Foundational Works That Inform Community-Led Governance, Values-Based Systems, and Ethical Stewardship

Platform One draws from decades of learning across community practice, governance research, systems thinking, cultural knowledge, ethics, and regenerative development.
The works listed below do not imply affiliation or endorsement. Instead, they represent ideas, frameworks, and worldviews that align with Platform One’s kaupapa: community-first benefit, non-extractive practice, interdependence, and long-term stewardship.

This reading list is offered to help communities, collaborators, and researchers deepen their understanding of the principles that underpin the Platform One Blueprint and wider community-led systems.

GOVERNANCE & DECISION-MAKING

• Reinventing Organizations— Frédéric Laloux
  Explores self-managing organisations grounded in values, evolutionary purpose, and distributed authority.
• Holacracy: The New Management System for a Rapidly Changing World— Brian J. Robertson
  Introduces distributed decision-making, structured roles, and consent-based operational governance.
• Consent-Based Governance: Participatory Approaches to Collective Decision-Making
  A practical exploration of consent-based models, facilitation, and group decision systems.
• The Art of Facilitation— Dale Hunter
  A foundational guide to group process, relational integrity, and shared leadership.

COMMUNITY & SOCIAL SYSTEMS

• Beyond Democracy: Why governance is not a democracy— Beyond Politics
  Challenges conventional democratic structures and explores more participatory alternatives.
• Building Powerful Community Organizations— Michael Jacoby Brown
  A pragmatic guide to grassroots organising and community empowerment.
• Spirited Leadership— Lance Secretan
  A values-based look at leadership, purpose, and organisational culture.

SYSTEMS THINKING & REGENERATIVE MODELS

• Thinking in Systems— Donella Meadows
  A cornerstone text in systems thinking and understanding interdependence.
• Regenerative Development and Design— Bill Reed & Pamela Mang
  Introduces regenerative practice and whole-systems approaches to community and ecological wellbeing.
• The Systems View of Life— Fritjof Capra & Pier Luigi Luisi
  Explores systems science, complexity, interdependence, and holistic approaches to social and ecological systems.

VALUES, ETHICS & COLLABORATION

• The Collaborative Economy— John Restakis
  Examines values-based economic models, community ownership, and cooperative structures.
• Walk Out Walk On— Margaret Wheatley & Deborah Frieze
  Stories of communities creating new systems at the edge of old ones.
• The Gifts of Imperfection— Brené Brown
  Insights into vulnerability, authenticity, and connection — the human foundations of healthy community governance.

CULTURAL & INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE

• Mātauranga Māori: The Māori Worldview— Various authors
  Introduces relational knowledge systems, interdependence, guardianship, and values-led community practice.
• Te Ao Māori and Community Decision-Making— Selected readings
  Explores tikanga, kawa, and collective decision frameworks grounded in cultural integrity.
• Braiding Sweetgrass— Robin Wall Kimmerer
  A powerful exploration of indigenous knowledge, reciprocity, and ecological belonging.

SOCIAL CHANGE & TRANSITION

• The Transition Handbook— Rob Hopkins
  Practical insights into community resilience, localisation, and systems transition.
• The Dawn of Everything— David Graeber & David Wengrow
  A provocative re-examination of human social systems, freedom, and shared decision-making.

Using These Resources

This reading list is intended to:

• deepen understanding of values-aligned governance
• support early-stage community exploration
• strengthen ethical foundations for Circle development
• provide shared language for collaborative work
• stimulate reflection on long-term stewardship

These works are contextual, not prescriptive.
They complement Platform One’s governance architecture, values framework, and Blueprint development.

Looking for Governance Frameworks?

Blueprint modules, governance tools, consent-based decision pathways, and internal frameworks are available through:

[Document Access & Stewardship →]

These require a values-aligned stewardship process to ensure they are used responsibly.