Problems of health care, economic development, political and interpersonal conflict, environmental sustainability, resource allocation, disaster relief, urban planning, civil society, democratic governance, technological innovation, intellectual property, public education—the most critical problems of our time -involve social dilemmas and institutions for collective action that are not yet well-understood.

Evidence from biology, sociology, economics, political science, computer science, and psychology suggest the feasibility of building an interdisciplinary framework for understanding cooperation. Because of institutional specialization, a program of cooperation studies will not happen without purposeful action. In order to catalyze the growth of this enterprise, the Cooperation Project has created:

* An open, shared, knowledge base of insights and resources relevant to cooperation and collective action: the Knowledge Commons
* Several visual maps for customized navigation of the cooperation studies landscape
* A university course with publicly available lecture videos and readings
* A workshop and guidebook for re-perceiving the role of cooperation in business and the technologies that enable it
* The beginnings of a social network of cooperation researchers

The Cooperation Project has convened expert workshops, published a syllabus, launched online discussion communities, compiled reports, created and published video lectures, and built software prototypes—the beginnings of a Cooperation Toolset. Now we seek to:

* Test and refine these instruments through workshops and further research.
* Attract the best minds in cooperation-related disciplines to help.
* Learn how practitioners can use the knowledge and tools in their domains.
* Make these resources public and invite broad participation.

>from *Cooperation Commons site*. A collaboration between the Institute for the Future and Howard Rheingold

related context
> diversity promotes cooperation. october 27, 2006
> synchrony: order is inevitable. april 9, 2003
> network-based movements. march 3, 2003
> smart mobs. october 3, 2002
> creative commons: law and technology. may 24, 2002
> science commons. march 15, 2002

imago
> the social dilemma:
cooperation construct at crossing railroads

sonic flow
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