Donella Meadows Institute

OUR MISSION

To bring economic, social and environmental systems into closer harmony with the realities of a finite planet and a globally powerful human race by using the disciplines of systems thinking, system dynamics and organizational learning pioneered by our founder Donella Meadows.

ABOUT THE DONELLA MEADOWS INSTITUTE

Formerly known as the Sustainability Institute, our organization recently decided to adopt the name of its founder, the late Donella (Dana) Meadows. With the name change, the Institute committed itself to the dissemination of Dana’s work and the preservation of her legacy. In all other regards, our mission, vision and role in the world remain essentially unchanged.

True to the practice of our founder, the Institute uses systems thinking principles and system dynamics modeling to identify leverage points in human and natural systems and to design interventions that promote society’s transition to sustainability. Because human interactions and relationships are critical for healthy systems, we apply principles of organizational learning to our work and our collaborations. Through writing, speaking and mentoring, we work to influence mindsets in a way that will promote meaningful and lasting change. Through consulting, coordination and collaboration, we build individual and organizational capacity to analyze, understand and respond to complex environmental, social and economic challenges.