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Today's community problems are far more complex, numerous and rapid fire than just a generation ago. Yesterday's simplistic answers are not today's solutions. This talk develops a new approach by applying whole-systems thinking. This supports creative community leaders with practical tools and creative thinking for better, local decision-making. Whole-systems problem solving considers all factors simultaneously: the interconnections between problems, often permitting one solution to be leveraged to create many more, lasting; frugal solutions with multiple benefits; collaboration among people with disparate skills and points of view. This approach transcends ideology and provides practical ways to find hidden local opportunities.
Biography:
Michael Kinsley co-founded the Rocky Mountain Institute's Economic Renewal program in 1982 and is a member of the commercial and industrial services team at RMI. As RMI's senior practitioner of techniques for creating sustainable local economies, he has provided economic development planning, facilitation, and training to communities in 40 states and three foreign countries.
Kinsley is the author of the Economic Renewal Guide (1997)—a distillation of nearly three decades' experience—and several papers addressing community growth issues and sustainable development alternatives. As a Pitkin County (Colorado) Commissioner (1975–85), Kinsley pioneered programs in affordable housing, environmental and growth management, fiscal efficiency, and economic stability. A former journalist, he co-founded the Western Colorado Congress and a community-based mediation service, for two years chaired the Governor's Health Coordinating Council, and for four years directed the Pitkin County Environmental Task Force. He serves on numerous local committees and organizations. Outside of work, his two passions are kayaking and painting - he's won several awards for his landscape paintings.
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Sustainable
Resources 2004 > Presenters
