what we’re helping them solve for in every executive search we run. Not just global leaders who can work across regions…but local leaders who can lead across functions, cultures, and expectations while driving growth with urgency and empathy. This is the new face of global FMCG. Not centralized, but coordinated. Not rigid, but responsive. Not top-down, but built from the middle out. #ExecutiveSearch #FMCGLeadership #GlobalGrowth #ConsumerGoods #TalentStrategy #LeadershipHiring

In just one year, youth offences on the remote Groote Eylandt plummeted from 346 to merely 17. This isn't statistical noise, it's a 95% reduction achieved not through increased policing or harsher penalties, but through something far more powerful: community ownership and cultural connection. At the heart of this transformation is the Anindilyakwa Groote Peacemakers Program, where local Elders mediate disputes before they escalate into criminal matters. Elder Elaine Mamarika explains: "We have to tell stories about their country, which kinship they belong to, like a family tree. These are the sorts of things that we talk to young people about so they understand and see where they belong within the families." This deceptively simple approach, reconnecting youth with identity, purpose, and community has generated extraordinary outcomes. What makes this story so powerful is its grassroots foundation. The shift began in 2018 when Local Decision-Making agreements empowered communities with control over housing, education, economic development, health, and justice. Cultural knowledge and community leadership, resources that already existed were finally recognised as assets rather than obstacles. The Gebie Gang program evolved from supporting justice-involved youth to a comprehensive mentoring initiative offering practical skills from cooking to driving licenses. Young people disconnected from work and education found pathways back to community and purpose. 🚩 The Opportunity Before Us As we witness communities across Australia struggling with similar challenges, Groote Eylandt demonstrates that solutions may be closer than we imagine they exist within the wisdom, relationships, and cultural strengths of our communities. How might your organisation, community, or leadership approach shift if you centred this wisdom? What untapped expertise and leadership exists within the communities you serve? When we move beyond "fixing problems" to nurturing strengths, remarkable transformations become possible. #IndigenousLeadership #JusticeHub #CommunityEmpowerment

𝐈’𝐦 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐭: 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐘𝐂. • It’s an echo chamber. • It’s the same conversations with the same people. • We’re not reaching the people we need to if we want to make real change. When I tell people I moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, they almost chuckle. “Why would you move to Tulsa?” some even ask. Then I tell them the story. We were writing the first-ever report on Fortune 500 emissions. Everyone in San Francisco was talking about climate and software. But I went from chatting with VCs in WeWorks to sitting in boardrooms with oil and gas executives—companies with hundreds of millions of tons of emissions—and they told us, “You’re the first people to walk in here and talk about profit and climate change.” This is the reality: If we’re serious about climate solutions, we need to move beyond the same old conversations in NYC. Why? Because the industries that need to change and the people that will be affected by those changes the most aren’t in the room—they’re not being invited. Take Tulsa, Oklahoma. Did you know the energy grid there is around 60% renewable? In a state that’s known for oil and gas, that’s huge. But barely anyone, even in Oklahoma knows about it. Imagine what we could do if we built on that momentum. Arkansas is one of the sunniest states in the U.S., yet there’s barely any solar. These are the places where the real climate impact needs to happen, but they’re being left out of the conversation. 𝐖𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐞-𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐘𝐂, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐬. 𝐈𝐟 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭, 𝐰𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞—𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞. I've been building Recapture™ for 6 years. This was my second NYC Climate Week. Last year, after being selected to the Clinton Global Initiative Greenhouse cohort, I didn’t even know about Climate Week. I also spoke at the Climate Tech Investors Summit hosted by Altru Institute & Djoann Fal & Atlas Capital, and the PDIE Group Future of Climate Summit after being nominated for the Earthshot Prize. But this year? I’m seeing the same faces—just with different company name tags, all pitching variations of VC-backed software products trying to broker carbon credits to companies that can’t afford them. That’s not how we change the world. We shouldn’t be seeing the same people, and Climate Week shouldn’t be in NYC, SF, or London anymore. We need to bring the conversation to other places, where the farms, industries, and communities we are talking about changing can be part of the conversation. P.S. What cities do you think would be better suited to host Climate Week? Drop your thoughts below. 🌍👇

Community work is multi-dimensional and these terms are often used interchangeably when they each serve a distinct purpose. Community Development focuses on improving the overall quality of life through long-term economic, social, and physical investments. Community Engagement centers on building relationships, listening, and involving residents in decisions that impact them. Community Mobilizing is about activating people around a shared issue, cause, or movement to drive collective action. Community Capacity Building strengthens the skills, leadership, systems, and resources communities need to sustain progress and lead change from within. The strongest communities don’t rely on just one approach, they develop, engage, mobilize, and build capacity simultaneously. As leaders, practitioners, and advocates, understanding these differences helps us move from performative efforts to transformational impact. #CommunityDevelopment #CommunityEngagement #CommunityMobilizing #CapacityBuilding #EconomicJustice #Leadership #CommunityImpact #CivicEngagement #SocialChange

Trying to engage everybody doesn't work. It sounds counterintuitive in our connection-obsessed world, but trying to engage everyone in a network equally wears us down. Enter the Three Circles Model of Engagement, which recognises something we've all felt but rarely named: participation naturally flows in layers, and engagement isn't static. People move between circles as life changes, capacity shifts, and interests evolve. Instead of fighting this natural flow, we need to design for it. 🔥 The Stewards (inner circle): Deeply committed people who tend to the whole community - the firekeepers, guardians, and systems thinkers who hold the collective vision. 🌐 The Co-Creators (middle circle): Active participants who dive deep for seasons - they are working group members, project leads, the folks showing up consistently to build something meaningful together. 💫 The Friends (outer circle): People staying lightly connected - event attendees, newsletter readers, casual supporters who benefit and contribute in their own rhythms. Magic happens when we make these roles explicit and create clear pathways for movement between them. No guilt when someone steps back. No barriers when they want to step up. Just honest acknowledgment of different ways to belong and contribute. This made me think of one of my favourite Priya Parker principles around "generous exclusion" - thoughtfully choosing who to include (and exclude) to help activate and fulfill a gathering's #purpose. Both frameworks recognise that trying to include everyone equally dilutes the thing we're trying to create. The Three Circles Model extends this wisdom from individual gatherings to ongoing community life - showing us how to design for natural rhythms of engagement while maintaining the integrity of shared purpose. It's about #networkweaving and #systemschange that honours the beautiful complexity of how humans actually show up in relationship. For anyone building or weaving networks, this framework offers practical scaffolding: be transparent about engagement options, create clear agreements around reciprocity and power, and embrace the seasonal nature of involvement. H/t Fabian Pfortmüller, Erin Dixon, Sita Magnuson, and Michel Bachmann for the super valuable work you're doing in this space. I'll share their Community Weaving Framework below (of which the circles model is a part)... #ParticipatoryDesign #RelationalInfrastructure #ForesightNetworks Design Futures Aotearoa Jade Tang-Taylor Cheryl Doig Alice Dimond Howard Lange Abi Nokes Cat Zuzarte Tully Eman Ebed Alkadi