By Cate Fox
An equitable, inclusive, and regenerative economy does not just happen by chance.
The work is hard and best done together. After all, it is the solidarity not the solitary economy. LIFT Economy has compiled a fantastic set of human and intellectual resources that help to demystify what it calls the next economy. I learned about them as a student in its nine month Next Economy MBA course, which combines economic theory, practice, and lived experience to illuminate the creation and reimagining of key principles and economic structures. This approach is a welcome change from most MBA programs whose education offerings are based on outdated, extractive premises developed during the industrial revolution that only deepen our social and environmental crises. Not to mention they also often require a significant amount of student debt to obtain!
The people in the learning cohort continually reminded me that this work is both ancient and new. The course provided opportunities to hear from and be in relationship with organizations that are setting the pace for the next economy, people literally building new economic frameworks. And, as it turns out, many of those voices were guides for the creation and implementation of Ambitio US . People who continue to influence our development as well as the field’s. Until recently I had not thought I had much agency in changing something as abstract as “the economy”, but this program offers an approachable and multi-dimensional curriculum that demonstrates how each of us can be part of enacting the economy we need and deserve. I am grateful and inspired to join the ranks of the Next Economy MBA alums.
This course was excellent, and especially helpful if you are trying to start or reimagine a current enterprise with regenerative values. LIFT Economy is publishing a book that captures what it has learned through its research, consulting practice, and experience with the MBA learning cohorts. It also offers an excellent podcast where it features leaders who are taking a regenerative, bio-regional, equitable, transparent, racially just, and whole-systems approach to creating the new economy.
Read a book, take a listen, and join us in the conversation!
Cate Fox (she/her/hers) is the Director of Ambitio US , The Center for Cultural Innovation’s (CCI) national pooled fund program.
This article was originally published on Medium. Read it on Medium →