This workshop, part of the Open Futures program at New York Climate Week, aimed to explore how shared tools, platforms, and cooperative infrastructures can support collective action and long-term resilience in the face of global challenges. Participants examined how to resource and sustain the social, technical, and financial systems that enable community-led innovation.
The “Growing the Commons” workshop gathered funders, practitioners, and innovators engaged in building interoperable commons infrastructure across scales. Presentations by leaders from Nia Tero, Regen Network, OpenTEAM, Milken Institute, Nature Tech Collective, and Cerulean Ventures highlighted practical pathways toward shared governance and financing models for digital and ecological commons. Through breakout discussions, participants proposed strategies for ensuring interoperability, accessibility, and long-term resilience of community infrastructures. The workshop advanced a shared vocabulary and cross-sector collaboration for commons-enabling infrastructure, setting the stage for ongoing coordination among allied networks.