Read more about metaphors for social imagination
Welcome

We have spent many years working with wonderful people like you, and others, who dream of making change for the better. Doctors, teachers, children, carers; rivers, gardens, bees, trees; campaigners, leaders, refugees and neighbours who believe that we could do things differently to make life more joyful, equitable and sustainable. We call it ‘social imagination’. 

Despite all this energy, too often we have seen these dreams squashed into conversations and spaces that were too small for them to grow. 

Canopy develops and delivers projects that expand the possibility for social imagination in communities, in organisations and in ecosystems.

WHY SOCIAL IMAGINATION?

If we can’t imagine it, we can’t make it happen. We believe that without new and shared imaginations our society will stay stuck in its current destructive and unequal patterns. We know that all of us are deeply imaginative, but society is not set up to support us to imagine together. As a result, the future is always being built based on imaginations that are incomplete, one-sided and disconnected. This is what we seek to change. We seek to create the conditions for new shared imagining, new stories and new action for a better world.

Read more about Canopy

Slide PUBLIC We develop and deliver public projects that grow our ability to imagine together in new ways. Example: The Dark is Bright exploring loss, grief and creativity through science fiction filmmaking
www.thedarkisbright.com Read more about our public-facing work SYSTEM We partner with public services, charities and whole local systems to develop new shared stories and ways of working. Example: Reimagining early learning and childcare for the 21st Century with Goodstart. Read more about our system-facing work PRACTICE Within a community of practitioners, we support each other to develop the skills and conditions for growing social imagination. Example: Monthly practice conversations open to everyone who wants to share and learn together. Read more about incubating practice QUESTS Quests are long running investigations starting with questions that cut across established ways of seeing the world to open up new space for imagination. Example: What if grief was an engine for social change? Read more about our quests

GET IN TOUCH

We’d love to hear from you if you’d like to work with us, share ideas, or simply to say hello! Get in touch

A COMPASS FOR SOCIAL IMAGINATION

Which way do we turn when we know that new imagination is needed for our situation to be fully alive, in balance and in right relationship? Canopy uses a compass with three directions to guide conversations and projects in the way of social imagination. In pursuit of each direction of the compass, Canopy brings processes, ideas, play and courage to grow imaginative confidence and action with individuals, communities, organisations and ecosystems.

SEEING

Attending to how we see the world: challenging the frames and mental models that keep us stuck in old solutions that aren’t working

BEING

Attending to our ways of being in the world: our creative capacity and confidence, our reflective practice and our ability to work collaboratively and generously

DOING

Attending to our ‘ways of doing’ in the world: bringing the better futures we imagine into reality through leadership, self-organising, and processes for making change happen

Read more about the compass for social imagination

ORGANISATION

We are a not for profit organisation set up to grow the social imagination.

Read more about our organisation here.

PEOPLE

Canopy is run by two co-directors, Hannah and Jake, experienced facilitators and project designers who bring their creative practice and analytical thinking to shape and hold social imagination projects.

Read more about us here

WHAT WE OFFER

We offer different ways of working together depending on what type of work you are interested in.

PUBLIC

Devising and delivering public projects

Sounding board for your ideas

Input to deepen the social imagination component of your project

SYSTEM

Support with:

Research Strategy

Team development

Leadership development

Coaching & facilitation

Design projects

PRACTICE

Practitioner meet-ups

Shared practice blog

Exploring imagination infrastructure

Supporting your Quests

START BY SAYING HELLO!

We love having conversations with new people about your ideas and dreams, as well as the tricky, complex problems you’re trying to tackle. Whether we end up working together or not, we’re up for an informal chat to get to know each other.

GETTING INTO THE CONVERSATION

Using the compass for social imagination

We could start with a conversation using the compass for social imagination to understand what you feel is important to work on. From here we will blend our methods to create a bespoke project to support you to grow social imagination.

Creating the conditions for social imagination

You may like to start by exploring the conditions for growing social imagination. We can work together to develop these conditions to support the work you want to do.

We love hearing from new people. Please do drop us a line!

We love hearing from new people. Please do drop us a line!