Week 16 since the lock down and our Zoom rooms are polarising. Some of the people we are meeting in conferences or workshops are ever deeper in dismay and despair. Partly because the UK government continues to lurch around, without clear messages or convincing strategies. Partly because they can’t see an alternative.

Others are now focused on holding the government to account for the bad decisions made, that have cost thousands of lives. Others still are trying gently to step back into public life: hoping that the worst is over. All are critical of anyone that goes too fast, yet all have friends or family that are causing them concern.

Simmering just below the surface is the big question of futility. Why did we not use the 16 weeks to develop the tools that would ensure that coming out of lock-down would feel more safe than going in? Where are the fully available tests, the track and trace technology, the clarity around antibodies? This is not an argument with the speed of science – the science has predictable limitations. It has always been an argument with competition, markets and greed. Instead of collaborating, we have been competing to be first. And ending up last.

In another part of the emotional landscape, groups of grafters are working on a #buildbackbetter campaign. In the words of one of the key organisers Compass, this is a “huge coalition of business groups, trade unions, faith leaders and NGOs that have come together with clear demands we as we emerge from the Covid-19 crisis.” The campaign draws up a list of challenges we must try to answer together – health, housing, social care, inequality, diversity, jobs, climate change – and demands the government takes action.

These are good demands, good enough for the government to instantly adopt them – claiming they are “building back better” at every step of their post-Covid plans. How can those who want to turn a sharp corner on our current trajectory towards climate disaster (ref) both reject current policy and invite the government collaboration at the same time? With such opportunistic players in the scene, what does clear success look like? It’s not easy to discern.

But shining like a succession of flashlights in this otherwise murky atmosphere are three project clusters that just made us smile this week. Each of which make little direct reference to our current party-political system but are focused, instead, on the human capacity for system change.

The first is the steadily developing Trust the People (TTP) project which launched last week with a series of on-line events including this panel discussion where the relationship between TTP and A/UK was touched upon. The coming week sees the start of a six-week course that grounds participants in a form of activism bringing together the development of democracy and the environmental imperative. How does learning to act together as fully human beings lead directly to a healthier planet?

As part of this cluster, the Future Democracy Advisory Group was exploring visions of the new democracy emerging. This included what role technology such as V-Taiwan’s pol.is might play. None of the discussion focused on political parties. Instead the energy and interest was all in how a different concept of participatory democracy might lead to a new political culture and structure. From the sensemaking that reveals the subtle patterning of social responses, to the more practical offers of citizen action networks and sociocratic methods of governance.

Someone offered a vision of democracy as a constantly improving wedding party plan! Meaning the task was really to make sure everyone was well fed, enjoying the conversation and dancing. Think of how differently that lands as an idea of why we are political and how we might collaborate.

While the task of designing a wedding party could so easily look simplistic, this idea evoked complex emotions in the group. Why are we all so steeped in bureaucracy, trying to achieve goals that barely imagine joy or community fulfilment? Are we outsourcing the work of relationship and trust to rules and structures that simply evade emotional labour?

It reminded us of Peter Macfadyen’s description in Flatpack Democracy of how newly independent councillors were much more flexible and free in their ability to come to consensus with others than those belonging to a political party. There is no point to be scored, no clear water between councillors to be established with future elections in mind. As a result there is infinitely more energy to think about flourishing as more than material sufficiency – but as meeting psycho-social, emotional and spiritual needs too. Yes, fun.

The second cluster—showing very similar energy and excitement—was the 3 day Regenerate Devon on-line conference. Hosted by The Social Enterprise Networks of Plymouth (PSEN), Exeter (ESSENCE) and Torbay (Local Spark Torbay) this was Devon taking charge of its own ability to ‘build back better’.

They described the next few months as “a real opportunity to ‘rise together’ and arm ourselves with our greatest tools and attributes and design an economy that will be socially and ecologically resilient for the future. Within this, enterprise has the opportunity to play a huge role in creating shared value across society…”

The vision and funding for this Summit came from the SIMPL (Social Investment Market Place Links) project. The SIMPL partnership wants to see “the growth of a robust social economy across Devon (and beyond). This means an economy that supports strong local economic activity; that actively promotes the well-being of people and planet; one that reduces inequality and one that finds ways to restore and regenerate our natural world”.

It sounds ambitious, but the 500 people signed up to work together in multiple Zoom rooms were already on it, relishing the sharing of practice and expressions of confidence in their methods. Many of the people we’ve showcased before in our Plymouth collaboratories, Elephant meet-ups and CAN design groups are also moving steadily in this direction - towards a very self-organised, self-reliant form of resilience that feels good. They act as system convenors, where the local council become partner-participants rather than rule-setters. Much more on this in next week’s Daily Alternative from Co-host and founder of the REconomy Project Jay Tompt.

The third cluster shared all these qualities – but at a planetary level. This was the global convention of social entrepreneurs known as Catalyst 2030, who came together to celebrate the first full report of activity since its launch (see our blogs here and here).

While many of our UK based projects are challenged with being diverse enough, this global project faces the task of integrating the immense diversity of the groups that are present. A European contributor is working in a very different context from an Indian or American counterpart. Yet there is a surprising commonality arising from their identity as social entrepreneurs.

Is it because we are all responding to this moment of shared experience – the climate emergency and now Covid – as a requirement to step ever more decisively away from the mainstream? To do more than our governments, trapped in business as usual, are capable of?

With that frame, every aspect of innovation is welcome. Not just on the outside, through methods, practices and forms of new economy. But on the inside too—meaning new ways of relating, feeling and being economic. Here the transformative potential of both educating girls and women in poorer countries, and of welcoming feminine intelligence to the top tables in wealthier countries, is firmly on the map.

So while no-one could deny that responding to the Covid crisis continues to be a bumpy ride, this past week shows us plenty of evidence that many have been actively incubating transformative change over lock down. Like the pupa stage of a butterfly, we may – collectively - still be somewhat hidden, difficult to quite picture or appreciate. But we are integrating and taking shape.

And when we finally take flight, we are likely to delight.

Alternative Editorial: How To Move Forward