Synapse

This project targets the escalating challenge posed by transnational organized crime, which continues to rapidly evolve due to advances in technology and is outpacing the global institutional structures designed to combat it. 

The UN Convention on Transnational Organized Crime is making significant strides, but the pace of this progress is not meeting the increasingly rapid changes witnessed in organized crime. This lag is further exacerbating threats to democracy, peace, and stability across the globe.

Our project aims to galvanize crosscutting teams of stakeholders, empowering them to devise and implement agile, adaptive strategies that can swiftly counteract the advances of organized crime. Drawing upon the new Transilience Theory, a philosophy of social change, we equip practitioners and participants with a fortified understanding and capacity to effectively respond to the underlying challenges illuminated by E.O. Wilson's critique of failed models of brain functioning.

Our approach addresses the root of our collective understanding of human behavior and social institutions. By enhancing the existing information exchange processes with agile, sprint-style strategy development and problem-solving, we can harness the unique contributions of civil society and the private sector, particularly technology experts. 

Through substantial engagement with all key stakeholders, this approach enables us to create strategic and innovative solutions to the rapidly evolving challenges of today's world, ultimately fortifying our collective response to transnational organized crime.

Our solution centers on the implementation of 'metanets' (as originally described in the 2016 publication "United Nations Unlocked") - compact, dynamic networks of stakeholders. In this case they collectively tackle emergent issues related to transnational organized crime within the UN Convention on Transnational Organized Crime framework. Metanets function as collaborative intelligence hubs, employing agile methodology, collective intelligence principles, and evidence-driven knowledge to craft strategic initiatives and prototypes addressing critical issues.

To assist in comprehending the metanets' workings, we incorporate understanding of Transilience Theory as a foundation. This theory provides a robust framework for better understanding the human element at play in all aspects of human affairs. 

A pivotal component of our solution is the 'Synapse' or metanet sprint process. This dynamic problem-solving method rapidly convenes small stakeholder teams to formulate strategic responses to urgent, critical issues. Synapse sprints foster agile reactions to escalating threats, focusing on creating actionable content when effective strategies are most needed. It capitalizes on collective intelligence, maximizing diverse expertise contributions for collaborative issue resolution.

Supported by a tech-enabled partnership platform, the Synapse sprint engages non-traditional experts in the Crime Commission, utilizing tools such as AI, big data analytics, and dynamic network analytics for informed decision-making and metanet support.

In essence, the Synapse sprint is a fast-paced, cooperative problem-solving method, uniting varied stakeholders to create strategic initiatives tackling transnational organized crime. Supported by advanced technologies, it engages relevant experts and facilitates agile responses to critical issues, while the preparatory learning of Transilience Theory empowers individuals to actively apply its concepts, linking aspirations and daily experiences.

Our solution primarily serves the global community combatting transnational organized crime, including government bodies, NGOs, private sector entities, and the broader global community affected by these crimes. Within these groups, we specifically target individuals and teams tasked with addressing urgent and emergent challenges posed by the rapidly evolving landscape of transnational crime.

These populations are currently underserved due to the complex and dynamic nature of transnational organized crime, which is often exacerbated by the rapid advancement and exploitation of emerging technologies. Traditional methods and mechanisms, while foundational, are not equipped to respond with the necessary agility to the fast-paced evolution of this threat.

Through Synapse and the metanet process, we aim to equip these stakeholders with the tools, strategies, and collaborative framework necessary to respond rapidly and effectively to such challenges. The solution provides an agile, adaptive, and collaborative approach to problem-solving, enabling them to keep pace with the evolving threats and develop timely, strategic responses.

Additionally, our solution incorporates the principles of Transilience Theory, which empowers individuals and teams with a deeper understanding of the underlying dynamics and equips them with tangible methods to integrate these principles into their actions and behaviors. This results in more informed decisions, increased adaptability, and the ability to approach problems from a broader, more holistic perspective.

The indirect beneficiaries are global societies who stand to benefit from the decreased impact of transnational organized crime due to the more effective strategies implemented as a result of this solution. The project not only aims at solving immediate issues but also enables these individuals and organizations to build capacity for future challenges.

Our team, led by me, brings a unique combination of academic knowledge, practical experience, technological expertise, and close association with the communities we aim to serve. My journey began with the inception of key elements of Transilience Theory in my Master's thesis in 1983, which has since been developed and refined through my Doctorate in Peace and Justice in 2010, my book "United Nations Unlocked in 2016" and in preparation for my next book"Transilience Theory" in 2025. 

For over two decades, I have served as an NGO representative at the UN, including several years as the Chair of the NY Alliance of NGOs on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. This long-term engagement has allowed me to form close relationships with the communities affected by transnational organized crime, and to understand their challenges, needs, and aspirations on a profound level.

Furthermore, my background as a Physics major and in the history and philosophy of science, coupled with years of working with internet technologies and cybersecurity, affords me a comprehensive skillset. This breadth of knowledge and experience equips me to devise practical, strategic, and inherently creative methods that can contribute to societal progress from a "metahumanity" perspective.

Our small but efficient educational team shares this commitment. We have worked closely with both policymakers and the communities affected by the policies. This proximity to the communities we serve ensures that their input, ideas, and agendas guide the design and implementation of our solution. 

In essence, the combination of our academic knowledge, practical experience, technological expertise, and close ties to the communities we serve position us uniquely well to deliver this solution. We understand the problem from the inside out and have the skills and vision necessary to address it effectively.

In 2018 our team experimented with the process in the margins of the Comission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. The report was written up and disseminated to the UN Missions in Vienna. Other opportunities were taken within UN organization during meetings of CIOs dealing with cyber security in the UN to see how they would respond to a number of the elements of the process.
Our 2018 report is available if sought.

Would it be terrible to say I am applying to MIT Solve to test out the viability of this approach in a more established and traditional space? I am curious about feedback for such an approach in order to better judge the barrier to entry for this "3-brain -3 brane" approach to addressing high stakes challenges.

The underlying theory is a new way of reading the chaos of our world, a compass for navigating the labyrinthine challenges that we, the ever-bumbling humans, toss into the mix. It provides a "compass" for dealing with today's complex challenges perpetuated by us—humans. 

Over the years, like a fine wine or a stinky cheese, this idea has matured. It's leading to practical tools that even the most stubborn of individuals and tight-laced organizations can use. The goal? To tackle big problems and cause a stir in the way we handle things, because, let's face it, we could use a bit of a shakeup.

Synapse, the “metanets” approach to stakeholder engagement at the United Nations, particularly for the Review Mechanism of UNTOC, is innovative for several compelling reasons:

1. Agile and Structured Engagement: The “metanets” approach introduces a structured and agile framework for stakeholder engagement. By organizing sprint-style processes, it enables rapid and focused collaboration, allowing stakeholders to swiftly develop and test innovative strategies and solutions. This departure from traditional, prolonged discussions fosters a dynamic and action-oriented environment, enhancing the effectiveness of stakeholder engagement.

2. Cross-Sector Collaboration: The “metanets” approach emphasizes collaboration across diverse sectors, including government, non-governmental organizations, academia, and the private sector. This inclusive approach harnesses the collective expertise and resources of stakeholders from various domains, fostering a holistic and comprehensive response to the challenges of transnational organized crime.

3. Innovation and Creativity: By promoting creative development of strategies, structures, and product prototypes, the “metanets” approach cultivates a culture of innovation and creativity within stakeholder engagement. This innovative mindset is essential for addressing the evolving tactics of transnational organized crime and leveraging emerging technologies to develop effective countermeasures.

4. Action-Oriented Outcomes: Unlike traditional dialogue-based approaches, “metanets” focuses on generating actionable outcomes. The structured engagement processes facilitate the rapid development of tangible strategies and frameworks, ensuring that stakeholder engagement translates into practical solutions that can be implemented to address persistent and emerging challenges.

5. Adaptive and Responsive: The “metanets” approach is adaptive and responsive to the evolving landscape of transnational organized crime. Its agile nature allows stakeholders to iterate and refine their responses in real time, enabling them to stay ahead of emerging threats and adapt their strategies to effectively counter the multifaceted nature of organized crime.

6. Utilization of UN’s Convening Power: Leveraging the convening power of the United Nations, the “metanets” approach harnesses the UNTOC umbrella to bring together stakeholders for focused, short-term sprints. This utilization of the UN’s influence and expertise amplifies the impact of stakeholder engagement, creating a platform for meaningful collaboration and innovation.

In summary “metanets” approach to stakeholder engagement at the UN, particularly within the Review Mechanism of UNTOC, is innovative due to its agile, cross-sector, and action-oriented nature. By fostering collaboration, innovation, and effectiveness, “metanets” represents a transformative shift in how stakeholders engage with the challenges of transnational organized crime, aligning with the imperative to adapt to the evolving landscape of criminal activities.

Synapse's strategy sprints structured for stakeholders in the UN's Convention on Transnational Organized Crime, particularly the concept of "metanets" can have a significant impact on addressing the challenges posed by the evolving technology and the utilization of these technologies by organized criminal groups. Here's a simple explanation of how and why these strategy sprints can make a difference:

1. Understanding the Impact of Technology: As technology continues to evolve, organized criminal groups are leveraging these advancements to carry out illicit activities, posing significant challenges to law enforcement and global security. The rapid pace of technological advancements presents a complex landscape for combating transnational organized crime.

2. Strategic Agility and Collective Intelligence: The strategy sprints, such as SOLVE 2018, are designed to foster strategic agility and collective intelligence among stakeholders. By convening meta-nets, which are small networks of stakeholders from diverse backgrounds, these sprints enable rapid and collaborative responses to critical issues, leveraging the expertise and insights of participants from various sectors.

3. Immediate Outputs: The immediate outputs of these strategy sprints include the development of strategic initiatives and innovative solutions to address emerging threats posed by transnational organized crime. Through agile processes and meta-humanity orientation, these outputs are designed to inform and influence policy discussions and decision-making within the Conference of Parties and the global community.

4. Longer-Term Outcomes: The longer-term outcomes are aimed at fostering meaningful engagement and contribution of resources by all stakeholders, including Member States, civil society, academia, and the private sector. These outcomes seek to strengthen evidence-based responses to transnational organized crime, enhance international cooperation, and facilitate the implementation of the Convention and its Protocols.

5. Theory of Change: The theory of change is rooted in the belief that by engaging in strategic sprints and fostering collective intelligence, stakeholders can develop actionable initiatives and recommendations that address the challenges posed by technology-enabled transnational organized crime. These initiatives, when implemented, are expected to lead to improved global responses, enhanced capacity for crime prevention, and strengthened international cooperation in combating organized crime.

6. Evidence and Support: The theory of change is supported by the collaborative efforts of stakeholders, the development of strategic initiatives during the sprints, and the potential for these initiatives to inform policy discussions and influence decision-making. Additionally, third-party research, findings from evaluations, and insights from interviews with target populations can provide evidence of the impact and effectiveness of these activities.

In summary, metanets or strategy sprints structured for stakeholders in the UN's Convention on Transnational Organized Crime, aim to foster collective intelligence, develop strategic initiatives, and drive meaningful engagement to address the challenges posed by evolving technology and organized criminal groups. The theory of change is underpinned by the belief that these activities will lead to immediate outputs and longer-term outcomes that contribute to improved global efforts in combating transnational organized crime.

The use of metanets as an innovative process designed to augment existing review mechanisms has several reasonable impact goals and ways to measure progress towards impactful outcomes.

Reasonable Impact Goals:

1. Enhanced Strategic Agility: The use of metanets aims to enhance the strategic agility of stakeholders involved in addressing transnational organized crime. This includes the rapid development of strategic initiatives to respond to emergent threats and opportunities in a timely manner.

2. Improved Collective Intelligence: The metanets are expected to facilitate improved collective intelligence by bringing together diverse stakeholders from various levels and sectors to work collaboratively on specific issues. This collective intelligence can lead to innovative and effective solutions to combat transnational organized crime.

3. Innovative Policy Prototypes: The development of innovative policy prototypes for urgent emergent issues during the annual meetings, as tested in the pilot phase, is a key goal. These prototypes can serve as the basis for refining and implementing relevant policies and strategies.

4. Expanded Stakeholder Engagement: The metanets are intended to expand stakeholder engagement, including the participation of experts and resources not traditionally involved in the UNTOC review mechanism. This can bring diverse perspectives and expertise to the table, enriching the quality of strategic initiatives.

5. Timely and Informed Decision-Making: The use of metanets should lead to timely and informed decision-making within the UN and relevant stakeholder groups, enabling more effective responses to emergent threats and opportunities.

Ways to Measure Progress:

1. Development and Refinement of Prototypes: The progress can be measured by the development and refinement of policy prototypes for urgent emergent issues during the annual meetings, as well as the subsequent adoption or adaptation of these prototypes by relevant bodies.

2. Level of Stakeholder Engagement: Monitoring the level of stakeholder engagement, including the participation of experts and resources not traditionally involved in the Crime Commission, can provide insights into the expansion of engagement facilitated by metanets.

3. Quality and Timeliness of Strategic Initiatives: Assessing the quality and timeliness of strategic initiatives developed by metanets can serve as a measure of the effectiveness of the process in fostering strategic agility and collective intelligence.

4. Feedback and Impact Assessment: Gathering feedback from stakeholders involved in the metanets and conducting impact assessments of the implemented initiatives can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness and impact of the process.

5. Adoption of Recommendations: Tracking the adoption of recommendations generated by metanets by relevant bodies, such as the Security Council, the Secretary-General, and the General Assembly, can indicate the influence and effectiveness of the initiatives developed.

6. Long-Term Impact Assessment: Conducting long-term impact assessments to evaluate the sustained impact of the initiatives developed through the metanets on addressing transnational organized crime can provide a comprehensive understanding of the process's effectiveness.

These impact goals and measurement strategies can help the UN and relevant stakeholders assess the effectiveness of the metanets in augmenting existing review mechanisms and advancing the global efforts to combat transnational organized crime.

The core technology that powers metanets is rooted in the application of collective intelligence principles, agile processes, and evidence-based knowledge to address urgent and emergent issues related to transnational organized crime within the framework of the UN’s Convention on Transnational Organized Crime. 

Metanets are small networks of stakeholders who come together from diverse backgrounds and levels of relevant stakeholder groups to collaboratively develop strategic initiatives and prototypes for addressing critical issues. The application of science and evidence-based knowledge to the practical aims of human life is evident in the design and operation of metanets. Here’s a breakdown of the core technology that powers metanets:

Collective Intelligence Principles
Metanets leverage collective intelligence principles, which involve harnessing the combined knowledge, expertise, and insights of diverse stakeholders to address complex challenges. By bringing together individuals from various sectors and levels, metanets tap into the collective wisdom and problem-solving capabilities of the participants. This collaborative approach aligns with the comprehensive philosophy of social change embodied by Transilience Theory, which emphasizes the integration of diverse perspectives and expertise to address complex societal challenges.

Agile Processes
The operation of metanets is characterized by agile processes, which emphasize flexibility, rapid adaptation, and iterative development. This approach allows metanets to respond quickly to emergent threats and opportunities, enabling nimble and collaborative problem-solving within time-constrained periods. The agile nature of metanets aligns with the dynamic and adaptive nature of social change advocated by Transilience Theory, which recognizes the need for flexibility and creativity in addressing complex societal issues.

Evidence-Based Knowledge
The development of strategic initiatives and prototypes within metanets is informed by evidence-based knowledge, drawing upon research, best practices, and expert insights to address specific threats and opportunities related to transnational organized crime. This evidence-based approach ensures that the initiatives are grounded in sound reasoning and informed decision-making. This aligns with the emphasis on practical tools and evidence-based insights for personal and professional development within the comprehensive philosophy of social change advocated by Transilience Theory.

Technological Leverage
As metanets evolve, there is a focus on leveraging technology to enhance the partnership platform and engage relevant experts and resources not traditionally involved in the Crime Commission. This includes the utilization of intelligence informatics such as AI, big data analytics, and targeted dynamic network analytics to inform and support the work of metanets. The integration of technology to support collaborative problem-solving aligns with the practical guidance for enhancing interpersonal relationships and navigating complex social systems provided by Transilience Theory.

Participatory Network
Metanets operate as participatory networks, where meta-volunteers from diverse backgrounds and expertise agree to volunteer their time and contribute their knowledge outside of their normal roles. This participatory network fosters a collaborative and inclusive approach to addressing critical issues, drawing upon the strengths and perspectives of a wide range of stakeholders. This participatory approach resonates with the emphasis on collaborative engagement and personal growth within the comprehensive philosophy of social change advocated by Transilience Theory.

This approach, deeply intertwined with the comprehensive philosophy of social change embodied by Transilience Theory, enables metanets to rapidly develop strategic initiatives and prototypes, informed by diverse expertise and evidence-based insights, to address urgent and emergent issues related to transnational organized crime within the UN framework.

Solutions team is limited. A 2018 pilot project was done in the margins of the CCPCJ in Vienna with the assistance of team of interns (law students from France, Sweden, Bulgaria and the moral support of the NY Alliance of NGOs on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.

To prepare for implementation and team of 5 people would need to be convened and trained. 

Transilience theory is a long term project. Partial elements were explained in the 2016-2017 book, "United Nations Unlocked." That led to an opportunity to work with the then UN CITO on a project with the CIOs of the  UN family of organizations.

The meta-net project was tested in the margins of the 2018 Crime Commission in Vienna. 

I have always been open to interested parties, usually as interns: Japanese, Korean, Bangladesh, Nigerian, Tanzanian, Kenyan, Gambian, Philippine, Bulgarian, Swedish, French, German, etc. etc. I work with those who are active in the intersection of "metahumanity's" technology, peace and justice.  

Currently all is self-funded with 2 silent donors. In the case there is larger interest, I would have to develop a funding model.

Currently testing the water for interest as an indie developer. 

In the case there is significant interest I would work with my small team to develop training materials (many in place as I constantly train NGOs to be effective in the UN environment and build the "transilience" skill sets, etc.) and put a team together to take this forward. 

Ideally, it would be handed off to UNODC and the staff of the UNTOC Review Mechanism. 

Beyond this, there is potential to train corporate in the skills development and Synapse process. But this is not my primary focus. With committed partners, lots could be done.

The basic training for Synapse builds powerful personal communications skills that when utilized, are transformative. This has significant potential for leadership skills for techs/CIOs/personal development projects.