The Solution-Focused Collective and the Manifesto for Social Change
In 2018, I was involved in setting up the Solution-Focused Collective, a loose and fluid grouping of solution-focused practitioners around the world who are all committed toworking towards social change. We have been working together to develop our Manifesto and share it with our colleagues, supporters and service users.
How to get involved with the SF Collective
Towards the end of 2020, we considered how to develop a structure and a process for the Collective that made it easier for people to become involved, and also that led to a democratic and inclusive decision-making process. We have decided to have monthly meetings, on the second Monday each month, open to all who subscribe to the aims of the Collective. We produced this statement, to be sent out with the notice and agenda of the meeting each month:
-
The organising meetings of the Solution-Focused Collective are open to anyone who shares the aims of the Collective’s solution-focused manifesto for social change.
-
What is the Solution-Focused Collective and what does it do?
-
The Collective is not a membership organisation – so what is it?
-
It is a loose and fluid grouping of anyone who shares its aims and wants to be involved.
-
It is a manifesto.
-
It is an idea.
-
It is a developer, a catalyst, an encourager and a chronicler of actions.
-
These actions could include anything that further the aims of the manifesto.
-
There are actions by the Solution-Focused Collective and actions inspired by the Solution-Focused Collective and we ask people who take action to respect this distinction.
-
All actions by the Solution Focused Collective are agreed at its regular organising meetings.
-
And… the organising meetings of the Solution-Focused Collective are open to anyone who shares the aims of the Collective’s solution-focused manifesto for social change…
If you want to learn more, visit the Collective's website, and if you want to receive the monthly notice and agenda of the meetings, email the Collective and ask to go on its mailing list.
The Solution-Focused Collective
Reading Group
The reading group has been meeting since early 2020 - read about it in this blog post I wrote with Marc Gardiner, of the Zebra Collective. To find out more and how to attend meetings of the group, drop us an email.
Towards a Critical Solution-Focused Practice
I was invited to write an article for the first issue of a Polish solution-focused magazine, in early 2018, and an English version was published in the revamped Journal of Solution-Focused Practices in 2020. It was written just before the Collective was formed, but the ideas behind the Collective were prefigured here.
A Solution-Focused Collective Action Space Conference!
Our second international online conference took place on Saturday 4th July 2020. You can find a report and recordings from the conference on the SF Collective website.
My presentation about the development of the Manifesto at the 2018 European Brief Therapy Association Conference in Sofia, Bulgaria, is on the Resources page.
Since we launched the Solution-Focused Manifesto for Social Change at the 2019 UKASFP Conference, it has been translated into several other languages, including Swedish, German, Dutch and Hungarian, which can all be found on the Collective's website.
The Collective’s activities are organised by a group of ‘hosts' and we are running a number of specific groups, open to anyone who supports the manifesto, including a general online discussion group, a writing group and reading group. We are also supporting the development of actions for social and community-based change.
The Collective’s Twitter account is @solfocollective, and we also have a Facebook group and page.
To find out more, become a Collective host, or to get involved in another way, email us at solfocollective@gmail.com