Founding Principles of the Guild
The Guild advocates social fieldwork and its variations as fundamental to democracy.
The intent of forming the Guild is not to form a professional association per se. Rather, the founding intent is to establish a culture and values much like a close circle of friends. Our hope is that the Guild reflects a culture that is laid back, friendly – yet comprised of capable and rigorous researchers with a knack for leading edge social and technological advancements.
As a community of practitioners, we will jointly develop guidance to ensure a thriving organization with ever increasing reach and membership. The purpose of belonging to the Guild is to support each other in activating social fieldwork as our bread and butter, and activating social fieldwork as a catalyst for change and in strengthening the capacity of the Guild to grow and adapt to changes as they arise. We are building a resilient learning organization.
We are an association of developer – members in the fine tradition of open source software development, the maker movement and all production related trades where how to something well is shared easily and with pleasure. It is up to us to work together to provide the guidance and resources necessary for social fieldwork to become common practice.
We will make utmost important to connect in person and not only virtually. We look forward to regular local and regional gatherings.
Membership Guidelines (Preliminary Outline)
Much of the staged development of the Guild is yet to be understood and is certainly not yet defined.
Preliminary guidelines of membership will be formulated by the Institute’s Board of Directors and in cooperation with epi Associates who are working with potential guild members to craft a good approach. We plan to send out a general invitation through the Institute’s newsletter in 2025.
The standing expectation for guild members will be teaching and strengthening the practice. We also will likely expect that guild members contribute to our online hub of social fieldwork resources, attend workshops and gatherings and work in the field on specific projects relevant to the Guild’s strategic objectives. Members may also contribute related philosophical, academic and practical blog posts.
Our plan is to keep membership small initially so that we can establish the foundation for later growth.
Overtime and as the Guild becomes self-sufficient, the Guild may exercise greater and greater autonomy. Overtime, the Guild could also become a separate entity from the Institute. All these possible outcomes and others will need to be considered as part of moving forward.