Learning, design, and action: creating the conditions for Evolutionary Learning Community

This paper presents the results of an inquiring process conceived as learning for action. The focus of the inquiry was the creation of some initial conditions considered necessary for the design of Evolutionary Learning Community (ELC)—an ideal alternative learning system that seeks to catalyze the purposeful creation of sustainable and evolutionary futures. These conditions included: (1) an idealized operational definition of ELC; (2) a description of the personal attributes of the potential designers of ELC; and (3) the design of a learning framework for empowering designers of ELC. The particular approach used was Evolutionary Systems Design: a systemic heuristic based on social systems design and complemented with an evolutionary and critical systems perspectives. The inquiry involved a theoretical exploration that was enriched with the experiences and perspectives of a group of individuals—who are involved in areas of work relevant for the design of ELC, such as systems design, community development, educational change, and environmental sustainability—who engaged with the author and principal researcher in learning conversations.