· 8 min read
In the realm of systems change — whether ecological, economic, or social — we are never short on frameworks. From climate mitigation to regenerative design, from doughnut economics to circular economies, from sustainability standards to equity scorecards, frameworks abound.
They help us make sense of the world and how to act within it. They offer structure, a language, a way to decide. They are our maps to make sense of complexity, to guide action, to shape strategy.
But here’s the problem. We are swimming in frameworks.
Frameworks are, as someone once quipped, “like toothbrushes. Everyone needs one, but no one wants to use someone else’s.” And it’s true.
The proliferation of frameworks is not inherently problematic. Diversity has value, and, as I always say, overlap in a regenerative system is a good thing! But when each operates in its own silo, disconnected from others, the result can be confusion, inefficiency, and fragmentation. We spend more time navigating between frameworks than using them. We waste precious hours deciphering: Is this the same as that? What’s different? Is one better? Why should I switch? And rarely do the creators of these frameworks talk to one another, much less collaborate. I should know.
I created one.
My Drawdown Experience
Years ago, I had the privilege of creating the Drawdown Solutions Framework at Project Drawdown, which helped shift the climate narrative from doom to possibility. It offered a clear, rigorous way to evaluate climate solutions and their systems-wide impacts. It became one of the most cited resources in the climate space.
After some time, my colleague Paul Hawken left to co-create a new framework — Project Regeneration. Though described with fresh language and infused with regenerative values, it was, in many ways, an iteration of Drawdown. Around the same time, One Earth launched their own Solutions Framework. They added a few new solutions, categorized things a bit differently, and added some new data, but the essence remained the same.
None of this is surprising. Nor is it unwelcome. There is no “One Framework to Rule Them All.” I call this the Anti-Sauron Principle: there should not — and cannot — be a single dominant lens through which we should expect everyone to see the world. Multiple perspectives reach different audiences, illuminate different angles, and create resilience.
But plurality without relationship is fragmentation. And this is what we must confront: if our goal is transformative impact — then shouldn’t we be working together?
Shouldn’t framework designers be talking to each other, aligning where possible, and building interoperability instead of competition? Shouldn’t we be co-creating a polyframework approach, one that honors the specificity of each tool while creating pathways to navigate between them?
That’s what The Patchwork is all about.
The Patchwork™
At RegenIntel and the Global Solutions Alliance (GSA), we’ve launched an initiative to do just that. The Patchwork is a project to weave frameworks together, not flatten them into sameness. Like a quilt, it stitches across boundaries, respecting the unique fabric of each piece while creating a larger, coherent whole. It is a meta-framework of frameworks — a polyframework toolkit for navigating complexity in the age of the polycrisis.
Like a quilt, it stitches across boundaries, respecting the unique fabric of each piece while creating a larger, coherent whole.
We’re not starting from scratch. We are beginning with the 15+ frameworks introduced in our RegenIntel Fellowship Course — each representing different vantage points on systems change. These frameworks span climate, economics, equity, ecology, Indigenous science, regenerative design, spiritual transformation, and beyond. They are brought to life by more than 40 instructors — activists, scientists, knowledge keepers, entrepreneurs, and artists — who guide our Fellows through the beautiful complexity of this work.
In collaboration with the creators of some of the most impactful frameworks for systems change, we are developing a white paper, guidebook, and digital tool to navigate The Patchwork. The goal is not reductionism, it’s to provide navigational tools that help individuals and organizations select, combine, and apply frameworks based on context, purpose, and values.
And here’s the thing: it works.
Our Fellows don’t leave paralyzed by too many options. They leave emboldened — equipped with a practical, curated toolkit. They learn to move across scales, across sectors, and across paradigms with confidence. They learn that “this versus that” is often a false binary, that frameworks, like people, do better when they collaborate.
This is Not the One Ring
Let me be clear: The Patchwork is not about being the one tool. It’s about honoring the lineage of ideas and the thinkers behind them. It’s about knowledge stewardship, not self-serving “thought leadership.” It’s about stitching, not standardizing.
We don’t seek to supplant any framework. On the contrary — we uplift them. We clarify how they connect, where they diverge, and how they can be woven together to serve different purposes. We believe that by doing so, we unlock cascading benefits: less time lost in translation, more time spent in implementation; less confusion, more clarity; less ego, more impact.
There is no one right way. But there are wrong ways — and working in silos is one of them.
Polycrisis Demands Polyframeworks
We live in a ‘system of systems’ — ecological, economic, social, biological, spiritual. For all the pain and destruction it causes, what the polycrisis reveals is a boon: understanding interdependence. Yet, fragmented tools won’t get us there. We need tools that can interrelate as well as the systems they seek to transform.
The logic is straightforward:
First, name what’s shared. Drawdown, Project Regeneration, and One Earth are not identical, and yet they rhyme. Naming that common ground is not an insult to anyone’s originality. It’s a service to practitioners who must choose quickly and well.
Second, be honest about difference. Frameworks are designed with specific purposes, assumptions, and scales in mind. Some are built for portfolio design; others for governance; others for values and boundaries. Some center technical modeling; others center cultural practice and consent. None does everything. That’s not a weakness — it’s a design choice.
Third, let context lead. Tools don’t select themselves; people select them, for a reason, in a place. A coastal city with flood risk and housing insecurity will make different choices than a rural cooperative reclaiming land or a funder redesigning grantmaking. Start with who, where, and why. Then reach for the frameworks that match.
Fourth, refuse extraction. When we speak of weaving frameworks, we are also speaking of weaving knowledge systems. That requires relationship, attribution, and consent — especially where Indigenous knowledge is involved. Borrowing without relationship isn’t collaboration; it’s extraction. The Patchwork is grounded in respect.
Fifth, privilege action over allegiance. We are not choosing teams. We are choosing tools that can be used together to meet real goals in real time. If a framework needs another to be whole in practice, say so. If a framework isn’t suited to the context, say that too.
This is not an academic exercise. It’s a practical response to the way work actually happens. Policies change, budgets shift, communities organize, crises accelerate. People need to move. The function of The Patchwork is to lower the cost of orientation and raise the quality of action.
What does it feel like in practice? Imagine a team tasked with decarbonizing municipal buildings, improving air quality, and creating good local jobs. They often will have a climate plan, a resilience plan, a financial plan and an equity roadmap. Each document stands on its own. Together, they compete for attention and scatter effort. The Patchwork doesn’t ask them to toss any of it out. It helps them see how the pieces fit.
The Patchwork doesn’t erase difference; it situates it.
A solutions framework clarifies the portfolio of what to do. A regenerative lens keeps the work centered on living systems and well-being. An equity lens moves distribution from afterthought to design principle. A governance frame clarifies roles and consent. A spiritual or cultural frame, if appropriate to the community, keeps meaning and obligation in the room. The Patchwork doesn’t erase difference; it situates it. It helps a team craft a coherent story of action that can be owned, resourced, and measured — without months lost to translation.
I can hear the predictable objections:
“We don’t have time to weave — we need to move.” Agreed. Spinning between frameworks is its own delay. The Patchwork is a time saver, not a time sink, because it makes relationships explicit instead of forcing every team to reinvent the bridge.
“This will water down strong ideas.” It won’t, if we are careful. The Patchwork does not ask anyone to blunt their edges or collapse their language. It asks us to be clear about purpose and honest about limits — and to collaborate across them.
“Isn’t this just another framework?” No. The Patchwork is not a new model to pledge allegiance to. It is a cultural practice of interoperability. It’s a habit of calling each other, naming overlap, and building the road between maps.
That’s the promise of The Patchwork. It’s not about unifying frameworks into a monolith — it’s about learning how to navigate between them. It’s about building a culture of interoperability, humility, and co-creation. It’s about making it easier for practitioners, policymakers, funders, educators, and movement leaders to orient themselves amid the noise, and find the blend of frameworks most relevant to the challenge at hand.
It’s about accelerating the Regenerative Future by weaving together the wisdom we already have. A mirror reflecting back what humanity already knows.
Call to Weave
If you are a framework creator, a knowledge steward, or simply someone who wants to make better use of the tools already out there, we invite you to join us.
Let’s stop reinventing the wheel in isolation. Instead lets attach your wheel to the same train and more forward faster to a better future together.
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