Foundation Partners
These organizations have been foundational in the development of the Circles Project.
- Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University, Australia
- Senate Department for the Environment, Transport and Climate Protection, Berlin
- Metropolis (World Association of the Major Metropolises) based in Barcelona
- National Institute of Urban Affairs, India
- United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) based in Barcelona
- Urbego, Europe
Associate Organizations
These organizations have used the approach or worked closely with the Circles Project.
- Cities Group, King’s College, London, United Kingdom
- CityMart, Barcelona and Copenhagen
- Cultural Development Network, Melbourne, Australia
- Ecocity Builders, San Francisco, United States
- Food Alliance, Australia
- Ross Institute, New York, United States
- Centre for Urban Studies, University of Amsterdam
- World Vision, Australia, based in Melbourne, Australia
More details below …
The Cultural Development Network is an independent non-profit organisation that links individual practitioners, community organizations and government around issues of cultural vitality. CDN advocates a stronger role for cultural expression to build a healthier, more engaged and sustainable society. The Cultural Development Network has been supporting the process of developing the Circles approach through its engagement in community development. CDN is based in Melbourne, Australia.
The Institute for Culture and Society is one of four flagship institutes at Western Sydney University, Australia. It researches transformations in culture and society in the context of contemporary global change. The Institute champions collaborative engaged research in the humanities and social sciences for a globalizing digital age. The Institute is the largest dedicated research concentration of its kind in Australia. Its engaged research is committed to making a positive difference in the world. This approach involves being reflexively engaged both with the world and in understanding the conditions and limits of its own knowledge practices.
Metropolis, the World Association of the Major Metropolises, is the leading international organization that gathers cities and metropolitan regions with more than a million inhabitants. Created in 1985, the Metropolis Association is represented by more than 130 members from across the world and operates as an international forum for exploring issues and concerns common to all big cities and metropolitan regions. Metropolis also manages the Metropolitan Section of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG). Metropolis has been central in developing the Circles of Sustainability approach through its Taskforce on Approaches and Methods. Metropolis is based in Barcelona and Paris with regional secretariats around the world.
National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) is the premier institute for research, capacity building and dissemination of knowledge for the urban sector in India. It conducts research on urbanization, urban policy and planning, municipal finance and governance, land economics, transit-oriented development, urban livelihoods, environment, climate change and smart cities. NIUA was set up to bridge the gap between research and practice, and to provide critical and objective analyses of trends and prospects for urban development.
The Ross Institute oversees the Ross School, a lab school in New York, USA, and supports the development of a network of Ross Schools, ensuring that the content of the Ross Learning System is a model for transformation. Ross Institute’s mission is to transform the way education prepares learners with knowledge, skills, and values to succeed in and contribute to a complex, global society. As a nexus for collaboration, Ross Institute fosters applied research in education, modelling of complex systems related to education, dissemination that minimizes the delay between research and practice, and interaction of scholars and educators across disciplines. Ross Institute is committed to designing and providing professional development resources for teachers through courses, curriculum, consultation, and collaboration, both in person and online. It uses the Circle of Social Life approach as the basis of its Sustainability Interactive learning system.
The Berlin Senate Department for the Environment, Transport and Climate Protection is home to the Division for the European Union and International Affairs, a long-time partner in the Circles Project. The City of Berlin aims to be carbon-natural by the year 2050. The Senate Department for the Environment, Transport and Climate Protection steers this process and has bundled the scope of climate-protection and energy-usage tasks in a dedicated unit. The work program of this unit entails the implementation of an integrated energy and climate-protection concept as well as preparations for an energy-turnaround policy for the city of Berlin. The basis used for the above is the feasibility analysis “Klimaneutrales Berlin 2050”. This Department also leads the international engagement of Berlin, and the Circles Project is part of that engagement.
United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) represents and defends the interests of local governments on the world stage, regardless of the size of the communities they serve. UCLG supports international cooperation between cities and their associations, and facilitates programmes, networks and partnerships to build the capacities of local governments. The organization promotes the role of women in local decision-making, and is a gateway to relevant information on local government across the world.
URBEGO is a multidisciplinary platform of young professionals from all around the globe. URBEGO provides rapid responses for specific challenges in cities by applying an in situ approach collaborating with partners; ranging from civil society representatives to research institutions and decision makers. URBEGO members have a wide range of expertise in urban governance, planning, economics, architecture, culture, communication and engagements. Through workshops, these skills are combined with local knowledge from citizens, students and decision makers to find the best solution for the individual case.