Take a stance
from the
outside in.
Each week, Bystance gives you a lens — a company or organisation — and a principle to consider from a policy perspective. Shape your policy suggestion to address the principle through the lens of that company.
Write your take. See how others thought differently. Vote on the propositions.
Thinkers from
Three steps. One week.
Creative insight.
Get your lens × challenge
Each Wednesday you receive a pairing: a lens (a company or organisation) and a principle along with a request to propose a policy solution through that lens.
For example: Meta × The return of the Elgin Marbles.
Write your take
Submit a short response addressing the principle through your lens. How would Buck approach efforts to expose transnational corruption? What would Sea Shepherd propose to combat AI-fueled disinformation?
Submissions close Friday morning.
Vote on the propositions
Each Friday evening, a shortlist of interesting themes are drawn from the responses and become propositions. You can weigh in on each to:
Voting closes Tuesday. Results drop Wednesday with the next issue.
All homes should meet baseline quality and safety requirements. Lego's values imagine possible solutions with curiosity and plays with them to transform ordinary ideas. What would Lego propose?
“LEGO's standard parts and interoperability approach is reflected in mandate that homes are supported with clear build documentation so that maintaining them is built into the operating system.”
One lens.
One principle.
Infinite takes.
The challenge isn't just to have an opinion. It's to work through the logic of an different perspective.
How would Lego think about homes? Start with their values and recognisable characteristics of play, modularity, accessible design. Now apply that lens to a policy challenge. What emerges might surprise you.
That's the point of Bystance. To expand the way you think about the problems that matter. And maybe build a muscle for perspective-taking along the way.
A commuter ritual for civic minds.
One issue at a time.
“ Tell people who you are without all the speeches. ”
Abhijit Naskar, Honor He Wrote: 100 Sonnets For Humans Not Vegetables
Thinking about the social issues of our time asks us to develop a point of view and to consider the perspectives of others. Considering the influences that shape those views is another frame. Life is busy and we are living in or between echo-chambers.
Bystance is a weekly exercise in creative perspective-taking. You're not asked what you think. You're asked what you think someone else with different values, constraints, and capabilities might think.
The game borrows from policy deliberation, design thinking, and the kind of broad strokes engagement systems that invite you see the check-in differently. It takes a few minutes to play. The insights tend to last a little longer.
Whether you're a student, a policy wonk, or someone who reads the Economist on the commute, Bystance is for anyone who wants to think differently about the challenges we share.
The next issue drops Wednesday.
Sign up and we'll send you the challenge when it drops. No spam — just one prompt, once a week.
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