SEM2007 Next Steps

Next Steps

The project is still far from delivering a pattern language that covers the key strategies underlying robust and vibrant ecosystems, whether natural or technical. Aside from the size of the task, patterns take years of input, discussion and refinement before they achieve recognition as "useful, useable and used". Additional effort will be required to look for relationships between patterns that will allow a useful 'grammar' and a pattern language to emerge.

The team will continue to identify potential clients for the project, to help focus our efforts on tangible deliverables. This approach will also help us identify the right time to build a funding proposal for dedicated resources.

The team plans to continue exploring the Life's Principles and re-casting them in the pattern format. One of the benefits of the patterns approach is that even preliminary results can be useful. A team members has commented that the discussions on the Life's Principles has helped her develop a more comprehensive and insightful model for a project she is developing. The team will continue to work with the Biomimicry Institute and Biomimicry Guild as they research and document natural strategies, providing the raw materials for a more traditional 'bottoms-up' approach to identifying recurrent problem, context and solution sets.