Micro-Communities for Impact: An Initiative for Relational Growth, Inquiry, and Action
Discover the five key moves that helped a group of early-career researchers move from isolation to inspiration — and how you can use them to start or strengthen your own micro-community.
Because impact needs connection
It is becoming more frequent to encounter people, whether corporate professionals, entrepreneurs or academics, that want their work to create positive impact in the world.Yet these impact-driven individuals frequently face difficult tensions and paradoxes that they must learn to navigate along their journey. For example: "How can I engage in meaningful work in a culture that prizes performance above all?"Additionally, we have noticed that there is a gap between what an impact-driven individual is willing to do, and the structures that are supposed to provide support for it. This is where micro-communities fit in.What are micro-communities?Micro-communities are small groups of people who actively decide to come together as a group. They are intimate, intentional spaces for mutual support, reflection, and collective action.By moving away from the idea of the solitary genius and by embracing developmental friendship, we believe impact-driven individuals have a greater chance of fulfillment while they also counter loneliness, burnout, and performative culture.By prioritizing spontaneity over structure, authenticity over perfection, and reflection over results, micro-communities can nourish the relevant work and the people doing it.
From First Connection to Lasting Practice
Moments of resonance not only inform, they move. And movement is the only thing that creates change.As we reflected on our journey, we identified five habits that we naturally adopted because they resonated with our ideals. We labeled them as moves and we want to share them with you.Each move reflects a phase of our journey and offers ideas, examples, and practical exercises to guide your own.
The Five Moves to creating or strengthening a Micro-Community:
Move 1: Seeding the Space
Start with light ambition, shared values, and a regular rhythm. Let roles and purpose emerge.
Move 2: Designing for Trust, Connection & Full Presence
Create space to show up as you are. Embrace vulnerability, avoid pressure, and rotate leadership.
Move 3: Practicing Flexibility with Intention
Balance spontaneity and structure. Support each other through listening, play, and “yes, and” collaboration.
Move 4: Growing Through Co-Learning, Co-Inquiring & Reflection
Use reflection, feedback, and co-inquiry to turn experience into insight and deepen your work.
Move 5: Sustaining the Practice as a Seedbed for Action
Celebrate, adapt, and evolve. Let outcomes emerge organically — then share them with the world.
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How it began for us
Clémentine, Anna, Freek, Antonio, Tobias...We were doctoral students in different places, unsure how to do research that truly mattered. After an online course on Action Research, a few of us kept meeting — at first to survive (we initially self-labeled ourselves the Action Research Lonely Hearts), then to reflect, and finally, to grow.We met monthly, without a strict agenda. We shared doubts, tested ideas, and found deep resonance. We became each other’s sounding board, support system, and spark.“I’m not sure I would have finished my PhD without this group.” - Tobias.“We never met in person—but we became each other’s anchor.” - AnnaThis initiative is a reflection of that journey — and an invitation for you to start your own. Our only wish is to listen to the stories that emerge from this invitation.
Join us in fostering communities!
If our experience resonates with you, we invite you to discover the value of micro-communities and the benefits they can bring to your work, well-being, and impact, wherever you are and whatever field you're in.The Playbook does not intend to be a guide or a method. It is an invitation to joining a movement that sees relationality, reflection, and reciprocity as foundational to real impact.You are welcome to download the prototype Playbook and use the content in any way you feel by clicking on the button below:
Additionally, if you would like to engage with us in our experimental journey with Micro-Communities, please complete the following form:
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