About the Institute
Our mission is to contribute to the making of better social worlds by reflecting on current patterns of communication and building better ones. We know that the skills necessary for making better social worlds are unevenly distributed and often in shortest supply when needed most. We are dedicated to improving this situation by promoting abilities, skills, and ways of being that enable us to act compassionately, mindfully, and wisely into the complex worlds in which we live.
The Institute’s goal is best expressed as learning together how to develop and share a cosmopolitan sensibility regarding our communication practices. This cosmopolitan sensibility can be expressed in several ways, including the idea that we remain profoundly curious about, and open to, the many ways of being human, seeing each way as one reality among many, and appreciating that all are constructed in different ongoing patterns of communicating.
In all of these efforts, the goal is to shift our taken-for-granted view of communication (as a simple tool for exchanging ideas and information) to a more complex understanding of the creative power of communication. In practical terms, these shifts are facilitated using tools and models inspired and informed by the Theory of the Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM).
The Institute itself represents a diverse community of individuals, groups and organizations who use the Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM) theory to inform and enhance their work. We engage with, and learn from one another, through a variety of online and in-person forums. Individual scholars and practitioners, educators and thought leaders, and institutional advocates comprise the core of the Institute’s supporters. However, the Institute’s programs and events are open to everyone.
As the institutional home and on-going keeper of CMM’s living history, the Institute partners with people, organizations and projects that represent significant, relevant, and applicable ways to institutionalize better patterns of communication.
The public benefit 501(c)3 Institute provides:
- Opportunities for collaboration, research, and teaching, including our joint graduate student fellowship program with Columbia University and joint conferences held with like-minded organisations such as the UK Association for Family Therapy
- Professional development programs for emerging and established CMM practitioners, including our annual CMMi Fellowship program
- Development and implementation of demonstration projects, showing how we can make better social worlds, especially demonstrated in our long-term CosmoKidz and Cosmopolis projects
- Worldwide networking and information sharing most notably conducted through our Learning Exchanges and occasional webinars
- Fresh insights about CMM’s capacity to transform contemporary social issues and covered in the CMMi Press publication program
- Advocacy for the continued improvement of personal and public communication in all walks of life, through our publications, our sponsored projects and our networking
- Support for the continued development of CMM as a practical theory and as a way of being in the world
The Board of Stewards
The Institute is overseen by an international Board of Stewards. The members of the board voluntarily contribute their time and expertise to fulfilling the vision of the Institute. At various times, the members take on specific responsibilities for particular projects and activities that suit their passions and their time available. The current responsibilities include:
| Barton Buechner, PhD | CMMi Fellows, CMMI Secretary |
| Jan Elliott, PhD | on sabbatical |
| Beth Fisher-Yoshida, PhD | CMMi Fellows, AC4 Fellows, CMMi Editorial Collective |
| Marit Eikaas Haavimb, MABPSS | CosmoKidz |
| Eerika Hedman-Phillips, PhD | on maternity leave |
| Arthur Jensen, PhD | Cosmopolis, CMMi Editorial Collective |
| Barbara McKay, D.Psych | CMMi Press Editorial Collective, UK/AFT Liaison |
| Sergej van Middendorp, PhD | CMMI Treasurer, Fielding Graduate University & Institute for Global Integral Competence Liaison |
| Kimberly Pearce, MA | Cofounder, President, CosmoKidz |
| Robyn Penman, PhD | Honorary Life Associate, Cosmopolis, CMMi Press Editor, Newsletter Editor |
| Rik Spann, MA | Cultural Ambassador and Resident Musician |
| Susan Steen, PhD | CMMi Editorial Collective |
| Daniel Walters | CosmoKidz |
| Ilene Wasserman, PhD | CMMi Fellows, CMMi Editorial Collective |
Latest news about the CMM Institute
Is co-construction an answer to moral injury?
Is co-construction an answer to moral injury?
One of the themes of the 5th annual Hero’s Journey symposium was the creation of “better pathways from wounds to wellness.” It included a panel discussion that reviewed the history and trajectory of moral injury as a construct of mental health. Bart Buechner was on the panel and offers us some of the highlights from the discussion on this important issue.
CMM Institute 2021 Fellow completes dissertation
CMM Institute 2021 Fellow completes dissertation
Congratulations to Lilya Shienko, PhD, for the recent completion of her dissertation, “The relationship between personal use of social media at work and job satisfaction”, as part of her doctoral studies at Adler University. Lilya’s thesis evolved from the work she undertook as a CMMI Fellow in 2021.
CosmoTeenz comic book
CosmoTeenz comic book
Navigating mental health as a teen is hard, so we asked our teen Fellows for their help in figuring out the mess. They’ve led us to better understand mental health by sharing their heartfelt stories and we hope to pass their stories along in an entertaining medium. Find their stories of vulnerability, growth, perseverance and more in our upcoming (as yet untitled) CosmoTeenz comic book.
The Sisanda FunDaytion: Connecting and building resilience through play in Cape Town, South Africa
The Sisanda FunDaytion: Connecting and building resilience through play in Cape Town, South Africa
The CMM Institute is honored to partner with Sisanda. We have donated CosmoKidz activities for their use and we recently learned about some of the specific ways in Sisanda have been using CosmoKidz to help children and families thrive in South Africa.
Better ways of negotiating
Better ways of negotiating
Following on from the success of her latest book, New story, new power: A woman’s guide to negotiation, Beth Fisher Yoshida has contributed to a number of specific publications addressing different aspects of her work. These include the role of power dynamics, stories of gender, using new generative patterns, and overcoming stereotypes in negotiations.
Changing our way of understanding communication to align with a quantum paradigm
Changing our way of understanding communication to align with a quantum paradigm
John and Susan Parrish-Sprowl have just published an exciting new article, A case for a quantum informed approach to health communication research. In this paper, they argue it is time that communication theory and research shifts from a Newtonian understanding of the world to more a quantum paradigm. This would help us in ways to invite more inclusion as well as a more meaningful conceptualization of communication and its relationship to health.
Reflections on Season 2: Stories Lived. Stories Told. podcast
Reflections on Season 2: Stories Lived. Stories Told. podcast
Our Podcast series, Stories Lived. Stories Told. is now well into its second season. Abbie VanMeter has talked with some amazing people, all with such wonderful and different stories. Halfway through this season, Abbie reflects on what she has heard so far.
Rituals that sustain and nurture relationships: Honoring Ed Schein
Rituals that sustain and nurture relationships: Honoring Ed Schein
Emeritus Professor Edgar H. Schein, a social psychologist who bridged the academic and practical sides of culture and organization by practicing his own tenets on humble presence, inquiring and reflecting, died earlier this year. Ilene Wasserman recently published a paper in honour of Ed Schein in which she reflects on the profoundly simple lessons learnt from her relationship with him.
New introductory CMM videos
New introductory CMM videos
Abbie VanMeter, our wonderful podcaster, has produced three brief CMM educational videos. These videos support the minisodes from Season 1 of the Stories Lived. Stories Told. podcast. They are just perfect for inclusion in introductory classes for CMM.
“What Now”—a film project in the making
“What Now”—a film project in the making
Returning home from war is a challenging experience for veterans. Film maker, Terry Strauss, and CMMi Steward, Bart Buechner, are capturing their stories of pain, isolation, loneliness, loss of human connection and of the lack of public engagement and civilian responsibility & accountability in a new film project. They have prepared a trailer to help situate the final product and engage thought partners in how it might be used