Field Notes on Changemaking (Q2 2026)

In this second installment of Field Notes on Changemaking, I again step back after a quarter of essays and conversations to reflect, synthesize, and help build shared memory for an emerging profession.

These field notes serve two purposes. First, they provide an overview of the content generated during the quarter, helping you decide what source material is most worth your time.

Second, they offer my reflection across that material to identify emerging patterns, refine working hypotheses, pose the next set of questions, and invite you to shape the coming quarter of inquiry.

One unexpected gift of writing these notes is that they force me to examine not only what I published, but how my own thinking has changed.

What has changed in how I understand changemaking?

LINK to Notes from Q1: https://changemakershandbook.substack.com/p/field-notes-on-changemaking-q1-2026?r=1i4aw7

Q1 ended with eight questions that I believed would shape the next phase of my work. They remain the living research agenda behind The Changemaker’s Handbook, my doctoral research, and the conversations within this growing global community.

* What builds legitimacy at scale?

* Can we create transformation without social movements?

* How does power actually move?

* How do we design for impact—not merely moral correctness or agreement?

* Why do changemakers continue to serve, against all odds?