[Siss-l] ASP and Schumacher Institute think tank on integrated micro- and macro-economic policy for sustainability

[Steve Banks at Inner Leadership]

Dear member of *ASP and/or Schumacher Institute Researcher



This is an invitation to members of ASP and the Schumacher Institute
Researchers Group to a meeting to discuss a possible new "think tank" style
project looking at changing the rules of the game for micro- and
macro-economic policy as a key plank of the shift to sustainable national
economies.



There is an obvious link between, on the one hand, changing the rules of the
game for business from a legal obligation to maximise profits for
shareholders to a triple bottom line, and on the other hand, a change from
GDP to something like "wellbeing" as a government's main goal for
macro-economic policy.  The link extends down to the level of current
understanding of individual psychology, for example, in Maslow's hierarchy
of needs: more and more money and material wealth doesn't make people
happier and happier.



This meeting is to explore the possibility of a research project whose
results would include a report, influential both in government circles and
on public awareness that could highlight the benefits of such major shifts
in policy, obstacles to governments making such shifts, and means to move
through those obstacles.  The scope would also include the rules of the game
in politics itself and the consequences for investment, financial and fiscal
systems.



The project could have both international and local dimensions:
international, through bringing on board institutions with relevant
expertise, for example, the Integral Institute in the USA.; local, through
existing connections with government in the UK, for example through Andy
Middleton's connections in Wales (there is the thought that a smaller
country like Wales might be more likely to take the risk of these major
shifts in the first instance than the UK central government. Bhutan has
already taken the lead.).



This initial meeting is to see:

.        If there is sufficient interest to take it forward.

.        If so, to form an initial team, and take first steps to getting
underway, including looking at initial ideas for how it would be funded, and
possibly some research to see what work has already been done in this area.

.        to agree a provisional scope for the project, or a process to
arrive at defining it.



The meeting will be at the CREATE centre in Bristol, home of the Schumacher
Institute. 2 - 5pm, Tuesday 22nd November.



If you would like to attend this meeting, please reply to this email from
Steve Banks, steveb at inner-leadership.com. If you would like to talk about
it, please call Steve on 01803 868990, or Ian Roderick on 01275 333455.   If
you can't make the meeting, but are interested in the project, please email
Steve.



Best wishes

Steve Banks and Ian Roderick

*ASP = Association of Sustainability Practitioners
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman-new.greennet.org.uk/pipermail/siss-l/attachments/20051026/2ac3cc90/attachment.htm