THE DREAM COLLECTIVE Print date 16/06/07

Transforming CSR into an OD Intervention for channelising Free Energy

The concept note explains how Dream Collectives can transform Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs
into a initiative for an ODI. The exercise works at revitalizing and re energising the individual, the collective and
the organisation. Additionally it also serves to further the corporate purpose of the CSR programs.

Introduction
It was on a Sunday morning that a group of about 20 process work interns of the Sumedhas
Summer Program 2007 met together to share something that they held very special. The group
held the premise that when they assembled into groups, they held within themselves a sense
of identity which went beyond the mere physical descriptors of their social systems and the role
held in groups. They held a strong anchor to a part of their identity which dealt with their
aspirations and dreams, unrealised but not abandoned. These were special intentions; an 'as
could be' fantasy. In the process of group dynamics, it may be interpreted as a classic escapist
mechanism by the group dealing with the pressure of doing internal work with 'flight / fight'
release. Nevertheless it does not take away from a person, the right to hold on to this part of
the identity which has got welded to a 'would be' world, so beautiful that it becomes a coping
mechanism for the stress of the 'here and now'.

Organisational Potential
The concept emerging in the OD – Sumedhas perspective is that Organisations are systems
with internal energy. Raghu Ananthanarayanan (2007), proposes that,
The source of the fundamental evolutionary energy of a group is the individual's energy. This energy
is a function of the individual's identity and the life role and is channelised into a person's role in a
group.
Prof Indira J Parikh (2007) explores it further,
Each individual, collectivity and organisation has free energy. This energy broadens horizons, pushes
forth new frontiers, stands at the precipice to plunge, and is ready to open to discovery. This energy is
reflected in the creativity of individuals, their dreams, hopes, aspirations and action initiatives. It is
reflected in the movement of the collectivity, which pulls the organisation to walk new paths. ... Free
energy empowers, initiates or propels the actions to happen.
So free energy is actually a potential available at an individual and collective level... Free energy lies
in me being in a dream state and thus having the freedom to experiment with myself
... Free energy is also a carrier of hopes, dreams and aspirations which beckon you
to the future. It is the energy of the identity which needs an expression. If you do not
express it, it becomes captive or frozen.

There is a latent need in people to find expression of this evocative part of their identity.
However for some it is already frozen, dead. But for a large majority, it would be in the captive
stage. According to Prof Parikh the energy which was once available in all three constituencies,
viz., individual, collectivity and the organisation, is held captive and no new initiatives and
actions emerge. 'The persons – the imprisoned and the imprisoner – all give up their free
energy'. However there will always be some free energy in the internal system. And this energy
will become an energy centre to draw out some of the captive energy and make it free
(available). Without a shared purpose, the energy will once again become dormant and find
shelter in consistency, continuity, safety and personal security. A hypothesis is that this is also
what happened at the interns' session at Sumedhas Summer Program 2007.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs are being typically run by special cells under
corporate functions. Most of the programs are decided in the boardrooms and corner offices.
These top down programs are then transferred to the staff in a myriad of ways. Some times a
day's salary is compulsorily deducted for some disaster relief or staff is ordered to participate
in an open day in participation with an NGO working with underprivileged beneficiaries. There
is hardly any ownership of these processes at the collectivity or individual level.

In a designed ODI, those individuals in organisations could come together, who have a wish to
bring their dreams from the dormant to active (captive to free energy state). The group could
come together with the primary task to actualise that dream world. And they would do so while
remaining anchored in their existing systems and its primary task. Organisations could
recognise these Dream Collectives as an organisational potential for aligning the people with
their evocations and yet create a theatre of work in the quadrant of instrumentality.

The Dream Collective (DC) is a term to describe a group within organisation space, working with their
dreams and aspirations to create a collective map, and the emergent reality and dynamics which emerges
at a group level, impacting the individual, collectivity and the organisation.

Organisational level intervention would channelise the group to a 'collective map', otherwise
free energy could lead to chaos.

The invitation is to consider CSR programs as a collective voluntary expression of the several
DCs in every organisation. Instead of outsourcing activities and the funds to NGOs, the funds
should be made available to all of internal DCs in each organisation. The hypothesis is that
people who actualise their dreams with the support of their employers will be better aligned
(internally and externally). Raghu Ananthanarayanan states the outcome as,
The cascading of energy from the individual through his role taking processes and then into
organisation synergies until it manifest as the organisations ability to respond to the business
context.
Similar to Process work, an experimental space is provided to form a collective. Individuals can
experiment with new behaviours which can be lessons for their actual work groups and
membership issues in the sponsoring organisation. Prof. Parikh describes dynamic
organisations as those in which 3 processes are active: dialogue, negotiation and more
consultative processes. Each of these processes revitalise, regenerate and re-energise the
system. If people can experiment with these in their DC, they will be carry these processes to
their workspace.

Also an intended consequence is the tsunami effect of the hundreds of DCs empowered to
bring about societal change through their collective maps.

CSR design, then, comes under the preview of Organisation Development initiatives.

A Plan
One program being considered is to do with livelihood generation for at-risk children in Mumbai
slums. The age group is between 12 – 22 years. Many are drop-outs of the formal school
system, and from families barely scrapping through. The assignment is to design an income
generation program for the children. Legal issues of under age children and child labour create
employment barriers.

The proposal is to create Work Collectives (WC) of children in a mixed age group with at least 1
youth above 18 years old in each group. This WC would engage in themselves in a micro-
enterprise at any stage of the supply chain. Each WC would be mentored and be provided
management support by an Enterprise Mentor Group (EMG) by one of the corporate sponsors
who already provide financial support to the NGO for sports and recreational activities. This
EMG is actually a DC which accepts this role on a voluntary basis and has negotiated at a
group level to give expression to their individual dreams by working at a group level for a
collective map. The group would setup all the processes required for the micro-enterprise to
realise its primary object of income generation and enterprise success, working with the WC as
partners. In most cases the WC would supply its product to the host corporate – eg. office
supplies, in-house snack bar, hygiene products, etc. The actual micro enterprise depends on
the emergent group nature.

The Process
The NGO would begin an awareness exercise for its work with a bottoms-up approach.
Volunteer staff would meet in small groups and carry out a session like the DC session which
took place with Sumedhas interns. This is a OD exercise in itself because it unlocks people and
the message that is received is that the world of evocations is legitimate and its expression will
not invalidate oneself from organisation membership. 'Don't leave this part of yourself home'.
External facilitators would carry out this exercise in consultation with HR and OD functions.

The next step would be for people to form their collective. The DC would be registered
internally, a memorandum prepared (part of the norming). The NGO would have carried out a
similar task with its beneficiaries. Now the many DCs and many WCs would meet in an open
day and spend the whole day together, narrating their stories and actually building up the
sensed of shared space to do work. In the next contact WC and DC would visit each others
environment to finally form the teams (consultation without faculty). They would then officially
register themselves as the EMG and the micro-enterprise can begin creating a business plan.
From here the process would move towards its primary task with little intervention. The NGO
would provide meta -mentoring to the EMG to balance the involvement with the children. For
the NGO, the challenge is to build competencies in group facilitation and meta-mentoring.

As the algorithm becomes bug-free, self managed teams will emerge. Captive energy will
transform to free energy and creative expression will follow. The experience and lessons learnt
will also impact the organisation culture.

From the NGOs perspective, the children get their livelihood and some social capital.

References:

Prof Indira J Parikh (2007), OD Paradigms for Organisation Growth and Transformation,
Organisation Building, Pragmatics and Perspectives - Indian Academy of Organisation
Development – Sumedhas.

Raghu Ananthanarayanan (2007), Framework Alignment Systems, and Models for Organisation
Development - Organisation Building, Pragmatics and Perspectives - Indian Academy of
Organisation Development – Sumedhas.