Building a collaboration-driven ecosystem among local socio-environmental organizations in Valle de Bravo, México.

The Social Laboratory on Shareability is a collaborative initiative designed to strengthen cooperation among local socio-environmental organizations in Valle de Bravo. The project aimed to map relationships, identify collective challenges, and create mechanisms for knowledge and resource exchange. Through a systems-thinking approach, the Lab facilitated different processes where the organizations could experiment with ways of enhancing their own individual efforts and impacts on a macro scale, both in environmental regeneration for the water basin, as well as social cohesion for local communities they work with.

Valle de Bravo, with its pristine yet humanized forest ecosystems and vibrant water basin, is home to a plethora of NGOs and grassroots initiatives dedicated to conservation, social cohesion, regeneration and sustainability. However, despite shared goals, many operated in isolation which means duplicated efforts, competing for funding, and lacking spaces for coordination. The challenge was designing a collaborative system that builds trust, reveals interdependencies, and enables organizations in sharing resources and strategies effectively.

Map and visualize the local socio-ecosystem, including NGOs, government agencies, private actors, and ecological services dependencies.

Identify leverage points for collaboration and joint action.

Facilitate co-creation processes that build trust and collective capacity.

Design a replicable framework for ongoing coordination and communication.

As Project Coordinator, Lead Facilitator and Analyst:

Designed and conducted stakeholder mapping processes that resulted in a participatory systems map

Organized and facilitated multi-stakeholder workshops combining dialogue, mapping, and scenario exploration

Designed the data gathering tools, databases and analysis framework that resulted in the guiding information to choose which collaborations to focus on

Coordinated communications, documentation, and strategic reflection sessions among the inner team, the host organization, as well as the rest of the participants.

The Lab followed a systems and design-thinking process, structured in phases:

Phases:

Discovery: Understanding the ecosystem

Co-Creation: Building a shared understanding

Design: Developing collaboration prototypes

Reflection: Capturing learning

Stakeholder ecosystem map visualizing actors and relationships

Workshop facilitation plan for participatory co-creation sessions

Collective action framework outlining shared priorities and coordination mechanisms

Process documentation report summarizing learnings, challenges, and next steps

Strengthened trust and collaboration among 10 local NGOs, 2 government agencies, 5 different local actors, and 3 other types of organizations (20 actors in total)

Revealed hidden connections and shared challenges that informed future joint actions

Established a foundation for a regional coordination platform, including a communication channel for ongoing collaboration

Contributed to a culture of openness and shared purpose within Valle de Bravo's socio-environmental network

Project management and multi-stakeholder coordination

Systems mapping and participatory facilitation

Strategic design and collaborative process planning

Qualitative data synthesis and communication design

Documentation and reflective learning

Collaboration is not just an outcome, it is an infrastructure built with participation and continuity, it must be intentionally designed, facilitated, and maintained. The Social Lab demonstrated that, by visualizing systems and fostering dialogue spaces, local organizations can move from competition toward collective regeneration.