A participatory design event at the RSA Steps exploring how communities can co-create the institutions of the future. This hybrid session introduces a new methodology called Community Driven Design, developed to empower diverse stakeholders to co-design and build purpose-driven systems that align technological innovation with human values.
Backcasting starts from a shared vision of the future and works backwards to map the practical steps needed to reach it. Rather than predicting the future, participants collectively design pathways towards desirable outcomes — combining imagination, ethics, and technology in the same conversation.
The event invites RSA Fellows, designers, technologists, and civic innovators to participate both in person and online, exploring how new tools for collaboration, transparency, and distributed governance can support a new generation of inclusive institutions.
### Context
Traditional institutional design often assumes top-down planning, but the complexity of today’s social and environmental challenges demands a new approach. Community Driven Design builds on participatory futures, open governance, and digital co-creation to create living systems that evolve through public contribution.
The session explores how tools such as blockchain, federated platforms, and agent-based systems can support **human-centred institutions** that scale trust and shared purpose, rather than bureaucracy.
### Format
The hybrid event will take place at the RSA Steps — a small theatre designed for intimate conversation — and online via a live collaborative workspace where remote participants can contribute ideas in real time.
The evening includes:
- An introduction to **Backcasting the Future** as a participatory foresight practice
- A presentation on the **Community Driven Design** framework and examples in action
- A live discussion with invited guests including **Zach from Planet Nine** and other technical collaborators exploring open tools for participatory governance
- An interactive co-design session where participants help imagine, map, and prototype new institutional forms for collective action
### Participation
All RSA members are invited to take part in the design process — whether as local convenors, civic technologists, or storytellers shaping the narratives that connect technology to public purpose. The session will produce a shared set of design principles and next steps for collaborative development.
The event supports ongoing experimentation with:
- Social Layer — mechanisms for reciprocity, trust, and consent
- Technical Layer — decentralized coordination tools and open source infrastructures
- Governance Layer — community-based rule-making and adaptive constitutions
### Purpose
By connecting the creative energy of RSA Fellows with new forms of participatory technology, **Backcasting the Future** aims to demonstrate that institutional design can itself be a civic art — one where everyone has a role in shaping systems that reflect shared values and long-term thinking.
- thersa.org 
- planetnine.earth