The Handbook of Handbooks for Decentralised Organising represents an extraordinary effort to collect, curate, and share practical knowledge about non-hierarchical coordination. Compiled by Richard Bartlett (co-founder of Enspiral and The Hum), this living document brings together hundreds of resources developed by communities experimenting with new forms of organizing across diverse contexts. The collection is designed not as a single prescriptive methodology, but as a knowledge commons from which groups can draw multiple approaches based on their specific needs and contexts.
Key Highlights
- Comprehensive Resource Categories: The collection is thoughtfully organized into categories including Permanent Organizations (workplaces, NGOs), Temporary Organizations (campaigns, events), General Lessons (toolkits, books), Community-Focused Resources, and Legal Structures, making it navigable for different contexts and needs.
- Diverse Organizational Models: The handbook showcases a remarkable range of decentralized approaches from worker cooperatives like Crisp and Software Mill to activist networks like Food Not Bombs and Extinction Rebellion, illustrating how non-hierarchical principles can be adapted across sectors and scales.
- Practical Tools and Methods: Rather than focusing solely on theory, the collection emphasizes concrete methodologies and frameworks including decision protocols, meeting facilitation techniques, conflict resolution processes, and governance structures that groups can immediately implement.
- Developmental Trajectories: Many resources trace the evolution of organizations over time, documenting how groups navigate the tensions between structure and flexibility, efficiency and participation, as they grow and mature, providing valuable insights for emerging initiatives.
- Open Source Ethos: The handbook itself embodies decentralized principles by being freely accessible, continually evolving through community contributions, and explicitly designed for adaptation rather than rigid implementation.
Practical Applications
This meta-resource can be applied in numerous ways:
- As a starting point for new groups forming without hierarchical structures who need tested models to build upon
- For established organizations seeking to transition away from command-and-control management toward more participatory approaches
- When specific organizational challenges arise (decision-making bottlenecks, accountability issues, communication breakdowns) and groups need targeted solutions
- During growth phases when informal coordination methods begin to strain and more intentional structures become necessary
- For researchers and practitioners studying patterns across different decentralized experiments and seeking to understand what works in which contexts
The collection supports both tactical implementation of specific tools and strategic thinking about overall organizational design, making it valuable across multiple levels of organizational development.
Connection With SuperBenefit
- Directly complements SuperBenefit’s work on group state primitives, particularly the practice dimension that encompasses governance processes and coordination mechanisms.
- Offers real-world implementations of “coordination scale” operations where formalized agreements and transparent documentation become essential for effective collaboration.
- Supports SuperBenefit’s cellular organizational approach with numerous examples of autonomous teams that coordinate through transparent agreements rather than hierarchical control.
- The handbook’s emphasis on decision protocols aligns with SuperBenefit’s focus on consent-based governance rather than pure consensus.