Anyone who has dedicated time and effort to addressing the climate crisis will already understand that, at some important level, our individual and collective consciousness is intimately intertwined with the fate of our planet.
Whilst already possessing the necessary resources and technology to halt climate change and, taking a wider context, to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), progress is still too slow. We seem unequal to the complexity of reshaping the systems and power structures responsible for environmental breakdown, inequality, poverty, and injustice.
Considering climate action and the SDGs solely as technical challenges solvable through structural policy instruments or other external methods may be contributing to our lack of progress. These problems have never been simply material and, as evident by the growing number of academic articles dedicated to this topic[1], we are now turning to examine the profound influence of our internal dynamics on external realities.
Our evolutionary history, which has us primed for immediate threats and short-term decision-making, often falls short when confronted with long-term, abstract problems. The complexity of our modern environment and societal issues often outstrips our innate cognitive capacities, triggering our unconscious psychological barriers such as denial, rationalisation or discordance, among other ‘dragons of inaction’.[2]
Fortunately, modern research shows that the inner abilities we need to face and overcome complex global challenges can be developed. This was the starting point for the Inner Development Goals (IDG) initiative. Unlike conventional goals that focus solely on material gains, the IDGs delve into the realm of integrated development, encompassing emotional, psychological, social and spiritual well-being to better equip us for the unprecedented shared challenges we face today.
Rooted in interdisciplinary research, the premise is straightforward: Without a transformative shift in human values and cognitive and collaborative capacities, external solutions may prove to be too slow, inadequate or short-lived to succeed. By emphasising the symbiotic relationship between individual growth and societal progress, the IDGs offer a vital accompaniment to modern strategies on the path to ecological sustainability.
During 2021 and 2022, together with the 4000 scientists and experts who responded to our first IDG Survey, we created the Inner Development Goals framework, consisting of 23 skills and qualities, organised within five dimensions: Being, Thinking, Relating, Collaborating and Acting. The aim was to synthesise a complex field of inner development into a simple framework that helps to name, understand, communicate and facilitate the ‘inner’ changes that are needed for an ‘outer’ change to occur. It identifies areas of growth so that we can better handle complexities, deepen our connection to ourselves, others and the world, and fundamentally enhance our effectiveness as change agents and leaders.
To reduce any Western-centric bias (the IDGs originate in Sweden) and ensure the framework’s global applicability, a major new research co-creation effort is underway. The key ambition is to update and adapt the current framework based on input from stakeholders whose combined perspectives represent a truly inclusive, global voice on inner development priorities. Our aim is to reach 2 million people and get 100,000 qualitative survey responses from over 100 countries in over 70 languages. The One BIG question in the survey is: “What qualities, abilities or skills do we need to develop to build a sustainable future for people and planet?”
Here we invite you to help us reach out globally and co-create with us!
The mission of the IDG initiative is to create open-source resources, and share them broadly with public and private organisations, NGOs and governments who want to make a positive difference. We hope our interventions will increase investment in inner development and coalesce a global movement dedicated to integrating inner and outer transformation towards a just, sustainable and thriving world.
The challenges we face as humanity are an invitation – an invitation to rethink, reimagine, and rebuild; to consider who we need to be in this next chapter of civilisation. The IDGs serve as a compass in this journey, pointing towards a future where individual transformation drives societal progress.
Inner development is not a supplementary activity to be pursued once all other tasks are completed, nor can external systemic changes wait until the inner work has been done. We invite F20 members to consider the pivotal role they can play at this critical time – in advancing the awareness, understanding and uptake of inner development skills to transform collaborative climate action. We can take action together now in the following ways:
The One Big Question – Global Study: Please participate and help us to share the survey as widely as possible so that the next version of the IDG framework represents a truly global view.
Policy & narrative development: Contact us to find out how we can collaborate to broaden the awareness and consideration of inner skills, capacities and qualities, and support policymakers to propose and implement inner development approaches for collective benefit.
Inner development in practice: Ask us for information about the IDG Practices initiative and the IDG Knowledge Library that we are developing to support the integration of inner development into the strategies, policies and activities of organisations working toward the SDGs.
Join us in Dubai at COP28: We will be with our partners, including The World Business Council For Sustainable Development and The US Government National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Let us know if we can connect and collaborate with you in Dubai.
We can collaborate to overcome the multitude of challenges before us by cultivating our inner capacities – ensuring that our outer achievements are firmly rooted in inner wisdom, compassion and resilience.
No matter how tentative your interest is in this new frontier of philanthropic action, there is a meaningful next step we can take together. Please get in touch with our philanthropic partnerships team.
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Philanthropic and Institutional Partnerships: david@innerdevelopmentgoals.org
Head of Research Co-creation: fredrik@innerdevelopmentgoals.org
Head of Policy and Narrative: jamie@innerdevelopmentgoals.org
Link to the ONE BIG Question – please participate and share!
[1] Ives, C.D., Schäpke, N., Woiwode, C. et al. IMAGINE sustainability: integrated inner-outer transformation in research, education and practice. Sustain Sci (2023) https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-023-01368-3
[2] Gifford, R. (2011). The dragons of inaction: Psychological barriers that limit climate change mitigation. American Psychologist, 66, 290–302. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023566.