Table Of ContentLeading Transformative
Change Collectively
This book directly helps decision-m akers and change agents in companies, NGOs, and government
bodies become more proficient in transformative, collaborative change in realizing the SDGs.
This practitioner’s handbook translates a systemic – and enlivening – approach to collaboration
into day- to- day work and management. It connects the emerging practice of multi- stakeholder
collaboration to easily understandable models, tools, and cases. Numerous, concrete cases not only
bring this methodology to life, but also help identify the challenges and avoid common mistakes.
The book can be used as a guide to apply a breakthrough approach for navigating the complexity
of stakeholder systems, designing results- oriented process architectures, ensuring the success of
cross- sector change initiatives, and enlivening collaboration ecosystems for SDG implementation. It
is designed to enhance high quality stakeholder engagement, dialogue, and collaboration.
A must-read, the book sets a new standard for the collaborative implementation of Agenda 2030
and is a foundational guide for leading sustainability transformations collectively to achieve climate
change mitigation, social integration, equitable value chains, and address broad sustainability challenges.
Petra Kuenkel, Executive Committee Member of the Club of Rome and Founder of the Collective
Leadership Institute, is a systems psychologist, visionary author, and expert in complex
multi- stakeholder collaborations. She drives SDG implementation by scaling- up collective
stewardship skills for corporations, public sector, and civil society.
Elisabeth Kühn is an expert in transformative sustainability initiatives that empower civil society
actors. As a managing partner at the Collective Leadership Institute, she has worked extensively
in facilitating and building capacity for collaboration of change agents in sustainable resource
management and good governance.
Dominic Stucker’s passion is engaging multi-s takeholder teams to lead systems transformations
for sustainability. As a Donella Meadows Fellow and managing partner at the Collective Leadership
Institute, he is an expert dialogic facilitator, systems thinker, and process steward working across
borders to help realize the SDGs.
Douglas F. Williamson is a managing partner at the Collective Leadership Institute, an education,
facilitation, and sustainability communications expert, and an award-w inning environmental
filmmaker. He has substantial experience in working with international environmental NGOs, the
United Nations University, and the US EPA’s Climate Change Division.
Leading
Transformative
Change Collectively
A Practitioner Guide to
Realizing the SDGs
Petra Kuenkel, Elisabeth Kühn,
Dominic Stucker and Douglas F. Williamson
First published 2021
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2021 Petra Kuenkel, Elisabeth Kühn, Dominic Stucker and Douglas F. Williamson
The right of Petra Kuenkel, Elisabeth Kühn, Dominic Stucker and Douglas
F. Williamson to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted
by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com,
has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non
Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing- in- Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Kuenkel, Petra, 1956– author. | Kühn, Elisabeth (Intern), author. |
Stucker, Dominic, author. | Williamson, Douglas F., author.
Title: Leading transformative change collectively : a practitioner guide to
realizing the SDGs / Petra Kuenkel, Elisabeth Kühn, Dominic Stucker,
Douglas F. Williamson.
Description: Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge,
2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020029452 (print) | LCCN 2020029453 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780367471170 (hardback) | ISBN 9780367471187 (paperback) |
ISBN 9781003033561 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Sustainable development. | Cooperation—Social aspects. |
Leadership—Social aspects. | Organizational change.
Classification: LCC HC79.E5 K83 2021 (print) | LCC HC79.E5 (ebook) |
DDC 658.4/06—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020029452
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020029453
ISBN: 978- 0- 367- 47117- 0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978- 0- 367- 47118- 7 (pbk)
ISBN: 978- 1- 003- 03356- 1 (ebk)
Typeset in Scala Sans
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
List of acronyms vii
List of tables ix
List of figures xi
List of case examples xiii
List of boxes xv
Acknowledgments xvi
Preamble xviii
Foreword xix
Introduction 1
1 Getting started: understanding collaborative action
for transformative change 10
Multi- stakeholder collaborations in SDG implementation 13
Leading collectively at all levels: from global to local 18
Formats of multi- stakeholder collaborations that fit purpose 23
Understanding cross- sector settings 32
Creating conditions for transformative change 43
The Collective Leadership Compass for the collaborative journey 53
2 Getting active: making multi- stakeholder collaborations work 71
Stewarding collaborative change: the Dialogic Change Model 72
Examples from the field: leading transformative change 110
3 Ensuring success: the role of dialogic process facilitators
in enlivening collaboration ecosystems 129
The purpose of dialogue in multi- stakeholder collaborations 131
Dialogic process facilitators: stewards of aliveness in collaboration
ecosystems 158
4 Becoming transformative: process architectures for building
impactful collaboration ecosystems 208
Planning impact in multi- stakeholder collaborations 210
The purpose of process: cultivating aliveness in collaboration
ecosystems 226
The purpose of structure: governance for sustaining aliveness
in collaboration ecosystems 252
5 Becoming reflective: cultivating a culture of learning 265
From success factors to collaboration catalysts 268
The role of process monitoring in multi- stakeholder collaboration 283
Trouble shooting guide: managing difficulties in multi- stakeholder
collaboration 296
Communication: the fastest route to a learning culture 313
Methodologies for leading transformative change collectively 320
6 Epilogue 334
Annex 1 Collective Leadership Compass 338
Annex 2 The Dialogic Change Model 339
Annex 3 SDGs 340
Annex 4 Glossary 341
Index 347
vi contents
Acronyms
4C Common Code for the Coffee Community
ACA African Cashew Alliance
ADRA Adventist Development and Relief Agency
AUDA African Union Development Agency
BEDS Bangladesh Environment and Development Society
BMZ German Ministry for International Cooperation and Economic
Development
CTA Central Technical Amana
EC Executive Council
EDS Egyptian Dual System
EFIA Egyptian Federation of Investors Associations
EITI Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
EU European Union
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
FEI Federation of Egyptian Industries
FLEGT Forest Law Enforcement, Governance, and Trade Action Plan
FSC Forest Stewardship Council
GDP Gross domestic product
GIZ Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit
GNF Global Nature Fund
GTA Governorate Technical Amana
IWRM Integrated Water Resource Management
KAZA Kavango- Zambezi
MAP Multi- Actor partnership
MoETE Ministry of Education and Technical Education (Egypt)
MoFALI Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Light Industry of Mongolia
MoU Memorandum of understanding
NAMAC National Association of Mongolian Agriculture Cooperatives
NEDLAC National Economic Development and Labour Council in South Africa
NEPAD New Partnership for Africa’s Development
NEWS Nature, Environment, and Wildlife Society (India)
NGO Non- governmental organization
OECD Organisation for Economic Co- Operation and Development
PAGE Partnership for Action on Green Economy
PGS Participatory Guarantee System
POAg Multi- Stakeholder Partnership for Organic Agriculture
PPD Public Private Dialogue
RSPO Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil
SDGs Sustainable Development Goals
SIDS Small island developing states
SITRA Finnish Innovation Fund
SMEs small- and medium- sized enterprises
STEM Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
TEGs Technical expert groups
TLAS Timber Legality Assurance System
TLD timber legality definition
ToC theory of change
TWG Technical Working Group
UN United Nations
UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
US United States
VPA Voluntary Partnership Agreement
WE worldwide enhancement
WWF World Wide Fund for Nature
viii acronyms
Tables
0.1 Levels of skills development for multi- stakeholder collaboration 7
1.1 Why multi- stakeholder collaborations are a promising approach
to SDG implementation 15
1.2 Checklist for the potential of multi- stakeholder collaboration 18
1.3 Understanding the difference between consultation and cooperation
processes 24
1.4 Formats of multi- stakeholder collaborations: summary of purpose
and applications 32
1.5 Navigating the interests of different stakeholder groups 41
1.6 From individual leadership to collective leadership 45
1.7 The Collective Leadership Compass dimensions and aspects 61
1.8 Levels of Compass applications 64
2.1 The four phases of multi- stakeholder collaboration 75
2.2 Readiness check Phase 1 103
2.3 Readiness check Phase 2 105
2.4 Readiness check Phase 3 106
2.5 Readiness check Phase 4 108
2.6 The 4C initiative’s high- quality collaboration in Phase 1 112
2.7 The 4C initiative’s high- quality collaboration in Phase 2 114
2.8 The application of the Collective Leadership Compass in Phases 1
and 2 for sustainable forestry and trade in Laos 119
2.9 Context understanding with the Collective Leadership Compass 123
3.1 The shared principles for stakeholder meetings 143
3.2 Design practices for co- creative conversations 154
