Strategy Plan for Arcosanti
Core questions for consideration:
Arcosanti what are our mission, vision and goals?
How well does it benefit its target audience/stakeholders in trying to achieve its mission, vision and goals?
What does it do well now and how can what it does well now be leveraged to move us closer to the ambitious vision and goals of its founder?
How is it going to evolve and how might this be different than the original Arcosanti 5000 plan developed by Paolo Soleri?
What and how will it recruit people and organizations to accomplish its mission and vision?
Background:
Some very ambitious goals were set by Paolo Soleri at Arcosanti's inception to create a large scale prototype for sustainable urban development. After a peroid of growth in the early 70s a series of setbacks cause the project to go into “survival mode”.
Current Conditions:
Arcosanti is in a period of relative stagnation based on:
Number of people living there
Amount of construction activity
Budget
Workshop attendance
Bell sales
Adding to the above has been the death of Arcosanti's founder Paolo Soleri, who has been its major force and driver since its birth in 1970.
Yet in response to this, the organization appears to have been slow ind developing a cohesive and clearly plan on how to proceed. Part of this process needed to involve figuring what the primary goals and mission are. Have these changed over time and particularly at this time of transition around Soleri's death? It seems that the primary goal of Arcosanti has been the construction the Arcosanti 5000 model. This includes serving as a prototype to disseminate more sustainable ways of living along the lines of Paolo Soleri's Arcology theory.
Vision & Mission of Arcosanti:
Arcosanti vision is based on promoting an alternative approach to urban development and then promoting this on a practical level through the realization of Arcosanti 5000 model.
Core Problem Statement:
The problem is that what appears to be the vision of the Cosanti Fonudation which runs Arcosanti is so far from the everyday life that is currently happening at Arcosanti and also the experiences of the workshoppers which may explain why attendance has gone down. This has been the case for some time now with past efforts to reformulation Arcosanti like the Arcosanti Leadership Team (ALT) ending being co-opted by the status quo mentality of the controlling group.
Fundraising:
There has been discussion of fundraising, however for a effective fundraising plan the organization needs to have a clear stategy and this needs to be conveyed in a convincing way to the people that one is seeking funds from.
Arcology Knowledge Consultancy
One of the challenges is to develop a brain trust and think tank to promote the larger view of Arcology in the mainstream society. The idea is to develop a practical framework for sharing and development of knowledge relevant to the improvement of Arcosanti's standing as sustainable community (if not a Ecovillage) aspiring to be the world's first prototype Arcology. This includes inviting relevant people into the process and dividing up the areas where knowledge of appropriate technology is needed to solve urban and societal problems from a Arcology perspective. This consultancy would include an advisory board and a list of core partnerships to implement the plan. It also would involve educational development to make the Arcosanti Workshop Program into a more fully featured or full immersion education program geared towards practical Arcology development with a strong focus on ecological design.
What is the vision for a sustainable America and how does Arcology and Arcosanti fit within that model?
Considering the current economic situation it is clear that now more than ever the world needs to reconsider its urban development patterns. So development for a Arcosanti needs to not only be focsued on a clear strategy for the Arcosanti itself but also a plan for the remaking of the American Dream and system of living.
Immediate Objectives:
Immediate objectives are definable and achievable benchmarks designed to move the organization towards the long term objectives.
Leverage existing network resources including the alumni network but also extending to coordination on larger networks as well.
Develop fundraising plan linked to clear and focused strategy for the development of Arcosanti.
Consider development of volunteer representatives for Cosanti Foundation to be deployed in areas where Arcology would be most well received such as Asia.
Long Term Goals:
Arcosanti Critical Mass - Focus on achievement of Arcosanti Critical Mass with 10 years - Develop integrated built environment (150-300 person stage) at Arcosanti that is part of a sustainable model of development that be replicated at a larger scale
Arcology Institute (Institute for the Promotion of Practical Arcology Models) - Develop Arcosanti as a think thank that provides relevant and practical knowledge to enable the development of sustainable cities. This think tank would coordinate large scale national and urban as well as regional planning with the design of practical models for bioregions around the world. This consulting arm of Arcosanti would eventually provide revenues to finance the further development of Arcosanti and possibly help seed similar projects around the world.
Arcosanti Lean Alternative University – In a way that is complementary to the above, develop an comprehensive educational program that provides tools for students participating in the program which they can use upon graduation
Long term goals Should be aligned with Vision and Mission Statement of the Cosanti Foundation.
Should include planning for the development of a timeline leading up to completion of Arcosanti 5000 or at least the Arcosanti Critical Mass development model that is realistically linked with immediate reality and objectives.
For Further Review and Reference of Arcosanti Strategy Planning Process:
See ArcoAlumSummit_092213.pdf doc which is a renamed version of James Carnahan's nice and exhaustive summary of the Sept 2013 Arcosanti Alumni Summit and related email discussions.
Arcosanti Reformulation Wiki - the purpose is this site is to enable the proper documentation of the Sept 20-22 Paolo Soleri Memorial event that took place at Arcosanti and Cosanti.
My Powerpoint presentation: Arcosanti Strategy Planning Process.ppt which is the distilled result of thoughts suggestions and discussions from the Arcosanti Community in 2011 regarding Arcosanti's future.