dimanche 18 octobre 2009

The Institute for Integral Studies : A New Initiative to Enhance the Integral Research Communities

 
The Institute for Integral Studies  

– A New Initiative to Enhance the Integral Research Communities 

In September 2008 a dozen researchers from various disciplines1 and applied fields2 sharing 
a non-dogmatic spirit of integral research met in Freiburg/Germany to found the Institute for 
Integral Studies (IFIS) as a registered not-for-profit organization. 

The Institute has set itself the mission to catalyze the recognition and further development of 
integral3 and likeminded approaches4 in academic research, higher education and research- 
based practice. IFIS is focusing on the connections between i) disciplinary and 
interdisciplinary fields of academic study, ii) neglected or dismissed fields, iii) the 
development of integral (meta)studies, iv) real-life challenges in our age of global crises, and 
v) research into desirable futures and into conditions to bring them about. 

The joint commitment of the members of the Institute is to develop, share and help to make 
use of integral knowledge and wisdom with the sole purpose of contributing to the common 
good and to the well-being and sustainable development of the greatest number of sentient 
beings and their socio-cultural and natural habitats. The work carried out by the Institute is 
based on values and principles that inspire a broad, pluralistic, dialogical, critical, self- 
reflective and dynamic understanding and practice of integral studies.5 

Most of the Institute's full members are affiliated with higher education or research institutions 
and generally have a background in integral studies for many years. IFIS is a unique 
community of research and learning that is committed to quality processes. The results to be 
achieved comply with and go beyond common scientific standards. Special attention is paid 
to organic growth of the community and to the cultivation of inner coherence and collective 
intelligence in the sense of practicing what is preached. 

In the first year of its existence IFIS has been busy setting up its organizational backbone: its 
general assembly, its governance board composed by seven of the most active founding 
members, and its international advisory board uniting major contemporary voices of 
advanced integral theorizing across streams.6 On this basis the international network of 
researchers inspired by integral and likeminded approaches connected to the Institute has 
started to grow. The Institute has also begun to pursue research, establish development 
projects, organize academic and educational events and produce high-level publications.  

Two major events were held in 2009: first, an intimate workshop on the foundations of 
integral research with contributions and discussions on the variety of integral streams, on the 
necessary methodological foundations, and on the horizon of integral meta-studies; second, 
a conference on integral economics at the University of Freiburg. As a timely contribution to 
the debates on the worldwide economic and financial crisis this conference attracted more 
than 100 attendees. 

The next major event conceived by IFIS will be the international symposium "Research 
across boundaries – Advances in Theory-building" scheduled in June 2010 at the University 
of Luxembourg. Through their life work, several contemporary vanguard researchers have 
attempted to cross and transcend some of the deep-seated splits between disciplines, 
cultures, individuals and collectives, facts and values, theory and practice, science and 
spirituality etc. To date little cross-connection, however, has been established between these 
researchers and their scholarly work. On this background more than 30 world-class 
boundary-crossing scholars worldwide have accepted IFIS' invitation to dialogue with each 
other for the first time on their respective approaches in order to discover similarities and 
differences, to offer mutual criticism, and to join forces regarding shared interests. 

One of the development projects successfully launched by IFIS is about building a collective 
repository on integral and likeminded research worldwide making use of the latest Web 2.0 
technology. The steadily growing repository is covering information pertaining to various 
interconnected categories, like historical and contemporary researchers and their 
publications, academic journals and book series, projects, events and funding opportunities, 
initiatives, institutions, and post-secondary educational programmes. 
IFIS invites interested researchers and organizations to connect with its vision and practice of 
integral studies. This can happen in many ways: from occasional to committed, from informal 
to formal, from online to face-to-face, from informational to transformational. 
Different 
membership types are available and these include full, affiliated, and advisory board 
membership, as well as sponsorship. Donations to IFIS are tax-deductable7 and they will 
speed up the further development of the Institute by augmenting the volunteer work of its 
members and friends. 


For more information see: www.integral-studies.org

 

News item authored by Markus Molz, October 9, 2009 

                                                 

1 
 From psychology to sociology to economics to history to physics etc. 
2 
 From education to intercultural communication to architecture to health to yoga etc. 
3 
 Within IFIS integral approaches are considered in their actual plurality as they have emerged at different 
points of time in different locations, domains, streams and communities. 
4 
 Like some of those labeled as transdisciplinary, transmodern, critical realist, cosmopolitan, (neo-)humanist, 
meta-paradigmatic, meta-theoretical, unity-in-diversity, complexity, quantum etc. 
5 
 Accordingly, at the Institute integral and likeminded approaches are not only considered as helpful frameworks 
for conducting research of a more comprehensive type but as well as objects of research. As objects of 
research they need to be better understood in their particular focus, in their conceptual structures and in their 
biographical, sociocultural and ideational context and trajectories. In these respects different approaches can 
be beneficially contrasted with each other. This is opening up a new research agenda of crucial importance for 
the future of integral studies. 
In the first year of its existence IFIS has been busy setting up its organizational backbone: its 
general assembly, its governance board composed by seven of the most active founding 
members, and its international advisory board uniting major contemporary voices of 
advanced integral theorizing across streams.6 On this basis the international network of 
researchers inspired by integral and likeminded approaches connected to the Institute has 
started to grow. The Institute has also begun to pursue research, establish development 
projects, organize academic and educational events and produce high-level publications.  
Two major events were held in 2009: first, an intimate workshop on the foundations of 
integral research with contributions and discussions on the variety of integral streams, on the 
necessary methodological foundations, and on the horizon of integral meta-studies; second, 
a conference on integral economics at the University of Freiburg. As a timely contribution to 
the debates on the worldwide economic and financial crisis this conference attracted more 
than 100 attendees. 
The next major event conceived by IFIS will be the international symposium "Research 
across boundaries – Advances in Theory-building" scheduled in June 2010 at the University 
of Luxembourg. Through their life work, several contemporary vanguard researchers have 
attempted to cross and transcend some of the deep-seated splits between disciplines, 
cultures, individuals and collectives, facts and values, theory and practice, science and 
spirituality etc. To date little cross-connection, however, has been established between these 
researchers and their scholarly work. On this background more than 30 world-class 
boundary-crossing scholars worldwide have accepted IFIS' invitation to dialogue with each 
other for the first time on their respective approaches in order to discover similarities and 
differences, to offer mutual criticism, and to join forces regarding shared interests. 
One of the development projects successfully launched by IFIS is about building a collective 
repository on integral and likeminded research worldwide making use of the latest Web 2.0 
technology. The steadily growing repository is covering information pertaining to various 
interconnected categories, like historical and contemporary researchers and their 
publications, academic journals and book series, projects, events and funding opportunities, 
initiatives, institutions, and post-secondary educational programmes. 
IFIS invites interested researchers and organizations to connect with its vision and practice of 
integral studies. This can happen in many ways: from occasional to committed, from informal 
to formal, from online to face-to-face, from informational to transformational. Different 
membership types are available and these include full, affiliated, and advisory board 
membership, as well as sponsorship. Donations to IFIS are tax-deductable7 and they will 
speed up the further development of the Institute by augmenting the volunteer work of its 
members and friends. 
For more information see: www.integral-studies.org

 

News item authored by Markus Molz, October 9, 2009 

                                                 

6 
 Among them contributors to Integral Review like Mark Edwards, Jenny Gidley, Wendelin Küpers and Jonathan 
Reams. 
7 
 At least in several European countries 






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