Affordable Housing Environments: The Ecosystem 2
B. What is a populated ecosystem good for?
1. Primer for stakeholders
It educates stakeholders without advocating. This makes it hugely useful homework or background material for symposia
2. No presumption of sameness
It assures that international folks who might be called upon for advice, funding, or case-study examples will not fall into the trap of assuming the host country is like theirs. The populated ecosystem can be developed ahead of time, then exchanged as required reading among participants before they make any commentary at all.
3. translation between countries
A properly populated two-country ecosystem enables stakeholders from many different backgrounds to talk with one another without stumbling over conflicting vocabulary or apparent incomprehension of lack of acknowledgment of each others' perspectives.
4. Eye-opener and idea generator
Understanding what others have used, and with what impact, can jump-start idea generation for a particular ecology.
5. Highlights differences in ecologies
It invites thoughtful speculation about what might or might not work in your environment because it highlights differences between your environment and the US (or, theoretically, any other point-to-point comparison someone might want to draw, e.g. UK to SA).
6. Compilation is separated from recommendation
An ecosystem can be compiled without having to form a view of the appropriate next actions. Compilation is separated from analysis, analysis from prescription. Each step is important. There is a value in doing them separately and not mingling them.
7. Facilitates importation with innovation rather than replication
By describing one country's forms (e.g. the US) as an ecosystem rather than discrete creatures independent of their environment, and by presenting them as existing (rather than judging them good or bad), it lets other countries' stakeholders think about concepts used in one environment in a fresh way.
- Highlight the need the creature was created to address.
- Observe its effects on the ecosystem when introduced.
- Invite change before introduction — in effect, innovation of implementation even if the underlying concept is adopted.
In short, it allows countries to import and innovate, not import by replicating.
8. Facilitates innovation packages
By making clear the relationships and co-dependency among various elements, it encourages coherent innovation packages rather than piecemeal initiatives likely to fail in isolation.
9. Thought experiments
Evaluating a populated ecosystem can illuminate the relations among significant creatures in the ecosystem. Matching environments (countries and intervals ) with very similar characteristics can help identify what might happen if a particular new element is introduced into a particular ecology.
A. What is an ecosystem?