We bring the power of inner development

to global challenges faced by humanity.

Background

In 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) gave us a comprehensive plan for a sustainable world by 2030.

Although we have accumulated much knowledge about the climate crisis, poverty, public health, and other social ills communicated in the SDGs, we seem to lack the inner capacity to deal with our increasingly complex environment and challenges.

We have a vision of what needs to happen, yet progress towards this vision has been disappointing as technical solutions and public policy, which comprise the majority of approaches today, are insufficient on their own.

What has been largely missing from current strategies is a keen insight into which abilities, qualities or skills we need to develop among individuals, groups and organisations that play crucial roles in working to fulfil the SDGs.

Fortunately, modern research shows that the inner abilities we require to complement and accelerate our external approaches can be developed. This was the starting point for the Inner Development Goals (IDG) initiative.

Our Story

Over a number of years, many different organisations interested in the connection between inner development and outer sustainability have been on a learning journey together. This has included a few public events like the MindShift Digital Conference in April 2020 at the Stockholm School of Economics, where the IDG initiative was first introduced. On 12th of May 2021 the IDG framework, co-created by 1000+ scientists, experts and HR & Sustainability professionals was made available for the world.

After a few organisational iterations, in November 2023, the IDG Foundation was initiated by the 29k FoundationEkskaret FoundationIMD Business School for ManagementLUCSUS Center for Sustainability Studies | Lund University, Stockholm Resilience Center | Stockholm University, The New Division, Flourishing Network at Harvard University, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

The Inner Development Goals is a not-for-profit initiative. The initiative’s IP and economy is placed within and managed by Inner Development Goals AB (svb), a Swedish company with dividend limitation that has been 100% owned by Ekskäret Foundation. In October 2024, the IDG Foundation will be taking over oversight and administration of the initiative to ensure our long-term purpose of bringing the Power of Inner Development to Global Challenges. And this is just the beginning…

Read more about us.

Our Guiding Principles

We Invite Joy

We are far more effective advocates when we are having fun. Let’s always be creative and celebrate our progress in every way possible. Art, music and playfulness is part of our language. Just because these things are serious doesn’t mean they need to be boring.

We Make It as Simple as Possible

Our work is backed by research, experience and continuous learning. Still, our most important job is to communicate the findings in a simple and accessible way. The IDG framework and methods must be easy to take to heart, or they will not be used. Our main and favourite topic of conversation is: How do we create simple, functional everyday magic?

We Live as We Learn

Everyone who is working with us should take the 23 skills and qualities of the framework to heart. It is our “staff handbook”. We encourage everyone to openly discuss and guide us when we fall short. We are on a journey where we learn and develop together.

We Are on a Journey of Co-Creation

The Inner Development Goals represent crowd-sourced wisdom of all ages and all cultures. We have not invented any of the skills or methods. We are building a constantly evolving, learning ecosystem where we listen, collect and connect the dots. It is a continuous journey of co-creation with many participants

We Are Building an Ecosystem

We facilitate the emergence of a full ecosystem with many interdependent subsystems. Our main focus is on working with organisations as they have a great potential to accelerate human growth and collective learning. It is a very efficient way to reach many people and achieve systemic change. Still, the Inner Development Goals add value for everyone in every culture: individuals, families, organisations, communities, humanity and the planet.

Institutional & Governmental Partnerships

The next frontier of grantmaker effectiveness is inner-led. We are inviting philanthropists and foundations to discover with us the practical and transformative value of inner development across their teams, programmes and external stakeholder networks. For more information: david@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Supervisory Board

María del Pilar Garrido Gonzalo

DIRECTOR FOR DEVELOPMENT CO-OPERATION, OECD

Jakob Trollbäck

FOUNDER, THE NEW DIVISION, CREATOR OF THE COMMUNICATION LANGUAGE FOR THE SDGs

Caroline Stiernstedt Sahlborn

PARTNER, THE INNER FOUNDATION

Tomas Björkman

FOUNDER AND CHAIR, EKSKÄRET FOUNDATION

Erik Fernholm

FOUNDER, THE 29K FOUNDATION

Executive Board of Directors

Daniel Hires

CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER

daniel@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Åsa Jarskog

DIRECTOR GLOBAL COLLABORATION

asa@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Katharina Moser

PROGRAM CURATOR & DIRECTOR, IDG SUMMIT

katharina@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Linnéa Lind

CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER

linnea@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Jan Artem Henriksson

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

jan@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

The Team

Fredrik Lindencrona

HEAD OF RESEARCH CO-CREATION

fredrik@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Anna Sebastià

PROJECT COORDINATOR

anna@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

David Crook

PHILANTROPHIC PARTNERSHIP ADVISOR

david@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Alana Libow

SENIOR PARTNER - CORPORATE ENGAGEMENT

alana@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Jamie Bristow

PUBLIC NARRATIVE AND POLICY DEVELOPMENT

jamie@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Jonna Lundberg

COORDINATOR

jonna@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Ali Yazdjerdi

MARKETING

ali@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Doreen Ankrah

MARKETING COORDINATOR

doreen@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Pontus Holmgren

HUBS & NETWORKS CO- COORDINATOR

pontus@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Sofia Acosta

MARKETING COORDINATOR

sofia@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Fredrik Livheim

LEAD FACILITATOR, IDG AMBASSADORS PROGRAMME

Abir Mars

GLOBAL COLLABORATION MANAGER

abir@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Christopher Linell

LEAD EVENT MANAGER, IDG SUMMIT

christopher@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Rafaela Rolim

HUBS & NETWORKS CO-COORDINATOR

rafaela@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Christian Frick

DIGITAL EXPERIENCE, IDG SUMMIT

christian@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Julia Walk Jensen

JNR. PARTNERSHIP ADVISORY

julia@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Jonatan Håkansson

SNR. PARTNER & SALES REPRESENTATIVE

jonatan@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Shruti Agrawal

MARKETING INTERN

shruti@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Alsaleh Maluk

RESEARCH CO-CREATION

alsaleh@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Nan Li

RESEARCH CO-CREATION

nan@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Anas Sallam

RESEARCH CO-CREATION

anas@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Collaborators

Eva Damsgaard

IDG GAME

eva@capioconsult.dk

Jeroen Janss

INNER GREEN DEAL

jeroen.janss@innergreendeal.com

Samantha Yarwood

M & E COLLABORATOR FOR LEADERSHIP PROGRAMS

samantha.yarwood@thnk.org

Klaus Mertens

UNFCCC GIH & UN/IDG ENGAGEMENT LEAD – GERMANY

klaus@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Laila Jessica Braga Martins

UNFCCC GIH & UN/IDG PROGRAMS / PROCESSES LEAD – GERMANY

laila@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Magnus Åkerlind

COORDINATOR

magnus@ekskaret.se

Elif Kus

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHOD EXPERT

elif@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Mats Larsson

LEAD PRODUCER IDG SUMMIT

mats@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Janina Tessarek

PROJECT LEAD IDG GARDENERS

janina@tessarek.de

Staffan Åkerblom

IDGs GATHERINGS & HOWSPACE

staffan@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Pascale Terra Deau

TRANSFORMATION FACILITATOR AND COACH

pascale@haumea.life

Willi Studer

NETWORK DEVELOPMENT

willi@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Madeleine McGirk Rutherford

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR IDG SUMMIT

madeleine@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Kristian Gründling

FILMMAKER IDG DOCUMENTARY

kg_gruenfilm@me.com

Tommy Gärdh

FILMMAKER

tommy@visionaryfilms.se

Gonzalo Santellan

COORDINATOR, IDG AMBASSADORS PROGRAMME

ambassador@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Niels Rot

UNIVERSITY COALITION FOR STUDENT INNER DEVELOPMENT

coalition@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Strategic Advisors

Maria Modigh

29K FOUNDATION

maria@29k.org

Indy Johar

WHOLE SYSTEM POLICY DEVELOPMENT BRANDING AND DESIGN

indy@darkmatterlabs.org

Nina Bressler

ADVISOR SOCIETAL LEARNING

nina@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Martin Cserba

ADVISOR IDG GARDENERS

martin@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Femke Bartels

ADVISOR GLOBAL COLLABORATION

femke@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Nikola Jurisic

CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION

nikola@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Micaela Quesada Longgren

SUSTAINABILITY ADVISOR

micaela@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Senior Scientific Advisors

Amy C. Edmondson

Ph.D., Harvard Business School

Otto Scharmer

Senior Lecturer, MIT Sloan School of Management

Jennifer Garvey Berger

Ph.D., Harvard University

Robert Kegan

Ph.D., Harvard University

Rebecca M. Henderson

Ph.D., John and Natty McArthur University Professor at Harvard University

Peter Senge

Senior Lecturer, MIT Sloan School of Management

Renée Lertzman

Ph.D., Cardiff University

Daniel J. Siegel

MD UCLA

Emma Stenström

Asst. Professor and Director of Research Center for Arts, Business & Culture at Stockholm School of Economics

Christine Wamsler

Professor at LUCSUS Lund University

Contact Us

For general inquiries: Please check our Cooperation Tool
For business partnerships: daniel@innerdevelopmentgoals.org

Contact Us

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