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The Finance Lab

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WWF has come together with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, Reos Partners and the Said Business School to launch an exciting new programme – the Finance Lab.

As we know, the finance system has a big influence on how our society, government and business operates. Through this influence, it can shape how we consume natural resources and produce greenhouse gas emissions. That’s why WWF is interested in bringing about change through finance.

About the Finance Lab
The Finance Lab is a collaborative initiative that aims to re-think the financial system and take practical action to stimulate transformational change, so that finance serves the interests of society and the environment.

We believe change will come through people from finance and business, government, academia and civil society working together in creative new ways.

The process
The first phase of the Finance Lab will begin with a series of exploratory planning workshops in July 2009 supported by a number of events and open days.

These will build on the work already done by University of Oxford’s Said Business School's Institute for Science, Innovation and Society, which explores new options for the financial system using two possible scenarios for the future.

The sessions are designed to stimulate discussion around the current financial system, challenge ideas and expose key issues that can and must be resolved in order to make sure the system is sustainable in the future.

In November 2009, the UK 'Open Innovation Lab' phase will establish a design group of 36 people and organisations who will work together over nine months to develop and prototype several initiatives designed to tackle challenges uncovered in these sessions.

These innovations will be launched in the UK in 2010. Other national Innovation Labs and a Global Lab will be rolled out in the next few years.

The benefits
The Finance Lab offers a unique opportunity to learn how to build strategic resilience in organisations. In other words, how to cope with change. This is especially important nowadays, given the complex and fast-evolving environments we all live and work in.

Participation will build leadership skills and increase capacity for change, as well as offer the opportunity for participants to reflect on how they will collectively address the challenges of the financial system.

The diverse participants will be given the chance to think and act differently and to co-create solutions for the future.

Help shape the future of finance
We are now actively seeking funding and participants – we’d very much like to hear from you if you’re interested in being involved in the Finance Lab.

For more information please download our prospectus and contact Jen Morgan at j.morgan@thefinancelab.org

”Transforming the financial system to one that promotes sustainability requires bold, radical thinking and collective action. The Finance Lab is exactly the kind of innovative approach we need, and I fully support its goals.”
Pavan Sukhdev – Study Leader, UN’s TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) report

”In my opinion this initiative, embracing as it does the need for a sustainable financial system, could in time turn out to be one of the most important projects on the planet today. While most of us struggle with the effects of the financial system, The Finance Lab is investigating the deep driving forces that the current system gives effect to.”
Lawrence Bloom, Chair of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Urban Management

”If capitalism is to become sustainable, business and finance urgently need to adopt new ways of working, to transform business models so they operate within environmental limits while maximising human well-being. I believe the Finance Lab is the ideal space for these new relationships, capacities and innovations to be developed and tested.”
Dr Steve Waygood, Head of Research and Engagement, Aviva

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