Jay Sharma

Background

About Jay Sharma

Former public interest lawyer and NGO head now providing consultancy services on strategy, management and communications to policy and decision-makers in Social Benefit organisations. Specialisms: strategic planning, project ideation, stakeholder consultation, network development, collaboration and partnerships, communications, copy creation and editing, complex environments, training, change management, financing and fundraising, evaluation. Experienced in social change campaigns, full-cycle delivery of multi-national/international projects and tech integration. Active interests: collaborations and networks (SDG17), links between CSR/ESG and the SDGs, innovation, Smart Cities/SDG11, technology, Nudge Theory (behavioural insights and choice architecture in public policy, governance and politics), alternative governance models,(Contested Space, Deliberative Democracy & New Localism, collaborative management of The Commons), the social impact of technology (Tech for Good, jugaad innovation and Social Dilemmas)- Most recently Executive Director of a long-established UN-supported global campaigning alliance, leading on strategic development, corporate governance, organisational management, network development, communications and campaigns. Previous chief officer/senior roles in local, national and research organisations- Why Cloudspotter? About 200 years ago Luke Howard suggested a system for classifying clouds. By applying intelligence and imagination to the particular, he advanced a more general understanding of meteorology. As a metaphor, it serves to frame the relationship between the universal and the particular. Try as we might, we do not control the weather. Not really. Understanding weather patterns helps us to anticipate change and prepare for its likely effects. A similar reframing of our understanding is required to make sense of this complex interconnected world. This starts with a review of typologies: how we classify things - how organisations describe what they do and how they do it. Asking "why is it done in this way?" leads to the 'storytelling' behind how we organise, operate and achieve. Stories always have to be revisited. Like clouds, the external world is constantly changing as is our operating environment. Adapting to change requires a reordering of thinking and of things. Improved alignment unleashes trapped creativity and this, in turn, leads to more elegant and sustainable solutions. Analysis is essential, but we need to synthesise the vast data at our disposal to make better decisions.