Doughnut Economics and Appreciative Inquiry

Doughnut Economics in Norway 

In October 2022, a group of us organized the first Doughnut Festival in Tønsberg. Boldly, we called it a national event, spanning three days. Two days were held in the city, while the final day took place at an organic farm we had connected with (Holt Farm). The event brought together participants from the international Doughnut Economics network, including representatives from Copenhagen, Tomelilla and England. Organizations already working with Doughnut Economics in Norway participated and there were contributions from research communities, nonprofit organizations, citizens and politicians. 

This led to the launch of Doughnut Economics Network Norway in 2024. 

A regenerative Appreciative Inquiry Summit 

In November 2024, we explored how a Regenerative Appreciative Inquiry Summit could be used to initiate sustainability efforts inspired by Doughnut Economics within a municipality. This concept was influenced by Lilja (2021). The term “regenerative” as used here refers to transformational processes designed to trigger life-affirming dynamics. 

In an Appreciative Inquiry process, the focus on what gives life to organizations and social systems when they function at their best (Ludema & Fry, 2008) emphasises the organisations’ human aspects. A regenerative Appreciative Inquiry conference extends this focus to exploring and fostering life-affirming relationships between humans and nature. It aims to strengthen life-sustaining planetary systems. The foundational principle of wholeness in Appreciative Inquiry must, therefore, encompass non-human actors as active participants in the process. Implicit here is the assumption that bringing our life-creating connections with nature into the conversations in the room brings out the best in us. 

An Appreciative Inquiry summit seeks to enable “whole-system positive change” (Laszlo & Cooperrider, 2008, p. 22). This means the redesign of the entire system involving a collective process of inquiry. 

Appreciative Inquiry conferences typically incorporate most of the phases of an Appreciative Inquiry process: Definition, Discovery, Dream and Design. Since this conference was condensed into a single day, we chose to focus primarily on the Design phase while keeping a regenerative perspective through all the phases. Below is a brief description of how we implemented them. 

Definition 

The workshop gathered approximately 40 participants. The day began with a presentation of the conference’s purpose: to initiate the design of a future-oriented municipality through the lens of a life-giving focus. For this summit, we chose the vision of Doughnut Economics as our focal point: quality of life for all within the planet’s ecological boundaries. This focus points toward a desired future, achievable only by embracing a holistic approach where human wellbeing is intrinsically tied to a life-affirming relationship with nature. 

Doughnut Economics posits that a sustainable society cannot exist until the basic needs of all people are met and consumption patterns ensure that resource use remains within nature’s regenerative capacity. This regenerative principle underpinned the entire conference. To illustrate this, we presented the global status quo (current reality) alongside the goal of a sustainable society (desired future). In a Doughnut municipality, nothing would fall “into the red zone.” (Figures 2 and 3). 

The goal was to uncover how our social wellbeing is intertwined with the health of the planet. To achieve this, we used cards developed to introduce Doughnut Economics to children by Sjong (2023). The Doughnut model outlines nine planetary boundaries and twelve social dimensions, which form the model’s outer and inner circles. 

One card, related to the social sustainability dimension “education”, stated: “Education means the right to attend school, and that schools provide quality education”. Another, titled “Ocean Acidification,” explained: “Ocean acidification occurs when the ocean absorbs too much CO2 gas”. Each card included a detailed description and an accompanying illustration. 

Participants were each given one of the 21 dimensions related to welfare and sustainability. Pairs who received the same card discussed the significance of their topic for societal sustainability. They then connected with participants holding different cards, exploring links between social sustainability dimensions and the planet’s ecological thresholds. 

The “voice of nature” was introduced into the room metaphorically, emphasizing the interconnectedness of our actions and their effects on ecosystems. This phase highlighted the importance of considering the whole system when envisioning a desired future for communities. 

Discovery 

This phase of the Appreciative Inquiry process focuses on discovering who we are in the room, both individually and collectively, and identifying the experiences and resources we bring that can support the desired development. We employed two simple methods to foster connection and understand each other at our best. 

We began with a greeting exercise. Participants were asked to imagine meeting a close friend they hadn’t seen in a long time, encountering them unexpectedly at a train station abroad. They were instructed to think about how they would react in such a situation. Then, in pairs, participants acted out this reunion with someone they didn’t know, showing how they would express the joy of reuniting. 

The exercise transformed the room into a lively space filled with people reenacting joyful reunions. In just five minutes, warm new connections were formed. The activity not only helped participants bond meaningfully but also created an atmosphere of warmth, conducive to fostering creativity and playfulness and highlighted how social designs can create meeting spaces where everyone takes responsibility for inclusion and mutual affirmation. This dynamic, where people feel they matter and can make others feel the same, is central to life-affirming interactions. 

The first exercise involved a brief “standing chat” with someone participants hadn’t met before. They were then asked to sit and reflect on a new prompt: “my favorite place in nature”, a place they often visit to find peace, joy or energy. They were asked to recall the last time they had been there, visualising what they saw, the emotions evoked, and what they valued most about the place. 

Once they had brought this memory into focus, participants shared their stories. Everyone contributed a narrative about when they felt most connected to nature and how it serves as a resource for living a fulfilling life. Everyone in the room had such experiences. Some spoke of their own gardens, nearby natural areas, or favorite vacation spots. This reflection revealed a shared capacity for care and love for nature – a vital resource in the work of building sustainable communities. 

Dream 

An essential characteristic of Appreciative Inquiry is its ability to draw on the arts during the Dream phase. Imagining what the future might look like is challenging when constrained by our current vocabulary: words describe what exists and what we know. Using them to describe the future risks merely reproducing the status quo. To break free from this limitation, artistic methods can encourage participants to adopt a more playful and creative approach to envisioning future scenarios. 

We chose to use a time machine to visit the future. We all know such a machine doesn’t exist, but embracing this metaphor as a way to move forward in time helped create a mental shift away from the present toward what could be. It allowed us to step into a world that might look entirely different. The concept of a time machine has also been employed by fiction writers to depict societies distinctly different from those we live in. 

We instructed participants to imagine stepping into a time machine, closing their eyes, and anticipating the sights and sounds awaiting them. They were told they would join a delegation visiting a “Doughnut municipality” in the year 2050. During the visit, they would be guided through the community and meet its residents. They were prompted to reflect: What do you hope to see? What do you hope to hear about life in this future community? 

The process was outlined on a slide, which included the following instructions: 

1. After traveling in the time machine, each participant will take an imaginary tour of the community to observe, take pictures and talk to people. 
2. Write a report on what you see and hear, either on your phone or on paper. 
3. Share your “report” with a colleague and then a group of four. Through this process, we hope to craft a compelling narrative. 
4. The group will compile the reports into a collective account. 
5. We will share our observations and insights with the entire group. 

A faint image of the time machine appeared on one of the slides introducing the task. Employing this metaphor proved entirely unproblematic (and perhaps even a bit exciting) the first time the method was tested. 

Boarding the time machine 

We asked participants to stand, stretch briefly and prepare for their journey. They were then instructed to sit down, close their eyes and imagine the trip: “The journey is short. I’ll let you know when you’ve arrived and can open your eyes”. 

After a minute, participants were told to open their eyes. They were told: 

"You are now being guided by a group of residents who are showing you around the municipality. During the tour, it strikes you that your most fervent hopes for the future have come true. It also becomes apparent that the changes implemented in this municipality to restore nature, reduce social inequality, and promote sustainability across all aspects of society are far more comprehensive than you imagined."

Participants were asked: 

• What do you hear and see? 
• What aspects of the way they live their lives do you find most appealing? 

In front of each participant lay a sheet of paper and a pen. They were given time to reflect individually and asked to write down key points about what they saw and create a simple sketch of something they were shown. Next, they were to craft a narrative in the present tense about what they had been told and observed. Working in pairs, participants built on each other’s inputs to create a more cohesive description of the future municipality. This iterative approach to developing knowledge enabled participants to incorporate each other’s insights into a shared vision and create a joint drawing representing aspects of what they envisioned to make their imaginary future scenarios meaningful and more tangible. 

One participant’s narrative read: 

"I hear birdsong and the hum of insects. The air is crisp, and I breathe it deeply into my lungs. I hear children playing and adults laughing. Beneath this is a profound stillness, a calm that feels as if the world is welcoming us, saying, “You are safe here”. People approach me, smiling. “Welcome!” they say. I ask them what has changed. Where is the usual noise? The screaming children confined to tiny play areas? Where are the traffic, the exhaust, the sirens? I see birds in trees and bushes, chickens under a bench. Chickens under a bench! In the middle of the city!"

Groups worked to refine and expand these stories, creating comprehensive, vivid descriptions of the future municipality which involved illustrating their visions, making them tangible and relatable. 

Design 

In the work with the dream, the process was informed by the foundational ideas of the Doughnut Economy. From this perspective, the task is not only to describe what a future that is best for the people living in the municipality might look like, but also one in which society has reduced social inequalities and has preserved the health of nature and the planet. To approach dream and design work from such a regenerative perspective, we chose to draw on theories and methods from design thinking, which focuses on developing something entirely new and holistic (Brown, 2009). 

To begin the work of describing and drawing (designing) the future municipality, we start by creating the first sketches of what the city could look like. Once these initial sketches are developed, they are referred to as prototypes. These are the first visual representations in which ideas take form. It is similar to the way architects create the first drafts of a house we might want to build. 

After the ideas are presented, the architect transforms them into a more concrete and sensory sketch on paper. At that point, we can start to visualize the house and imagine what it might feel like to live there. By involving everyone in the creation of these initial sketches, all participants are engaged in a process to make this envisioned future meaningful, valuable and beautiful. 

An important task for this conference was to give the idea behind the doughnut and the stories a more concrete and sensory form, a process that continued through group work. Each group presented its stories and drawings to the other participants. Over a two-hour session, the groups developed a collective narrative, summarised both digitally and on paper. Using fictional texts and images, prototypes were created that provided sensory-rich descriptions of what a future could look like. As the stories were read aloud, they evoked emotions, inspired new mental images and raised fresh questions. 

Included here is one of the group summaries, presented through a drawing and a short text. The drawing illustrates how a shopping mall has been repurposed into a “community center” where energy and food are produced. The center hosts cafes, social activities, and spaces for “make and mend” work. 

Next to the drawing, the text says: 

"I see that the residents are calmer, look each other in the eye, and say hello. There are new ways of living: collectives, large households, and most people primarily walk or cycle. They also dress differently."

This provides a tangible and sensory image of a desirable future that is possible to envision. Through processes like this, we gain a more comprehensive understanding of what we wish to achieve and how we can mobilize to realize it. 

It was clear that those present were enthusiastic about the stories that were created. This suggests that working to develop such stories has a mobilizing effect. Creating future visions in this way makes participation accessible to everyone. The methodology draws on insights from Appreciative Inquiry while simultaneously fostering other critical resources necessary for achieving the desired changes. 

Throughout the process, participants got to know one another, building social capital. The work was joyful and engaging. At the same time, participants gained hands-on experience in how to develop new forms of democratic institutions within their communities—something that will be needed both now and in the future. 

A future story takes shape 

In he Dream work, the efforts were informed by the foundational ideas of doughnut economics. The foundation is visualized through the inner circle of the doughnut model. Starting the work of exploring what it might be like to live and dwell in a doughnut community is about giving these ideas of doughnut economics a tangible and concrete form. What we want to explore is what it might look like. How are lives lived when the vision of doughnut economics is realized? 

To translate an idea of how a new whole might emerge, such as a society based on doughnut economics, a process of development, testing and refining prototypes is employed using design thinking developed by the consulting firm IDEO (Cooperrider & Godwin, 2012; IDEO, 2015). IDEO defines prototypes as a simple and tangible representation of an idea. 

A prototype can be anything from a paper sketch to a physical model, or a scenario simulated in a real-world environment. The purpose is not to create something perfect but to create a way to test out ideas in practice. Developing stories about possible futures can provoke new thoughts, challenge assumptions and inspire creative solutions (Dunne & Raby, 2013). 

At this conference, we chose to develop two methods to create the first prototypes. One method was through drawings, and the other was through the use of fictional storytelling. These are two methods often referred to when working on developing early prototypes. These methods are used to help people envision what the future might look like, based on an idea. 

Future stories can be seen as a method where ordinary people are given the task of processing and making sense of complex information (cf. the doughnut model). Dunne & Raby (2013) use the term “speculative storytelling” as a method to challenge current assumptions and explore alternative futures. Participatory storytelling in the early design phase fosters community ownership and innovative solutions in urban development. 

Designing a new, holistic society 

As part of the Doughnut Days we organized in Norway in November 2024, I had the opportunity to try this out. By using a positive lens, participants were encouraged to think that the new society could be created by leveraging strengths, such as our natural ability to care for nature and the community we are part of. 

We drew on design thinking and methods to show how one could initiate a process of translating the foundational ideas of Doughnut Economics into action. Design thinking is about working with wholes and holistic solutions, which ties to the Appreciative Inquiry idea of involving all participants in the system (and/or their representatives) in a space to collaboratively develop new collective solutions. 

The regenerative Appreciative Inquiry summit, called Smultringkommunen 2050, demonstrated how Appreciative Inquiry can be used as a resource in the work of initiating Doughnut Economics, based on the idea that the economy of a society can be tasked with serving both people and nature, locally and globally, in one municipality. Historically, Appreciative Inquiry summits have focused primarily on creating social environments that enable humans to flourish. My engagement with Doughnut Economics has shown me how Appreciative Inquiry can be used in a way that supports the foundation of Appreciative Inquiry and the work of realizing the vision of Doughnut Economics. 

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