Help Us Usher In The Transformation Age
It is becoming common knowledge that we’ve left the Information Age and entered an historic phase of profound and radical transformation, a new “Transformation Age” characterized by dizzying change. As we’re seeing, current models and methods will not work to navigate this transition, mitigate its perils, or fulfill its latent promise. Chaotic disruption will continue. But as it does, an entirely new worldview is attempting to be born, one that is better matched to the real complexity of the 21st century. The Institute of Applied Metatheory has been formed with the explicit strategy to help it do so. Below we outline why you should consider a profoundly different, novel and more sophisticated approach to leverage this new worldview in order to drive transformative change with your philanthropy.
“Chaotic disruption will continue. But as it does, an entirely new worldview is attempting to be born, one that is better matched to the real complexity of the 21st century. The Institute of Applied Metatheory has been formed with the explicit strategy to help it do so.”
The Challenge: The Metacrisis Is Upon Us
In a new white paper, “A Sociology of Big Pictures”, Robb Smith, the founder and CEO of IAM, describes how we face not just isolated challenges but a complex, interconnected, multidimensional “metacrisis” defined by five simultaneous paradigmatic shifts:
- A geopolitical “Great Release” into multipolar governance
- A technoeconomic “Singularity” reshaping human life through AI and emerging technologies
- An ecological shift into the “Anthropocene” threatening our life-sustaining systems
- A pervasive “Meaning Crisis” causing widespread loss of purpose
- An epistemological shift into “Hyperreality” collapsing our shared sense of truth
These are not separate problems to be solved individually—they represent a deeper failure of today’s prevailing worldviews (Traditional, Modern, and Pluralist), none of which can adequately address 21st-century challenges.
The Opportunity: An Integrative Worldview Arises
A new “Integrative” worldview is now arising to meet these challenges: a coherent, scientifically-credible, and spiritually-meaningful framework that transcends and includes previous worldviews. This emerging Integrative Worldview:
- Weaves differences into coherent pattern that connects, integrating apparent contradictions
- Works with methods of personal transformation, social emancipation, and global stewardship
- Recognizes humanity’s role in an evolving cosmos becoming more complex and self-aware
- Provides frameworks for integrating every form of human knowledge to understand and navigate unprecedented complexity
Like the Renaissance or Enlightenment before it, this worldview doesn’t just solve today’s problems—it opens pathways to entirely new modes of knowing, being, and governing.
Our Work: Applied Metatheory in Action
The Institute of Applied Metatheory brings this worldview into concrete action by applying “big pictures to big problems.” We help leaders bridge the complexity gap by revealing patterns invisible to siloed approaches. Unlike conventional institutions operating within existing paradigms, IAM works explicitly at the meta-level. This integrative approach allows us to:
- Launch initiatives to drive social innovation that serve as transformational fulcrums for systemic change
- Tell new stories of wholeness that recontextualize challenges and inspire purposeful action
- Sponsor and socialize big picture thought leadership that integrates knowledge across disciplines and generates new approaches
- Invent big picture tools that make integrative approaches accessible and applicable
- Lead a network of leaders advancing the Integrative Worldview
Click the image above to see an interactive map of IAM’s Initiatives and our Metatheory of Change
Click the image above to see an interactive map of IAM’s vision for the Evolution of Philanthropy into Integrative Philanthropy
A New Philanthropic Paradigm: Integrative Philanthropy
Just as philanthropy has evolved from Strategic (focused on measurable outcomes) to Empowerment (centered on equity) paradigms, the Transformation Age demands Integrative Philanthropy—focusing on whole transformation of people and systems to steward systemic evolution. This approach:
- Invests in deep infrastructures of collective intelligence
- Cultivates transformational learning ecosystems
- Embraces multi-generational impacts that will shape social systems at a planetary scale
- Acknowledges philanthropy’s role in shaping social, economic, and epistemic realities
Philanthropy’s unique combination of long-term vision, financial independence, and institutional flexibility ideally positions it to support this emerging worldview, unconstrained by political cycles or market forces.
Join the Vanguard of Transformation: Invest in IAM
We invite you to become a pioneer in Integrative Philanthropy by supporting the Institute of Applied Metatheory with a major contribution. Your partnership will:
- Fund the ideas, leadership, and tools needed to transform the metacrisis into an opportunity for social and cultural evolution
- Catalyze the next phase of human civilization toward more adaptive, just, and regenerative systems
- Connect you with visionary philanthropists who understand today’s challenges require evolving how we make sense and make meaning
- Access the IAM Legacy Circle for direct input into the behind-the-scenes conversations shaping this social transformation
The transition we face is not merely a collection of problems to solve—it’s an historic opportunity to co-create the next chapter of human evolution. Support IAM to help steward the emergence of a new era defined by greater complexity, consciousness, and care.