The Sustainability Laboratory

Michael Ben-Eli is the founder of The Sustainability Laboratory, established to develop and demonstrate groundbreaking approaches to sustainability practices. He is author of the acclaimed five core sustainability principles, and is leading development of The Lab as a worldwide network of activity centers.

Previously, Michael pioneered applications of systems thinking and cybernetics in management and organization, working on synthesizing strategy issues in many parts of the world and in diverse institutional settings.

In recent years, his work has focused on sustainable development. In 2016, Michael was inducted into the International Green Industry Hall of Fame and recognized with the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2019, he received the Cosmic Fishing Award by the Synergetic Collaborative of the Rhode Island School of Design.

Michael was a close associate of Buckminster Fuller. He graduated from the Architectural Association in London and received a Ph.D. from the Institute of Cybernetics at Brunel University. 

The Sustainability Laboratory is a not-for-profit organization founded to advance the concept of sustainability. Our mission is: “to research, develop, demonstrate and facilitate the adoption of breakthrough sustainability practices, expanding prospects and producing positive, life-affirming impacts on people and ecosystems in all parts of the world.” A unique, design-based, and action-oriented conceptual framework guides our activities. Our signature approach combines a holistic systems perspective, a pioneering theory of change, and a rigorous set of sustainability principles. Applying this holistic approach, The Sustainability Laboratory develops change-making projects that address key sustainability-related issues.

The development of The Sustainability Laboratory is our proposed project. Following a proof-of-concept decade, in which we leveraged modest resources to design and implement transformative programs, we are now looking to upscale our organization. We plan to strengthen our core infrastructure, enhance our existing programs, and launch new projects, better-positioning us to address the great sustainability challenges facing humanity.

In recent years, it has become increasingly evident that the cumulative impact of misguided human activities now threatens every vital component of the biosphere, including the wellbeing of our own species. The effects of climate change, rapid resource depletion, biodiversity loss, and the reality of whole ecosystems overwhelmed by waste byproducts are becoming increasingly alarming. Broad-based awareness of the issues and recognition of the need for change are expanding rapidly, yet many key components of the biosphere continue to show growing signs of stress.

The challenge of transitioning from the current trajectory of human affairs to a sustainable basis is entirely unprecedented. It requires a deep, thorough transformation. There is no tried-and-true blueprint to guide us. Bold experimentation with new ways of thinking and acting is, therefore, essential. Hence the idea of a laboratory, with the connotations of sound science, creative experimentation, and groundbreaking innovation. The Sustainability Laboratory was established with this concept in mind. It is being developed as a new, planetary vehicle for catalyzing change. Its focus is on identifying key sustainability-related issues and, fostering appropriate collaboration with others, developing a portfolio of cutting-edge approaches and demonstration projects, applicable to local, regional, or planetary scales and concerns.

Our proposed project is focused on further developing The Sustainability Laboratory itself, taking it to the next phase in its evolution by strengthening its infrastructure, amplifying its impacts, and increasing its effectiveness. Since it was launched, The Lab has engaged in the following areas of activity:

Development projects: While most sustainability-related projects tend to be sector- or issue-specific, development issues are comprehensive and multifaceted by nature. The ability to employ a holistic, system-based design approach is critical for ensuring lasting results. The Lab initiates, designs, and implements groundbreaking model development projects that integrate all the interdependent dimensions of sustainability in a holistic, practical, and impactful way.

Technology innovations: As has been the case throughout history, technological innovations will continue to underlie the evolution of society. The Lab fosters the development of game-changing, sustainability enhancing technologies, and facilitates the prototyping of integrated green technology applications on the ground.

Education: For change to occur, broad-based sustainability literacy must be an essential component of the necessary transformation. The Lab engages in a variety of educational activities, including developing transformative experiences to cultivate and support the next generation of sustainability leaders, and creating and disseminating sustainability-related materials for the general public.

Our development projects often serve the world’s most marginalized communities, integrating local traditions and experience with modern-day science, while comprehensively addressing sustainability issues. Our flagship development project, Project Wadi Attir, demonstrates an approach to sustainable dryland agriculture that leverages Bedouin traditional values and experience with cutting-edge technologies. The project has had profound impacts on the wellbeing and empowerment of the Bedouin community of the Negev, creating new economic opportunities, enhancing gender equality, providing students with high-quality learning experiences, improving relations with government, and more.

Our technology innovations are designed to maximize the use of renewable resources, limit harmful emissions, and demonstrate waste-to-resources approaches. We pioneered the development of an integrated infrastructure of green technologies at Project Wadi Attir, enabling the project site to meet its energy needs and repurpose waste, while demonstrating an effective approach to combating desertification and providing opportunities for education and research for local scientists and students.

Our educational programming equips young leaders with tools to understand and address urgent sustainability issues. Our Global Sustainability Fellows program, a graduate-level fellowship, has been welcoming participants from around the world, representing different disciplines and backgrounds, who apply our comprehensive approach to sustainability in their various professional and academic endeavors.

The commitment underlying The Lab’s work embraces the whole planet, the integrity and health of the biosphere, and the wellbeing of humanity. While we focus on model projects that are developed for particular locations and communities, we thrive to demonstrate game-changing results that are relevant to the global sustainability challenge, the greatest challenge of our time. Our comprehensive approach integrates multiple domains—the material, economic, social, life, and spiritual (or value) domains—in each undertaking. Integrating relevant aspects of these domains in a single vision and one comprehensive design strategy, we inevitably address the other dimensions of the Elevate Prize.  

As a student of architecture in London, I attended a lecture that was to define my life ever since. It was given by Buckminster Fuller, who called for architectural students everywhere to collaborate on a ten-year initiative to “redesign” the world. The program anticipated what later emerged as the sustainability agenda.

I worked for the next five years on that program, and upon graduating, joined Fuller’s team in the U.S. Later, I went on to pursue a doctorate in cybernetics, a discipline providing potent concepts for addressing the interdependencies of a complex world.

Experimentation with applications of systems and cybernetics in management followed, working on strategy development, organizational design, and change management. Large regional planning efforts then led me to the heart of the sustainable development world, consulting with multilateral international agencies like The World Bank, The Global Environment Facility, and others.

I soon saw that capacity for radical innovations is rare in the context of such established institutions. My concerns about the gap between the sustainability rhetoric and actual accomplishments brought about a professional crossroads that ultimately led to establishing The Sustainability Laboratory: an independent, agile, creative vehicle, that without fear or prejudice, pursues groundbreaking new paths to sustainability. 

My mentor R. Buckminster Fuller once described our historical challenge and most critical task as that of making “the world work for 100% of humanity, in the shortest possible time, through spontaneous cooperation, and without ecological offence or the disadvantage of anyone.” It is this statement that inspired me as a young student and energized my quest over the years. It is this very legacy that inspires and energizes the work of The Sustainability Laboratory.

What started as a youthful intellectual curiosity, an excitement about technical virtuosity, and an intuitive grasp of an epochal need for an evolutionary transformation in human affairs, slowly evolved into a deeper appreciation of the underlying wholeness of reality and the interconnectedness and interdependence of all its seemingly separate component parts.

A visceral sadness mixed with heartfelt empathy about the wanton destruction perpetrated by misguided human actions on the exquisite, interwoven fabric of life that makes our home and that ultimately threatens the wellbeing of our own species, led to a conscious commitment to devote my energy and time to moving the sustainability needle for the benefit of all.

In retrospect, I see my life’s trajectory as a journey of assembling the tools, skills, and experiences that inexorably led to establishing The Sustainability Laboratory, defining its mission, and developing its projects.

I was fortunate to study and work with some of the best, including Fuller, Gordon Pask, and Stafford Beer. Over the years, I have combined theoretical work (my doctoral dissertation presenting a cybernetic theory of evolution, or my more recent “Sustainability: Definition and Five Core Principles”), with educating, and, most importantly, with demonstrating implementation of new concepts on the ground. The latter involved applications of systems thinking and cybernetics in complex consulting assignments, working on synthesizing strategy issues and leading significant projects in many parts of the world and in diverse institutional settings, ranging from small high technology firms to multinational enterprises, manufacturing companies, financial institutions, health care and educational organizations, government agencies, NGOs, and international multilateral organizations.

In addition, I have experienced many different communities and cultures, combined with a continuous study of some of the world’s wisdom traditions. My personal development has also been enriched by vigorous pursuit of physical adventures, as a champion fencer, a parachutist, private pilot, stints of long-distance sailing in the Pacific, trekking the Himalayas, and others. All provided valuable discipline and experience required for tackling significant challenges. Altogether, I believe that my well-rounded experiences drive and uniquely position me to undertake the mission I embarked on with The Sustainability Laboratory.

Project Wadi Attir offers an excellent example of having to persevere in light of many obstacles, over a long run. The project was launched with a marginalized, initially unfamiliar culture, in a remote area, with every possible disadvantage, including extensive capacity building needs, no financial resources to speak of, alienated government policy, and deep cultural challenges including, for example, tribal fragmentation, old inter-tribal feuds, gender issues, and more. In the context of a vision calling for multiple social, economic, and technology innovations, some deemed the whole idea as overly ambitious.

Success required stubborn persistence, infinite patience, integrity, gentle coaching, and perceiving obstacles as mere things to overcome. Grasping opportunities presented by failures were essential, almost daily tools. For example, repeated failures in appointing an experienced, professional director from outside the community opened the door for one of the project’s most radical social innovations: electing a young Bedouin woman as the project’s CEO!

Today, what many regarded as an impossible dream has grown into a thriving multi-million-dollar model development initiative, the pride of the Bedouin community, and a beacon of sustainability innovations that inspires thousands of local students each year, and draws thousands of visitors from all parts of the world. 

Being a “leader” in something appears to be the expected thing these days, and leadership courses are offered everywhere. I never pursued a program in leadership and find it difficult to speak of myself in these terms. Nevertheless, it might be true to suggest that I showed leadership traits from an early age, starting with leading childish, mischievous pranks in the neighborhood when growing up.

During university days, I led students’ contribution to the World Design Science program, and while working on a doctorate, I launched a consulting strategy-boutique that did some significant work. Just over a decade ago, I established The Sustainability Laboratory, which I lead now. Over the years, I oversaw many projects and chaired various task forces and Boards, too numerous to list here.

Over time, I developed a personal leadership style that combines a sharp intellect with a warm heart and genuine empathy. Project Wad Attir offers a good, specific example. In developing and implementing the project that was considered impossible, I was able to effectively orchestrate and inspire an unusual coalition, including members of the Bedouin community, academic researchers, local NGOs, private sector enterprises, government agencies, and funding partners, to achieve together demanding, uncommon results.

Founded on the belief that effective responses to the sustainability challenge will not likely emerge from the same ideas, approaches, and methods that got us to where we are in the first place, The Sustainability Laboratory was deliberately established in order to foster bold experimentation, try out untested ideas, and demonstrate scalable innovations. 

To guide all of our activities, we developed our own unique, action-oriented conceptual framework, which takes a holistic perspective and features cross-sector and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Our signature approach combines a system-based design strategy, which provides a comprehensive methodology for addressing significant sustainability issues, guiding project planning, and facilitating development processes; a pioneering theory of change, which provides a potent blueprint for addressing complexity; and a rigorous set of sustainability principles, which provides an essential roadmap to developing model sustainability practices. 

Together, these three basic pillars offer a powerful tool kit for articulating a desired vision, recognizing interdependencies and mapping relationships, identifying leverage points for change, designing model sustainability innovations, and producing transformative results.

The Sustainability Laboratory is also unique in its reach and scope, incorporating in its field of vision and concern the whole planet, the integrity and health of its biosphere, and the wellbeing of humanity. Linked by a coordinating core, The Lab is being developed as a global network of activity centers mapped onto the planet’s different eco-zones: deserts, tropics, alpine, islands, urban, and the like. To date, we have established two activity centers: in an arid zone, and in the humid and dry tropics.

The sustainability challenge that we face requires profound change, covering all key dimensions of the human experience. It has to involve transformation in our existing mental models, in assumptions about the purpose and structure of the economy, in competence and use-priorities of technology, in concepts of governance and how organizations work, in the manner with which we interact with each other, in the way we behave in the biosphere in relation to other species, and in the fundamental values that we hold. This is a tall order, requiring going beyond mere adjustments in existing patterns of doing things to fundamentally changing the way we conduct human affairs.

Demonstrating models for positive, disruptive change is at the heart of The Lab’s purpose. Our quest is driven by a robust theory of change that makes a distinction between first-order change, change that is made in a system where the system remains essentially the same, and second-order change, change that produces a fundamental shift, a complete transformation of the system itself. The sustainability challenge calls for second-order change. There are many wonderful initiatives today, addressing one aspect of sustainability or another. But most are not conceived of at the level required for deep transformation. At The Lab we are committed to showcasing model working examples of second-order change.

To this end, we developed a project development process involving five distinct, reiterative, overlapping phases, linking activities, outputs, and outcomes, to move from initial concepts to full implementation (these phases include: Initiation; Formulation; Realization; Operation; and finally, Documentation and Evaluation).

Our flagship project, Project Wadi Attir, was designed to produce profound changes on several fronts. The project’s ecosystem restoration initiative, for example, incorporates extensive soil enhancement, tree planting, rainwater harvesting, and biodiversity enrichment, demonstrating an effective, low-impact approach to combatting desertification. Working with research scientists and members of the community, we were able to transform a profoundly degraded, barren site into a rich ecosystem, teeming with life. Recognized by the United Nations Convention on Combating Desertification, we plan to scale-up this exciting success story on a larger site in the Middle East or Africa. 

Currently, The Sustainability Laboratory features a small core team; a four-person Board of Directors; and a twelve-person International Advisory Group. Counting dedicated project teams engaged at current network sites, today approximately 100 individuals are directly involved in our work.

Our projects are designed to reach many beneficiaries. For example, Project Wadi Attir directly impacts approximately 40 Bedouin families by creating new employment opportunities. More broadly, it has impacted large numbers of contactors through engagement in onsite construction, and it benefits consumers of products produced at the project. It also impacts 2,100 schoolchildren each week, who participate in the project’s sustainability educational programming, and about 8,000 local and international tourists who visit the site annually to learn about Bedouin culture and sustainability innovations. The project impacts the broader Bedouin community by offering vocational training programs, and it contributes to larger Israeli and international audiences through exposure at conferences, in publications, and through extensive knowledge-sharing of the project’s approach to sustainability online. We anticipate our current beneficiaries being in the tens of thousands, which should remain consistent within the next year.

In the next five years, we look forward to launching additional eco-zone-based centers of activity and continuing to demonstrate new pilot projects. We also plan to launch scale-up projects at the nexus of soil, water, energy, food, and community. We believe that such initiatives have the potential to benefit on the order of hundreds of thousands of individuals.

In the next year, we plan to expand our fundraising base, hire additional staff, offer the next session of our Global Sustainability Fellows program, expand our repertoire of online educational materials, and launch activities in the following new development projects:

1) Project Transition is an innovative, comprehensive approach to community-based sustainable development, in collaboration with the Martina Bustos community in Costa Rica. This community of largely Nicaraguan migrants faces several interrelated challenges, notably persistent poverty, lack of access to education and economic opportunities, and poor infrastructure. Project Transition will address the specific but multifaceted issues faced by the Martina Bustos community in a holistic manner, while providing a replicable and scalable model for the integration of migrant and refugee groups into their host communities, valid in Costa Rica and worldwide.

2) A scale-up of our ecosystem restoration initiative, on a site of a few thousand acres in the Middle East or Africa. This scale-up will have positive environmental impacts; bolster the local economy; provide opportunities for research, education, and ecotourism; preserve important local traditions; and increase the wellbeing of a local community, while contributing to the international agenda of combating desertification.

Over the next three years, we will focus on strengthening our core infrastructure, establishing the GSF program on an annual basis, and beginning implementation of Project Transition and our Ecosystem Restoration Scale-Up. In the following two years we anticipate continued implementation of these projects, and the establishment of new activities in additional eco-zones, likely in the Galapagos and Bhutan.

The main barrier that we face in accomplishing our goals relates to securing the necessary resources, particularly related to additional talent, exposure, and adequate funding. In the 12 years in which The Sustainability Laboratory has been in operation, we have demonstrated that with a lean core team and relatively modest resources, we were able to accomplish significant results. Our minimal core staff, supported by additional consultants, advisors, and volunteers, maintains the organization itself and all of our existing projects (Project Wadi Attir, the Global Sustainability Fellows program, and a Sustainability Prize program with EARTH University in Costa Rica). At our present capacity, however, we do not have the ability to go beyond our current offerings. We are currently seeking the appropriate resources to be able to increase our impact and tackle additional challenges, and this requires expanding our current capabilities, strengthening our infrastructure, and increasing our professional capacity, in order to secure a strong base for continuous growth.

The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are presenting a particularly unanticipated and difficult obstacle to overcome during the next year and in the near future. The many new hurdles presented by the pandemic, including the resulting economic instability around the world, have made the prospect of securing resources, particularly significant new funding, all the more challenging.

In order to overcome existing barriers, we are leveraging our past experiences and successes to secure necessary funding and other resources. Our 12 years in operation have proven the efficacy of our approach and our ability to design and implement transformative sustainability projects. With this proof-of-concept at the forefront, we are working on nurturing a new donor base. In particular, we are looking to identify a small number of potential individual funders who truly appreciate and understand the urgency of our work. We would also welcome an opportunity to forge a close alliance with a strong academic institution or foundation that would be attracted to joining us in fulfilling our ambitious goals.

While we continue to focus on our current portfolio, we are working on expanding our communications and outreach about The Sustainability Laboratory, to increase awareness and exposure about our work and connect us with potential new partners and collaborators. We are connecting more with the greater “sustainability community”, particularly with other individuals and organizations involved in addressing sustainability issues, to share resources, ideas, and heighten exposure. We are expanding our presence at different conferences and events, working to amplify our reach on social media, and are engaging with external resources as necessary to support and strengthen our outreach efforts.

Each of our projects involves a number of organizational partnerships. For example:

Project Wadi Attir involves partnership with the Bedouin community of the Negev, whose traditions, needs, and experience were central to the development of the project from the outset. We partner with various government ministries; for example, the country’s Ministry of Education supports our onsite agricultural school, which engages approximately 2,100 local students per week. Our partnership with a local start-up energy company is focused on developing a pioneering hybrid solar, wind, and storage energy system, and our collaboration with scientists from the Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research has been key to developing and implementing our graywater recycling system and ecosystem restoration initiative.

Our Global Sustainability Fellows program involves partnership with the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies in Israel and EARTH University in Costa Rica, both of which have hosted the program and collaborated in carrying it out. A collaborative effort with 12 universities from different parts of the world was at the basis of developing the program’s concept.

Project Transition is already developing with a number of key partnerships. We are engaged in an ongoing collaboration with members of the Martina Bustos community, working with the community to identify needs and a vision for the future. The project will involve our partners at EARTH University, and will be supported by the office of the Vice President of Costa Rica and others. Similarly, our Ecosystem Restoration Scale-Up will feature collaboration with a relevant local community, scientists, government, and more.

Our work is focused on key sustainability-related issues. Direct beneficiaries are communities we work with, users of technology we develop, and our students. Contributing to a broader social good, our projects involve cultivating collaborations across different sectors of society: communities, government agencies, private sector entities, local sources of technical expertise, civil society organizations, and funding partners. Less direct beneficiaries are others in the world’s sustainability community, who can incorporate lessons from our work.

Our development projects involve strong collaboration with partner communities who see a benefit in applying our approach to development. Value is provided by helping a partner community come together and organize to better meet the challenges it faces; empowering its members by helping galvanize a common vision; supporting an extensive capacity building process; orchestrating and providing the necessary technical resources; helping establish development goals, and planning and implementing a development concept; establishing income-producing opportunities; recruiting other partners necessary for success; and securing the funding for the process as a whole. In addition to quantifiable impacts, other value-added, “softer” aspects relate to improvements in human, social, and natural capital.

At the same time, by showcasing development of green technologies, we contribute to climate change goals, restoring degraded ecosystems, enhancing biodiversity, and bolstering the wellbeing of society. Our educational initiatives help cultivate the next generation of sustainability leaders by inspiring participating students and providing them with the tools to contribute to improving the state of the world. 

Heretofore, The Sustainability Laboratory has been funded by philanthropy. In over a decade of operating, some 70 individuals and foundations supported our work. From the outset, we instituted a distinction between funds raised in support of The Lab’s operating costs and funds raised for our projects. As a result, 100% of dollars raised and earmarked for supporting specific initiatives have been used exclusively for project support. This allowed us to avoid the prevailing model of deducting overhead costs from funds raised for project and program activities.

We developed a tiered funding model, using a “leverage” effect, whereby funds raised for covering operating costs made possible the development of initial project concepts that, in turn, helped secure funds for launching initial project activities. With the availability of such unrestricted, early-stage “project development funds,” project concepts could be developed sufficiently to the point of creating the necessary basis for producing a significant leverage effect, and attracting the partners and additional funding required for complete implementation. We plan to use this model in the future.

As it embarks on the next step of its own development, The Lab will continue to depend on philanthropic and public funds. We feel this is justified by the fact that our projects seek to acknowledge, integrate, and address dimensions that cannot be attended to by applying conventional economic or business considerations alone. In the future, however, funding support will be augmented by income from operations derived from contract research, royalties from technology innovations, educational activities, and more.

Over the last 12 years, approximately 25 foundations and other organizations, as well as over 50 individuals, have supported The Sustainability Laboratory’s work, many on a recurring basis. Contributions have ranged from minor sums to multi-million dollar gifts over multiple years, with most contributions ranging between $25,000 to $175,000. In the last twelve months, we received approximately $1,000,000 in philanthropic contributions, consistent with our yearly average over the last five years. A detailed list of our funders, their contribution amounts, and dates of the gifts is too long to fit in an answer of 250 words. These can be provided upon request.

In addition, please note that The Sustainability Laboratory has raised a significant amount of funds that go directly from the funding source to specific project accounts, without passing through The Sustainability Laboratory itself. Consequently, such funds do not show up on The Sustainability Laboratory’s own balance sheet. 

In order to significantly upscale The Sustainability Laboratory into its next phase of growth, we are seeking to raise funds in the form of grants, not debts or equities. In particular, over the next three years we are seeking to secure $6.5 million in new funding, in addition to already existing commitments of $1.2 million. New funding will be used to significantly strengthen our existing core infrastructure, launch Project Transition and our planned Ecosystem Restoration Scale-Up, and expand our educational and outreach programs. The $6.5 million in new funding would be staggered over the next three years. Of this amount, approximately $2.5 million would be used to significantly enhance The Lab’s own infrastructure, and approximately $4 million would be used for direct project costs. Looking beyond three years to a five-year horizon, we assume a need to raise only a relatively small increment in support of our core costs, while doubling ongoing project budgets, and establishing preliminary activities in two additional activity centers in other parts of the world.

Please note that our projected budget assumes that approximately 60% of the expenses related to The Sustainability Laboratory’s infrastructure (core staff, consultants, and general administration) relates directly to program costs. Consequently, overhead costs are projected to be about 18-20% of total expenses.

The expected breakdown of the 2020 expenses for The Sustainability Laboratory is as follows, assuming current conditions with no major input of new funding.

Our total budget is estimated to be approximately $1,000,000 (please note that our budget averaged $1,058,000 per year over the last 5 years). Of this total amount, approximately $300,000 is attributed to overhead expenses, including staff salaries, consultants, travel and project development, equipment and supplies, web expenses, and the like. The remaining $700,000 is allotted exclusively for project expenses, the majority of which is allocated for Project Wadi Attir.

Please note that our projected budget for 2020 assumes that approximately 50% of the expenses related to The Sustainability Laboratory’s infrastructure (core staff, consultants, and general administration) relates directly to program costs. Consequently, overhead costs are projected to be about 15% of total expenses.

We are applying to the Elevate Prize because its goals and criteria are deeply aligned with our own mission and work at The Sustainability Laboratory. Since the inception of The Sustainability Laboratory, we have been dedicated to transforming the current state of unsustainable affairs by experimenting with new, constructive modalities. We seek to impact all parts of the planet with our work, and we are working to contribute to a future in which all humans can coexist peacefully and in harmony with the planet and its rich ecosystems. Our work encourages transformational leadership in the core of our organization, in our educational programs, and in the teams we assemble for each of our projects. Our work is purpose-driven, aiming to address the great challenges facing humanity, with emphasis on diversity in our project teams, the communities we partner with, the biomes in which we work, and in the scope of our work.

We have reached a critical point at The Sustainability Laboratory: after more than a decade at work and a proven track record of delivering transformative results, we are ready to take our work to the next level and are seeking to augment our current resources to do so. The support offered by the Elevate Prize, in funding and in essential non-monetary resources, particularly exposure to the Elevate perspective, network, and media resources, would be critical in supporting The Sustainability Laboratory as it moves into the next chapter of development and establishing a solid foundation for continual future growth.

The opportunities provided by the Elevate Prize would increase our range of connections with resources, collaborators, and funding partners. Elevate’s insights and experience would help us increase our own capacity and outreach abilities, expand our presence on social media, help us connect to others in the sustainability community, and enable us to raise greater awareness of sustainability issues. Such support is particularly welcome at this point in our evolution. It would strengthen our activities, help us launch new projects, and expand our funding base.

Finally, The Sustainability Laboratory was designed to be a vehicle for experimentation, meaning that our own organization must be constantly evolving, flexile, and responsive to new collaborations and the experiences of others that can help us better address the sustainability challenge. We look forward to learning from the team of the Elevate Prize program and the community of Global Heroes to strengthen and amplify our impacts.

Our project development aspirations, by their very nature, require strong collaborations with others. We develop collaborative efforts based on each project’s location and needs, and we carefully hand-pick the best relevant resources and organizations with which we partner in every case.

Over time, we have developed links with a number of academic institutions, and we are currently developing possible new collaborations with the Rhode Island School of Design.

We would be thrilled to establish a strong, close, and ongoing partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for its commitment to excellence, international reputation, and leadership in catalyzing important innovations. Two years ago, we established a connection with MIT’s Technology and Development Program. Its director, Professor Fred Moavenzadeh, led the development of the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi, and currently serves on the Advisory Board of The Sustainability Laboratory. We look forward to working with him and his colleagues to establish working collaborations with the Masdar Institute and the United Arab Emirates.