For the past two days, 12 of us gathered in Montreal to explore what happens when the spirit and practice of thrivability meet the world of impact investing.  The group consisted of local business leaders committed to the practice of thrivability; impact investors in search of what else is possible “outside the lines”; and thoughtful explorers and supporters of the emergent future.  Our goal was less to provide definitive answers and more to get something started – to begin to identify key questions for a more extensive exploration.

Two definitions of thrivability were offered lightly and seemed to provide helpful framing:

* “Thrivability is the intention and practice of aligning organizations with how living systems thrive and how people thrive.”

* “Thrivability is the intention and tendency to enhance the integrity, beauty and regenerative capacity of life at every level.”

The immediate, tangible outcome of our exploration was three core avenues of inquiry for further exploration:

* How can thrivability be offered to investors and organizations as something useful and practical but also as an articulation of a deep longing?

* What does investment look like through a thrivable lens?  For example, how does that lens help us redefine value, ownership, the role of money, relationships around money, and more?

* What are the resources, methods and practices investors and organizations need in order to manifest thrivability in the context of investment?

Our work now is to prepare a harvest report that meaningfully conveys the richness of our exploration.  Until then, this blog post is an open invitation to those who participated – and, in fact, to anyone who feels inspired! – to share their thoughts in the comments.

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