The future is not something we enter - it’s something we create. We are shaping a new civilisation for a thriving planet
Humanity stands at a profound crossroads. Our civilisation’s old ways - built on endless extraction and exploitation - are breaking down. As this is happening, a bold new possibility space is emerging for a new system that is resilient, regenerative and equitable.
The Foundation for Civilisation Renewal is a Research Action Lab for the next life-cycle of civilisation.
Guided by the Planetary Phase Shift Framework developed by founder Dr Nafeez Ahmed, we are pioneering new systems, narratives, and solutions to help us move through the last stage of the life-cycle of industrial civilisation, in preparation for a new life-cycle for humanity.
We could fall into an abyss - or leap to the next stage in human evolution. Our mission is to empower people everywhere to become agents of transformation. To take the leap.
Applied Research
The Foundation conducts cutting-edge, holistic systems research bridging the natural and social sciences to reveal the real dynamics of what's often called the "polycrisis".
Humanity and all life on Earth face multiple, interconnected, simultaneous global crises. They are amplifying each other's effects, threatening to overwhelm the system, creating a continuum of instability that is pervasive, enduring and at worst could lead to collapse.
But within the cracks of the old, we are seeing shoots of the new. Every defining dimension of our civilisation is in flux. New cultural paradigms and new exponential technologies are overturning the old. The "polycrisis" is happening at the surface, but is symptomatic of something much deeper - the shift of the whole system into a new state.
Based on two decades of accurate anticipatory intelligence and forecasting, our research applies the 'Planetary Phase Shift' collective intelligence framework across issues and sectors to make sense of where humanity finds herself in a way that no other framework can. These include:Energy Return On Investment (EROI)Societal and technological changePreparing for multiple futures at societal and civilisational scalesAssessing strategic, geopolitical and economic risksRecognising emerging investment opportunitiesCharting paths for transformationTracking energy, food, transport, information and materials trendsTracking socio-cultural shifts
Learning Journeys
We curate and create inspiring and transformational learning journeys for individuals, groups, organisations, companies and nonprofits at all scales to explore what the Planetary Phase Shift means for you, how you can become future-ready, and step into your power as an agent of transformation. We design and deliver talks, lectures, trainings, workshops, seminars and courses that move participants to a space of clarity, inspiration and determination to act.
Strategic communications in service of people and planet
We deploy thought leadership, media engagement, brand positioning, reputation management, investigative journalism and multimedia production to tell stories that can change the world, amplify voices that need to be heard and confront forces that endanger our planet.
The Age of Transformation newsletter
Age of Transformation is our flagship systems transformation newsletter aimed at a wide general readership to mainstream systems thinking. AoT explores the implications of the Planetary Phase Shift in relationship to emerging headlines and critical debates, breaking down data and theory to help you understand and prepare for the future, today. We cover the biggest challenges of our times, and emerging solutions across economics, society, culture and technology. We also seek to overcome binary ‘problem-solutions’ framings through the emancipatory lens of transformation. 
Wisdom and wonder
We are developing a new epistemological and philosophical framework to understand and respond to what is often called the “metacrisis”: the complex web of interconnected global crises reflects a deeper failure in how we understand ourselves and the world. The conventional, prevailing paradigm no longer makes sense. Our way of seeing things and being in the world is broken.Architecting new systems is not just about external structures. It’s also about our beliefs, ideas and values. Responses to the crisis of meaning need to be developed in a way that is as accessible to as wide an audience as possible.
Our work situates both the "metacrisis" and the "polycrisis" in the core pattern by which all living systems grow, stabilise, break-down and renew. The "metacrisis" is not just about a crisis of meaning, but a signal of the decline of an outmoded system as a new one emerges in the context of the life-cycle of civilisation. We need a new paradigm - a new way of understanding ourselves and our place in the world.
Civilisation is at a pivotal inflection point
Our research reveals that the human species is in the midst of the last stages of this civilisation’s systemic life-cycle. But this is not the end - it’s an unprecedented opportunity for a new beginning as a new life-cycle is emerging. Let’s prepare for it, together.A Moment of Transition.
A Movement for Renewal.
At the Foundation for Civilisation Renewal, we recognise the emergence of a new possibility space for humanity, due to a unique convergence of culture and technology. We can create an advanced global society thriving in balance with Earth’s ecosystems. Our work empowers humanity to embrace the planetary phase shift underway—creating opportunities for renewal, well-being and genuine prosperity.
Our mission is to harness the best of humanity’s insights across the natural and social sciences. We leverage these insights to shift mindsets and organisational paradigms. Our goal is to catalyse the systemic transformations we need to navigate to a whole new civilisation.
