Services

I offer a range of services which builds on experience in the agricultural, academic and renewables consultancy sectors, and I’m open to partner with any organisation or individual with whom my Vision resonates. Please my services outlined below:

Group Facilitation

Building on my experience of facilitating and leading groups in organisational settings for over a decade, in recent years I’ve become drawn to the “Next Stage” of group facilitation – one that not only pays attention to the functional aspects of holding space (intention, agenda, timekeeping etc) but also to the more subtle dimensions such as group energetics, presence, tension, holding multiple perspectives and attending to what’s not being shared. Exploring this field led me to become a Certified Integral Facilitator® and in doing so becoming the only one in the UK focused on regenerative farming and the local food system movement. Since founding Russell Regen I’ve facilitated in many group settings and if you are interested in group facilitation support then please reach out.

Project Coordination

In addition to Group Facilitation, I offer project coordination / management services which includes the “nuts and bolts” of clarifying project needs and objectives and helping projects towards completion. It also includes a subtle variation on group facilitation which I call “open-ended conversations”. These draw on my coaching experience by setting an intention for the conversation then using active listening, summarising and open question approaches to explore a subject area. This has been particularly valuable in projects that I’ve overseen with 1:1 stakeholder engagement (such as the AFN Network+ FlexFund Project) but also in working with consortia / partnerships to ensure we’re completely aligned with the purpose of the engagement. A further example of coordination activity is that I’m currently the Coordinator / Chair of FoodFutures’ Food Economy and Procurement Working Group which meets every two months. This gives me a great deal of meaning as it’s North Lancashire’s Sustainable Food Places Partnership, working to deliver a new local food system in the area which is healthy, resilient and fair.

Regenerative Farming Consultancy

I’ve been inspired by regenerative farming for many years and am one of only a handful in the UK that are Accredited Professionals in “Holistic Management” – a 60+ year approach to regenerative farming overseen by the Savory Institute. Holistic Management is a decision-making framework for balancing the ecological, financial and social needs of complex systems such as farm businesses. The first step (and at its core) is a personally crafted “Holistic Context” which is effectively the farmers’ vision for the farm in terms of social, financial and environmental aspects. Once this working document is created it is then used to make decisions about what approaches to take to ensure you are “living” your Holistic Context which is done using the “Context Checks”.

Following on from creating the Holistic Context, we can then use this to create:

  • A Holistic Financial Plan, which prioritises a “profit first” approach and clarifying various enterprises’ gross profit returns

  • Holistic Land Plans, looking far into the future at what the farm will look like and working towards that in a step-wise fashion

  • Holistic Grazing Plans (if appl.), which stimulate enhanced grass growth through optimised grazing and rest/recovery periods

  • Holistic Ecological Monitoring, for monitoring the impact of management activity on the “four ecosystem processes” of water cycle, soil mineral cycle, biodiversity and energy flow (sunlight energy capture).

If you’re a farm business interested in transitioning to regenerative farming and/or adopting the Holistic Management Framework then please reach out.

Farming and Food System Insights

A service area that has emerged since I set up Russell Regen was providing insights and perspectives on the farming and food system movement. The insights that I can provide are based on a diverse range of sources including but not limited to:

  1. Tracking trends in conventional / regenerative / organic farming sectors through both desk-based activities and events-based activities.

  2. A diverse range of memberships / networks such as Pasture for Life, the Schumacher Institute, Savory Network, Deep Transformation Network, the UN-convened Conscious Food Systems Alliance, the Farmers Club, Sustainable Food Places Partnerships Network and Local Futures.

  3. Tracking thought-leadership in adult development theory / sustainable transitions such as the United Nations Inner Development Goals, the Alef Trust, the Presencing Institute, the Integral Institute and the Inner Green Deal.

  4. Tracking thought-leadership and emerging trends in the environmental / NGO movement.

If you’re interested in a conversation around how I can support any research projects you’re involved with then please reach out.