/ Root Down & Rise Up

We are all responsible for the places we call home

A movement for culture & systems change rooted in self-organized collective action

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Together we are growing an open civic renaissance

In response to metacrisis, we are a movement of open civic innovators, organizers, and patrons choosing to start where we are, build what we need, and share what we learn — creating the conditions for a vital, participatory, and resilient civilization to emerge, from the bottom up.

/ PHILOSOPHY
Open Civics

The worldview, theory of change, and ethical commitments that guide the emerging design field.

/ PRACTICE
Open Civic Innovation

The coordination framework for civic design, consisting of concepts, methodology, and infrastructure.

/ COMMUNITY
OpenCivics Network

Civic innovators, organizers, and patrons sharing in common a collaborative practice of open civic innovation.

/ our North star

Culture & systems change is within our reach

Our shared theory of change is a call for an open civic renaissance; rebuilding our social contract from the inside out, reconnecting to each other, to the land, and to ways of organizing life that are more just, resilient, and alive.

We choose to practice open civic innovation

Start Where you are

Notice unmet needs and form a circle with others who share direct experience.

Share What You Learn

Publish resources and reflections to strengthen our global civic commons.

Build What you Need

Create localized systems that are built by, not for, the communities they serve.

The choice is ours to imagine and create a better future → Make A Pledge

/ Explore the Network

The growing field of open Civic innovation

3-ish years ago we planted a seed that’s grown into…

$361K+

Distributed to civic innovators across 6 community-led grant rounds

47+

Project grants funded through collaborative network processes

1,000+

Unique donors have participated in our grants rounds

190

Members have joined the Consortium and Network

200+

Organizations that our Members represent or steward

Network Broadcasts

Field notes, reports, and general reflections on activities within the network | Explore all broadcasts

Network Organizations

The OpenCivics Network is composed of organizing structures that connect and support members.

  • Illustration of a molecular structure with a black background and a white geometric design in the center.

    OpenCivics Network

    A community of practice & decentralized solidarity network of civic innovators, organizers, and patrons.

    LEARN MORE →

  • A digital graphic with a blue background featuring a white, stylized DNA strand composed of dots and connecting lines.

    OpenCivics Consortium

    A cooperative stewardship body of network members self-organizing around the creation of open civic systems and growth of the network.


    LEARN MORE → (coming soon)

  • A stylized blue molecular structure on a mint green background.

    OpenCivics Labs

    A cooperative guild of civic innovators experimenting with emerging approaches that support self-organized collective action.


    LEARN MORE → (coming soon)

  • A stylized digital illustration of a brain with connected nodes and lines, on a pink background.

    OpenCivics Fund

    A fiscally sponsored project of the Buckminster Fuller Institute, resourcing the network and growing the field of open civic innovation.


    LEARN MORE → (coming soon)

Civic Innovator Sessions

Show and tell from and for Network members. Join for live Q&A at our bi-weekly Network Assembly | View calendar | Explore all sessions

Active Innovation domains

Explore dashboards surfacing experimentation in the field of Open Civic Innovation | Explore all innovations

Inspiring Experimentation

Discover stories of post-tragic protopian audacity, from those experimenting at the edges

Movement Muses

The leaders, thinkers, and organizers lighting the way forward.

member Spotlight

Meet individuals to hear stories from those experimenting at the edges | Become a member | Explore all members

Network Partners

Meet organizations to hear stories from those experimenting at the edges | Become a partner | Explore all partners

Network Advisors

Experienced voices who sharpen our thinking and expand our reach | Become an advisor | Explore all advisors

“We are called to be architects of the future, not its victims.”

— R. Buckminster Fuller