Peter Lefort discusses his recent Springboard-funded work, the Positive Tipping Points Toolkit, which builds on research exploring the positive impact that small-scale changes can have on the climate crisis. The toolkit forms part of a much larger project, focussed on bringing this methodology to new audiences.
Amount of award: £3,000
The emerging tipping points toolkit aims to operationalise research from the Global Systems Institute (GSI) and partner institutions around the world, rendering it accessible to a wider audience. The aim of this funding was to enable a series of events which would increase research access in simple and interactive ways, while creating feedback loops that will bring new perspectives into the co-design of the toolkit. Public engagement is particularly important due to the project’s focus on research accessibility, and so non-academic perspectives were crucial in informing its development.
The funding supported the delivery of 5 workshops, engaging different audiences in different contexts:
- An in-person workshop in Exeter, part of the Exeter Doughnut Economics Gathering and attended by 2/3 of conference attendees.
- An in-person workshop in Winchester, attended by members of Winchester Action on the Climate Crisis and key partners (e.g. Council officers, youth members)
- An online workshop, attended by a group who responded to an open call-out via the Green Futures Newsletter
- Another in-person workshop in Cornwall, including individuals from a range of organisations and community projects.
- A final in-person workshop, again, in Exeter, attended by members of the Devon Community Action Group Network.
In total, over 75 people attended the workshops and gave invaluable feedback to help the ongoing development of the toolkit and its component activities.
Collecting the feedback was an interesting challenge, with different approaches tested. These included feedback forms during the event, an online form after the event, verbal feedback during the event, and more embodied activities – such as inviting participants to move around the workshop room in response to prompts. Each feedback method yielded useful and different information, so it was a valuable process of experimentation.
Undertaking this work as a funded project enabled the Community of Practice members (who have helped develop the toolkit) to be paid for their time in co-creating and co-facilitating the workshops. We were also able to pay participants to attend, except in the case of the conference workshop. This allowed for a genuinely experimental approach, with participants fully understanding their role as critical friends to the process. The feedback also indicated that participants found the process itself useful for their work, particularly the opportunity to engage with new activities helping to make complex systems more accessible.
In January 2025, two new cohorts of 12 people joined a free six-month collaborative process to test and develop the first version of the Positive Tipping Points Toolkit, ahead of a public launch. Hosted with Huddlecraft, a support system for peer-to-peer learning and action, the small groups (Huddles) meet online every two weeks to build an experiential approach to working towards positive tipping points in social & climate action.
The Huddles will explore how the toolkit can be applied in practice, and help develop it into something that can be shared more widely with individuals and organisations working on transformation. The end of the process will involve showcasing the work at the 2025 Global Tipping Points Conference in Exeter, taking it to an even wider audience.