Rewilding the Board: Co-Designing More-than-Human Governance

Design Fellows: Domenica Landin & FutureEverything
Co-Investigator: Prof Brian Dixon

Challenge

How might co-design support a cultural organisation in developing a governance model that brings nature onto the board? This project supports FutureEverything’s ambition to grant nature a formal voice, and voting rights, within its governance. The aim is to align decision-making with principles of planetary stewardship and more-than-human justice, and to translate these into everyday practices.

Approach

This project engaged members of a working group to co-develop steps toward more-than-human governance and identify key considerations. It reviewed relevant literature and organisational documents to inform the approach. Multi-level perspective tools were developed and adapted to support online conversations and interactions, contextualised for governance restructuring that includes nature as an active participant.

Outcomes

A digital prototype of a database containing a repertoire of practices that reimagine civic participation in more-than-human worlds was developed. It includes tools and sequences used to guide engagement, refined through participant feedback. The repertoire aligns with the commitments of FutureEverything and Future Island-Island to open-source resources, supporting other organisations exploring more-than-human governance.

Learnings

To move beyond symbolic representation and toward meaningful change, the more-than-human needs to be integrated into governance through everyday organisational practices. This involves translating values and principles into practical actions that keep nature’s presence active and tangible. Bringing nature onto the board becomes a way to reground human decision-making in relationships of care and shared responsibility.

Impact

Research has informed new governance frameworks detailing nature’s legal participation on FutureEverything’s board. This includes defining the organisation’s rights and responsibilities, informing the role of a Nature Director, and outlining a supporting set of values, protocols and practices. The repertoire of practices will now be implemented, contributing to the ongoing embedding of nature into day-to-day decision-making.