This piece was co-authored by members of the CIVIC SQUARE team as we shift from phase one of CIVIC SQUARE (2020–2022) into phase two. It is a strategic reframing and refounding that we want to share openly from the beginning, whilst it will also be translated into other formats that we can share as it continues to gain form as the functional foundation for the next stages of our work in practice.

This is the first of two blogs as part of sharing from our refounding. In this first part, we introduce our updated strategy for phase two: CIVIC SQUARE 2.0. We have found that it is critical to build on what you have learned, how to iterate and orientate more appropriately to the North Star mission with the further knowledge and insights gained, and for the first time we decided to share it as immediately as we could, as we build and take the next step, rather than in retrospect. This strategic piece will which will be followed by a more practical account of the refounding process from December 2022 and January 2023, including reflections as a team and making the tools we used openly available.