Building Infrastructure for Planetary Regeneration:

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” — R. Buckminster Fuller

Stuart Cowan is the Executive Director at Buckminster Fuller Institute (BFI.)  In this conversation, Stuart presents a powerful opportunity to explore the frontiers of regenerative design, systems thinking, and whole systems transformation. Cowan is known for connecting deep ecological intelligence with design science and planetary

Stuart Cowan, Buckminster Fuller Institute

Dr. Stuart Cowan is the Executive Director of the Buckminster Fuller Institute, which is dedicated to the realization of Fuller’s vision of a world that works for 100% of humanity in the shortest time possible through spontaneous cooperation. In this role, he launched the BFI Design Lab to develop critical infrastructure for resilience and regeneration at local to bioregional to planetary scales. He brings 25 years of experience in regenerative design, finance, and systems and is a planetary strategist, ecological designer, systems scientist, and regenerative economist. He is the Co-Founder of Autopoiesis LLC, which works to regenerate communities, ecosystems, and organizations.

He was the founding convener of the Regenerative Communities Network from 2018-20, supporting 15 bioregions on their journeys of regeneration. He brings a diverse range of experiences including Chief Scientist at the Smart Cities Council, Transaction Manager for the sustainable investment fund Portland Family of Funds, and Conservation Economy Research Director at the non-profit Ecotrust. He is the co-author with Sim Van der Ryn of Ecological Design, and received his doctorate in Applied Mathematics from U.C. Berkeley with a focus on Complex Systems and Ecological Economics. He has taught and facilitated internationally for academic institutions, cities, companies, indigenous groups, government agencies, and NGOs. He serves on the Board of Regenerosity, University for International Cooperation, and the Global Solutions Alliance.