Supercommunities
A handbook for the 21st century
The new book by Keith Harrison-Broninski
With foreword by Vint Cerf, Co-Inventor of the Internet and Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of the RSA
"Supercommunities" is the first in a trilogy. See the "Upcoming" section below for details of the two books yet to be published, "Supernations" and "Superorganisations".
By 2050, half the planet will be living on a knife edge. Communities cannot afford to wait for cash-strapped governments to address inequality and climate change. But how can they afford to take action themselves?
Cities, towns, neighbourhoods, and villages can and must become supercommunities — ecosystems able to sustain their natural, human, and industrial capitals. A supercommunity evolves from within to meet new challenges in times of crisis. It removes friction from collaboration so that local people become stakeholders and local organisations work together effectively. Powered by social trading, a supercommunity leverages progressive economic ideas and digital tools for local wellness.
Today, a tiny fraction of global investment is into social impact. Supercommunities will unlock the true potential of finance by offering investors worldwide the chance to become stakeholders in good things.
See below for explanatory videos (1 minute explainers and other talks), testimonials, a synopsis of the book, and bonus material on Web platforms for communities.
Join the Supercommunities group on LinkedIn
Buy in UK: Amazon UK
Buy in US: Barnes and Noble Amazon US
Download the images from the book
Published by Meghan-Kiffer Press, a research and publishing company tightly focused on innovation at the intersection of business and technology. For bulk orders, or if you would like a review copy, please email orders@mkpress.com.
Supercommunities
Supercommunities
Supercommunities in 1 minute - 1 of 12 - In a nutshell
Supercommunities in 1 minute - 2 of 12 - Capitals and assets
Supercommunities in 1 minute - 3 of 12 - Wellness
Supercommunities in 1 minute - 4 of 12 - PsyCap
Supercommunities in 1 minute - 5 of 12 - Collaboration has 5 Cs
Supercommunities in 1 minute - 6 of 12 - The 4 types of conversation
Supercommunities in 1 minute - 7 of 12 - Connecting with community
Supercommunities in 1 minute - 8 of 12 - Start with the data
Supercommunities in 1 minute - 9 of 12 - Stakeitback
Supercommunities in 1 minute - 10 of 12 - Sharing community data
Supercommunities in 1 minute - 11 of 12 - Making decisions
Supercommunities in 1 minute - 12 of 12 - Friction
Supercommunities lecture to University of Bristol 30-Jun-21
Keith Harrison-Broninski Plenary Keynote at Enterprise Architecture Europe 2021
Are Your Social Investments Actually Helping The World? | Keith Harrison Broninski | TBCY
Supercommunities - Talk to the Royal Society of Arts (22 Feb 2021)
Supercommunities - From the Bronze Age to the Digital Age
Interview with Stephen Ibaraki
"Supercommunities offers a path away from social and economic meltdown, but following that path will require cooperation and consensus on a scale unprecedented in human history ... Old economic theories of ownership and wealth distribution will need revision if all the world’s population is to thrive in the remainder of the 21st Century ... It is very late but perhaps not too late to adopt new directions, recognizing the common threat posed by our present, inequitable and ultimately disastrous practices.
We will need to replace short term thinking with long term planning and execution if we are to regain upward motion towards common benefit for everyone on Spaceship Earth. To begin, read this book!"
From the foreword by
Vint Cerf
Co-Inventor of the Internet
"Reflecting his own many talents and interests, Keith Harrison-Broninski’s ‘Supercommunities’ is a fascinating, eclectic and powerful call for us to rebuild society from the bottom up. As we move into a post Covid period still facing the many challenges that existed before the pandemic there is a need for us to rethink our ideas of human and social flourishing and to respond to the palpable public appetite for new ways of thinking. Ranging from ancient history to economics to psychology to public policy ‘Supercommunities’ is both authoritative and highly readable. It puts our current challenges in context, shows why change is necessary and provides a trove of practical ideas for change makers."
From the foreword by
Matthew Taylor
Chief Executive, The RSA
"These frightening times call for new thinking and big ideas. In the beautifully titled 'Supercommunities', Keith Harrison-Broninski explains how very contemporary digital tools can be used to reinforce old and important ideas about community and common interest. Our politics and economics of 'me' must return to being about 'we', and this book shows us how."
Professor Martin Parker
Lead, Bristol Inclusive Economy Initiative
“Keith Harrison-Broninski draws on rich, eclectic sources to steer readers artfully through humanity’s stumbling efforts to approximate the 'summum bonum', the good life of meaning and connectedness we almost universally aspire to, asking a simple question: are we now able to meld what we learned in psychology, micro-economics and organizational behavior with the new possibilities offered by technology and the information age to (re-)create a shared living which is spiritually nourishing and paradoxically natural? Supercommunities is timely and compelling as we look to build back better following the COVID-19 pandemic with resilience 'baked in' to our social and economic order.”
David Hayward Evans
Senior Advisor, UNICEF
"Yes, Supercommunities is a handbook for the 21st century; more importantly, however, this is a handy book on how to fix our increasingly complex and troubling future.
Handy and timely. An essential read.”
Andrew Keen
Author, entrepreneur, and host of KEEN ON podcast
A truly important piece by Keith Harrison-Broninski on how small communities can thrive under stress.
As we ponder what we can do in our own enclaves to make a positive impact under truly daunting stressors, this is the kind of book we need right now.
Phaedra Boinodiris, FRSA
Author & Trust in AI Business Transformation Leader, IBM
Jim Stikeleather
Author & Fmr. Chief Innovation Officer at Dell
“Systems theory has told us for decades that optimizing a subsystem always results in the suboptimization of the system it resides in, always. Yet our system of society has insisted on focusing on optimizing its many subsystems of government, business, education, healthcare, media, science, even art and sport. The consequences have been increasing inequity and balkanization of society across all its dimensions, along with increased fragility of all its parts. Systems theory also tells us that optimization of the system requires a dynamic network of interactions among all the subsystems and elements that make up the subsystems, where the efficacy of the relationships self-organize and trump the efficiency of the subsystems. Keith Harrison-Broninski has synthesized and distilled the many elements of this into Supercommunities, the ultimate self-help book for society and a handbook for those who want to understand how to change it.”
“Collaboration alone buys better outcomes for individuals, but the real big deal is applying collaboration to communities. This book describes the nature of communities and gives a significant prescription for creating and maintaining healthy communities. Digital technologies can accelerate results for all kinds of communities in the dynamic world we live in today.”
Jim Sinur
Former Vice President, Gartner
“The current Digital Transition of society is also a shift from ‘command-and-Control to a ‘connect-and-collaborate’ society where the norm is ‘What do we have in common?’ rather than ‘What sets us apart?’’ - i.e., the community model will become the norm. This book explains where it comes from and how you can keep on going.”