Towards the end of last year, I joined the Skoll Centre Community Convening at Saïd Business School, two days that brought together researchers, practitioners, entrepreneurs, funders and social change leaders under the theme “New Models for a Changing World.” It was an energising and deeply human experience, filled with honest conversation, intellectual generosity and a shared recognition that we are all navigating a moment of profound complexity.
From the opening moments, the convening created a rare space where people spoke openly about the pressures they are facing and the adaptations they are making in their organisations, their practices and themselves. There was no polished certainty, only a refreshing willingness to acknowledge that the work is hard and the ground is shifting.
Adapting in Crisis Together
The opening conversations were intimate and disarmingly candid. People named exhaustion and uncertainty, but also resilience and creativity. Guided by Professor Marya Besharov and contributions from Skoll Centre researchers, I was reminded that the most resonant learning is found in the stories people live, not the ones they summarise.
Purpose and Mutuality
One session that continues to resonate explored how organisations can secure their mission for the long term while reimagining ownership and power. Mark Hand, researcher and advocate for alternative business models, offered a clear and practical framework that examined purpose, decision making and participation. Insights from Melissa Hoover of Apis & Heritage, Charlotte Tickle of Riverford Organic Farmers and Sonal Sharma of SEWA Bharat showed that experimenting with new forms of ownership is not only a structural shift but also a cultural journey that calls for patience, imagination and courage.
Financing Systems Change
Other conversations invited us to rethink the role of capital altogether. Rather than seeing money as fuel for individual projects, speakers encouraged us to consider how capital can reshape the conditions of entire systems. Examples from Acumen, the One Hundred X Impact Accelerator, the New Capitalism Project and the Access Foundation showed what becomes possible when funding is aligned with shared values, long term outcomes and more equitable relationships.
Across the two days, some themes were recurring:
- the need to rethink power and participation in social purpose work
- the recognition that ownership is always relational as well as structural
- the invitation to transform the way capital flows and to whom it is accountable
- the understanding that community is not a backdrop but a strategy
What I appreciated most was the steady emphasis on learning from the messy parts of our work, the experiments still in motion and the questions without clear answers. There was a generosity in the room that felt both grounding and galvanising.
All this left me with a few reflections I will carry forward:
- Community is a powerful antidote to overwhelm
- New models require imagination and rigour
- Ownership of mission, value and decision making is central to justice
- Capital must evolve if systems change is to be real
- And above all, progress depends on our willingness to learn and act together
I am grateful to the Skoll Centre team for creating such an intentional space and to the entire group of attendees who participated with such openness and care.
Here’s to continuing the conversations and the work, long after the convening has ended.
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