The social organism ontology proposes the following fundamental elements of **agency**, **membranes**, **roles**, **functions**, **flows,** and **culture**. Each element — **agency, membranes, functions, roles, flows, and culture** — represents a high-level recurring structure or behavior in the design and functioning of a social organism. These can be seen as **patterns** because they describe generalizable solutions to common challenges in building and sustaining social systems. Each of these can be broken down into **sub-patterns**. [These object level primitives are intended to offer a composable pattern language for a diverse range of organism types that offer a diverse range of ecosystemic functions. Viewing social organisms as objects alone, however, negates the overarching ontological foundations of living systems principles, thus requiring the following living systems grammar to contextualize organisms as processes that are born, mature, evolve, decay, and offer their source materials back to the commons in the form of decomposition and systemic learning feedback loops.] [These ontological primitives are offered as a starting point for a collaborative process between civic innovators, organizers, and patrons to develop and deploy coordination systems that leverage this universal living systems language to provide foundations of interoperability and co-evolution. Taxonomic structures at the end of each element description offer an initial scaffolding structure for further socio-technical research and development.] - **[[#Agency]]**: Addresses the balance of individual and collective participation in a system. - **[[#Membranes]]**: Solve the challenge of defining boundaries and regulating flows between parts of a system. - **[[#Roles]]**: Provide a template for distributing responsibility and ensuring coordination. - **[[#Flows]]**: Describe how resources and information move through a system to maintain balance and functionality. - **[[#Culture]]**: Establishes coherence and sustainability through shared purpose, practices, and values. ## Agency Agency is the capacity of any individual, group, or entity to participate in systems through actions that influence the dynamics, structure, and functioning of the social organism and the ecology within which the social organism is situated. This includes their interactions, decision-making processes, and contributions to the collective behavior and outcomes of the organism. Agency can be held by **agents** or **agencies**. Social organisms require a healthy balance of individual and collective agency. Defining clear bounds for the types of agency held by individual agents and collective agencies is essential for healthy relationships of flow and creativity. Holonic in nature, agents and agencies can be viewed as parts or as wholes depending upon the context of interpretation. For example, we assume ourselves as individual humans to be agents but are in fact composed of multiple nested agents and agencies from cells to organ systems. One can view themselves as an agent so long as the subsystems are functioning in healthy patterns of flow. Similarly, agencies can be viewed as agents only when their subsystems are healthy and the social organism is exhibiting healthy patterns of flow. As an elemental category, agency within an social organism encompass: - **Agents:** individual actors who initiate actions, make decisions, hold roles and responsibilities, have needs and skills, and influence outcomes within the social [system|organism], contributing as a component part to a social organism’s overall adaptive and dynamic processes. - **Agencies:** groups of agents that collectively initiate actions, influence outcomes, and produce outputs based utilizing participatory governance patterns to coordinate collective agency towards a mutually shared mission, vision, and purpose. ### Taxonomic Structure - Actors - Agents - OfferingsSkills - Mission, Vision, and Purpose - Needs - Relationships - Roles - Responsibilities - Agencies - Governance Type - Cooperatives - Non-Profits - Corporations - Collaborative Initiatives - Alliances - Consortia - Mission, Vision, and Purpose - Relationships - Offerings - Needs - Roles - Responsibilities ## Membranes Membranes are the boundaries that regulate and manage interactions, information flow, and resource exchange between actors in different parts of the social [organism|system]. These membranes maintain the integrity and coherence of distinct [parts|social units] while facilitating selective permeability for communication and collaboration, thereby supporting the organism's overall functionality and adaptability. The membranes of a social organism encompass: - **Nesting:** Membranes contain and are contained by other membranes. Internally, membranes refer to component parts within the social organism. Externally, membranes refer to the nested holons within which the membrane is located. - **Peer Relations:** Membranes also define the lateral relationships within peer groups. These relationships, internal or external, reference the flows across parts and wholes. - **Threshold Conditions:** Semipermeable membranes maintain structural integrity by determining what types of agency and flows are permitted to cross into the social organism. Clearly defined membranes support healthy reciprocal flows. ### Taxonomic Structure - Nesting - Internal Nesting - External Nesting - Peer Relationships - Reciprocal Flows - Partnerships - Threshold Conditions - Invitation-Only - Agency Conditions - Qualitative Conditions - Quantitative Conditions - Flow Conditions - Qualitative Conditions - Quantitative Conditions ## Functions Functions are the essential actions performed by actors that contribute to the maintenance, growth, and adaptation of the social [organism|system]. These functions are vital for achieving the organism's objectives, ensuring its stability, and enabling its response to internal and external changes. Social organism functions are based on the OODA Loop model, a simple feedback loop that helps a social organism observe the challenge it is attempting to address in its environment through collective sensemaking, orient its strategy through a comprehensive mapping of relevant systems components, make collective decisions relevant to coordination and shared agency, and take action through resource allocation and coordination. As the social organism runs through this feedback loop throughout its lifecycle, it is critical to integrate the ongoing learnings into adaptive, iterative improvements. The functions of a social organism encompass: - **Sense-making:** The process of interpreting and understanding complex information to create a shared perspective and meaning within a social organism. - **Mapping:** The identification and visualization of the relationships, structures, and dynamics to better understand components of a holistic system and their interactions. - **Decision Making:** The evaluation of options and selection of courses of action to guide the social organism toward its goals. - **Allocating:** The distribution of resources and roles to optimize [the social organism's] functioning. - **Coordinating:** The synchronization and alignment of activities, processes, and efforts among different parts of the social organism to ensure effective collaboration and efficiency. - **Learning:** The acquisition, assimilation, and application of insights to improve the social organism's adaptability, resilience, and functioning. ### Taxonomic Structure - Sense-making / engage - Coherence Building - Data Collection & Research - Mapping / research - Flows - Agency - Feedback Loops - Decision Making / align - Proposals - Decision Thresholds - Consensus - Lazy Consensus - Voting - Decision Makers - Allocating / fund - Budgets - Metrics - Coordinating / coordinate - Signaling & Communication Flows - Collaborative Processes - Learning / educate - Surveying - Analyzing ## **Roles** Roles are the the specific functions, responsibilities, and behaviors assigned to or adopted by actors within the social [organism|system]. These roles guide interactions, contribute to the distribution of activities, and shape the collective purpose of the organism, enabling effective coordination towards shared goals. Roles define the scope of individual agency, where consensus is needed vs where individual agency is collectively supported, and which agents are responsible for stewarding which flows and functions. Roles can be nested into membranes if the scope of the role expands beyond the capacity of a single agent. The roles of a social organism encompass: - **Role Type:** Role types may include standard functions or customized functions. Social organisms may set as a membrane condition that each membrane contains a certain number of specific role types (ie facilitators or knowledge managers) for the healthy functioning of that membrane. - **Role Description:** Role descriptions are summaries of responsibilities and permissions for each role. Written in natural language, they are effectively a mission, vision, and purpose statement for each agent or agency within a social organism. These statements provide a baseline rubric for the evaluation of the role filler’s functions. - **Role Responsibilities:** Responsibilities are specific functions that a role filler fulfills through their agency. - **Role Permissions:** Permissions define the scope of agency for each role. Permissions may address various contexts of agency with the goal of clearly defined boundaries between collective agency and individual empowerment. ### Taxonomic Structure - Role Type - Facilitation - Communication - Knowledge Management - Linking Role - Custom - Role Description - Role Responsibilities - Functions - Flows - Role Permissions - Domains of Agency ## **Flows** Flows are the movement and exchange of information, resources, and energy across the membranes between actors within the social organism and social ecology. These flows facilitate communication, collaboration, cooperation, and coordination, ensuring the continuous functioning and adaptability of the organism by enabling the distribution and integration of essential elements needed for its [flourishing|survival and development]. Value flows denote the inflows of various forms of capital, the transformation of those inflows into outflows, and the value added through the transformation process. Flows can be understood through the MetaIntegral multi-capital framework which describes ten distinct forms of capital whose healthy flows are necessary for a social organism. These forms of capital include: - **Financial Capital**: This is the most familiar form of capital. It includes money, investments, and financial assets. Financial capital enables economic transactions and investment in other forms of capital. - **Human Capital**: Human capital encompasses the skills, knowledge, and abilities possessed by individuals. Education, training, experience, and health contribute to human capital. It represents an individual’s capacity to create value. - **Social Capital**: Social capital relates to social connections, networks, and relationships. Trust, cooperation, and community bonds fall under this category. Social capital facilitates collaboration and collective action. - **Natural Capital**: Natural capital refers to Earth’s natural resources and ecosystems. It includes forests, water bodies, minerals, and biodiversity. Proper management of natural capital is essential for sustainability. - **Manufactured Capital**: This type of capital comprises non-living physical objects. It includes infrastructure, buildings, machinery, and technology. Manufactured capital supports economic activities. - **Cultural Capital**: Cultural capital encompasses shared beliefs, traditions, and cultural heritage. It includes art, music, language, and cultural practices. Cultural capital contributes to identity and social cohesion. - **Knowledge Capital**: Knowledge capital represents intellectual resources. It includes information, expertise, innovation, and intellectual property. Knowledge capital drives progress and development. - **Health Capital**: Health capital refers to physical well-being and health. It includes nutrition, exercise, and overall health. Good health contributes to productivity and quality of life. - **Psychological Capital**: Psychological capital focuses on mental and emotional well-being. Resilience, optimism, and self-confidence fall under this category. Psychological capital influences personal success. - **Spiritual Capital**: Spiritual capital encompasses inner values, purpose, and meaning. It relates to our spiritual beliefs and connection to something greater than ourselves. These forms of capital interact and influence each other. Recognizing and balancing them is crucial for sustainable development and holistic well-being. The flows of a social organism encompass: - **Inputs:** Inputs are the [information, resources, and energy | resources, information, energy, and stimuli] that are introduced into the social [system | organism]. These inputs are essential for [initiating processes, driving activities, and enabling interactions] that sustain and develop the organism's [functions and goals]. - **Outputs:** Outputs are the tangible and intangible results produced by the activities, processes, and interactions within the social [ system | organism ]. These outputs include [products, services, knowledge, decisions, and actions] that contribute to the organism's [goals, enhance its functioning, and influence its environment]. - **Value Accounting:** Value accounting is the systematic tracking, measuring, and evaluating of [contributions, resources, and benefits] within the social [system | organism]. This process ensures that the value created [by individuals and groups] is [recognized, quantified, and fairly distributed], fostering [transparency, equity, and mutual support] among the participants in the organism. ### Taxonomic Structure - Inputs - Capital Type - Related Membranes - Outputs - Capital Type - Related Membranes - Value Accounting - Agent - Task - Evaluation ## **Culture** The culture of a social organism is both its internal set of agreements, rituals, and behavioral practices as well as its overall expression of the collective sense of purpose, mission, and vision of its members. Establishing a core Cultural DNA at the center of every membrane is essential to cohere and sustain a social organism’s longevity through its lifecycle. This core DNA should establish the fundamental relational agreements between participants and provide means of restorative justice when interpersonal or mission-related ruptures occur. The culture of a social organism encompass: - **Vision, Mission, and Purpose:** By providing a guiding north star for the collective agency of the social organism, it is clear to participants why they may want or not want to align through collective agency. While approaches may differ throughout the maturation of the social organism, a shared sense of the organism’s ultimate purpose provides an evaluative mechanism for the organism to reflect upon its own successes or failures. - **Values:** Values are effectively priorities that further help to guide the process and outputs of a social organism. Whereas the mission and purpose of the organism describe the desired outcomes, values further identify the qualities of the process and outcome that participants desire. - **Practices and Rituals:** Practices and rituals are social mechanisms for establishing and maintaining group coherence or to support restorative processes when ruptures occur. Ranging from daily group practices like brief meditations or check ins to quarterly in-person retreats or ceremonies, group practices are essential to ensure the social organism’s culture is intact and effective. - **Agreements:** Agreements refer to a broad range of different types of social constructs related to the relational qualities of the social organism. Agreements can establish mutually determined behavioral norms, participatory processes, or communication patterns. ### Taxonomic Structure - Vision, Mission, and Purpose - Theory Of Change - Purpose Statement - Values - Process Values - Outcomes Values - Practices & Rituals - Dyad Practices - Group Practices - Restorative Practices - Co-Creative Practices - Agreements - Behavioral Agreements - Process Agreements - Communication Agreements