Introductory lectures on Doughnut Economics

Version 1.0 (September 2021)

In June 2021, Ubiquity University kicked-off the first of its kind MRA, a Masters in Regenerative Action. For the first module of this new Masters programme, DEAL's Conceptual Lead, Kate Raworth, was invited to present these introductory lectures on Doughnut Economics. What you see here are recordings of those sessions, taking a journey from the core ideas of Doughnut Economics, through to how it can be applied to cities and businesses, and ending with the stories and insights from inspiring changemakers already putting these ideas into action, from the national scale, to the city or regional scale to the community scale.

Week 1 • Exploring the Doughnut of Social and Planetary Boundaries - 1hr 21

In this opening session, Kate introduces the Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries, inviting the group to explore its conceptual origins, philosophical implications, and some possibilities for its future evolution. We also look into the role and power of visual images in shaping economic thought and worldviews, and discuss the implications of shifting from a concept of economic progress based upon endless expansion to one based on thriving in balance.

0:00 Introduction by Jim Garrison
16:14 Overview of week 1
17:50 Exploring the Doughnut
1:05:32 The Embedded Economy

Week 2 • When the Doughnut Meets the City – The Implications of Downscaling - 1hr 37

In this session, we explore what it means to downscale the Doughnut and put it into practice in a particular place – ranging from neighbourhoods to nations. Kate Raworth and Andrew Fanning introduce DEAL’s approach to downscaling, discussing the conceptual and empirical challenges that this raises, and will share examples of the diverse ways it is being put into practice in different places. They also share DEAL’s ongoing work in adapting the downscaling methodology (which was first developed for cities in the global North) to the context, needs, and interests of cities and places in the global South.

0:00 Introduction by Jim Garrison
5:18 Overview of week 2
6:50 International downscaling across countries
28:45 Downscaling within Global North cities
44:49 Adaptations within Global South contexts
59:47 Feedback from breakout rooms
1:12:15 Exploring the Powers to Act

Week 3 • Can We Do Business in the Doughnut? - 1hr 36

This session explores the implications of Doughnut Economics for the future of business and enterprise. Kate introduces the diverse range of responses of business to the 21st-century challenge of meeting the needs of all within the means of the living planet, providing examples of companies that are working to put regenerative and distributive practice at the heart of their operations. Critically, she focuses on the key design traits of business itself – its purpose, networks, governance, ownership, and finance. We then discuss the transformations required in the design of business, and its regulation, so that it can be part of an economy in service to life. Kate closes by setting out DEAL's current policy (as of June 2021) on how businesses and business consultants can use Doughnut thinking in their work.

0:00 Introduction by Jim Garrison
5:23 Overview of week 3
6:35 The Corporate To Do List
16:06 Towards Regenerative and Distributive Design
39:58 The Deep Design of Business
1:06:22 Summary of when business meets the Doughnut
1:20:33 DEAL's business policy: openness & integrity

Week 4 – June 30, 2021 • From Ideas to Action: Learning with Changemakers - 2hr 2

This final session explores what arises when changemakers set out to turn ideas into action. Kate shares DEAL’s approach to turning Doughnut Economics from a book into practice, and the importance of balancing openness with integrity. We then focus on learning from three changemakers who are engaged in diverse examples of such practice: from a neighborhood in Birmingham UK to the capital region of Brussels, Belgium to the Island of Curaçao in the Caribbean. Learning from their intentions and experience we will explore the challenges and opportunities of turning Doughnut Economics into transformative action, both for the place-based changemakers and for DEAL as an organization.

0:00 Introduction by Jim Garrison
4:05 Recap of weeks 1 to 3 and introduction to week 4
11:30 Laure Malchair from Confluences, Brussels, Belgium
42:59 Juan-Carlos Goilo from Amsterdam and Curaçao
1:16:04 Immy Kaur from Civic Square, Birmingham, UK
1:39:15 Panel conversation
1:54:44 Closing remarks from Jim Garrison

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Jim Garrison and Ubiquity University for sharing the recordings of these videos for all to freely access.
And special thanks to Laure Malchair, Juan-Carlos Goilo and Imandeep Kaur for their inspiring contributions to the final session.

Links

Ubiquity University
Foundations of Doughnut Economics

Brussels
Downscaling the Donut at 4 levels in Brussels (story on the DEAL Community Platform)
Confluences website
Confluences on Facebook

Curaçao
Curaçao Doughnut Economy (story on the DEAL Community Platform)
Curaçao Doughnut Economy on Facebook

Birmingham
Neighbourhood Doughnut (story on the DEAL Community Platform)
Civic Square website
Civic Square twitter