Our theory of change defines our role in fostering demonstrable outcomes.
Ecosystems, humanity, and economies are vulnerable to complex and emergent transitions.
The business sector attempts to anticipate, navigate, and lead resilient systems change.
Outcomes are limited by siloed effort and resourcing.
BTA pioneers innovative initiatives with business leaders through radical collaboration.
Outcomes are maximised through collective effort and resourcing.
The business sector successfully anticipates, navigates, and leads resilient systems change.
Ecosystems, humanity, and economies thrive through complex and emergent transitions.
Complex and emergent transitions are driven by a multitude of interconnected factors that evolve over time—often leading to significant, sometimes unforeseen, impacts. Transitions challenge traditional approaches to planning and problem-solving, demanding adaptability, resilience, and innovative thinking. In a world increasingly characterised by such transitions, the ability to anticipate and lead through these shifts is critical to ensure thriving futures.These themes provide a potential roadmap of action for BTA’s future work.
Innovative solutions to the challenges presented by emergent transitions must, by their very nature, be multifaceted and adaptive to context. To ensure a consistent approach across BTA, the following lifecycle underpins each initiative (and influences projects within initiatives, too.)
Additionally, as an initiative-based organisation, many of our outcomes are evidenced through the initiatives. However, there are a range of metrics we use to understand contribution of progress.
· We rally passionate business leaders
· We engage diverse stakeholders
· We embark on shared journeys
· # of collaborating leaders and businesses.
· # of stakeholders involved engaged.
· Narratives of aligned purpose.
· We identify emergent trends and needs.
· We research best-practice.
· We centre the voices of stakeholders
· Narratives of identified needs.
· Narratives of research and learning.
· Narratives of engagement in learning opportunities,
· We pioneer and co-design innovative initiatives.
· We build resources and tools.
· We share knowledge and strengths to aligned efforts.
· Evidence of pilots and their work.
· Evidence of pilots and their impact frameworks.
· Evidence of nascent sustainability.
· We measure our work.
· We fortify our internal resources and capacity
· We scale and evolve our work based on evidence
· Collation of initiative’s metrics and outcomes.
· Evidence of initiative’s ongoing health, sustainability, and scale.
· Narratives of learnings (including from retired initiatives)
In our mission to navigate emergent transitions, it is critical for us to understand who we are and who we are not:
· Corporate and large business leader-led
· Action-orientated
· Radically collaborative
· Ambitious and pioneering
· Outcomes-led
· Self-sustaining
· Corporate and large business leader-led
· Action-orientated
· Radically collaborative
· Ambitious and pioneering
· Outcomes-led
· Self-sustaining
· Corporate and large business leader-led
· Action-orientated
· Radically collaborative
· Ambitious and pioneering
· Outcomes-led
· Self-sustaining
Pilots are new and emergent programmes of work incubated and trialled by BTA. Although Pilots may have independent sources of revenue from the beginning, their nascent stage is typically funded by BTA (or a specific initiative).
Once Pilots achieve proof-of-concept and a sustainable resourcing model, they can qualify as an “Initiative”. Pilots that are unable to achieve these milestones after a reasonable period of time are typically retired (e.g. The B Well Coalition) or restructured (e.g. The AI Coalition being transferred into the CLC.
In short, Pilots are “Initiatives in probation”.
Initiatives are well-formed and sustainable programmes of work to create outcomes towards BTA’s emergent transition challenges. Initiatives vary in size, scope, model, and composition. However, they typically share the following hallmarks:
· Are a proven concept (e.g. sustained engagement, evidence of outcomes, etc.)
· Have a model for robust and sustainable resourcing. (NB: Revenue-based, in-kind, or a mixture of both.
· Are typically led by a Director, Executive Director, or equivalent.
Examples of Initiatives include the Climate Leaders Coalition and Our State of Mind.
Projects are key activities that sit within Initiatives or Pilots, e.g. the “Carbon Investment Scheme” within the Climate Leaders Coalition or “Our State of Mind” within the B Well Coalition. Projects may have their own Project Lead.
Projects may become Initiatives in their own right: For example, “Our State of Mind” began as a Project inside the Pilot of the B Well Coalition: The Coalition incubated Our State of Mind and established its proof of concept and viable resourcing model.