We envision a world where every person, organization, community, and the living planet can be sustainably fully alive. Through Living Labs, this grows place by place: communities see clearly what is, imagine freely what could be, and act, however small, from an ever-expanding heart. Woven together, their discoveries become a decentralized signal network and a shared Vitality Signal, co-stewarded by all who tend it.

Across individuals, organizations, and societies, there has been a systemic loss of regenerative vitality. Many of us have learned to keep going by spending more than we restore, the conditions that help vitality flow are rarely seen or named, and few of us have been invited to imagine how things could be otherwise.

The evidence shows this at every level:

• Individuals. Only 16% of people worldwide report high vitality, and 53% report disruption to their mental health (Cigna Healthcare, 2025). Among those who build, it runs deeper: 72% of startup founders say the journey harms their mental health (Startup Snapshot, 2023), 40 to 69% of creators experience anxiety, depression, or burnout (Creators 4 Mental Health, 2025), and women and BIPOC founders face further systemic barriers (MaRS Discovery District, 2025).

• Organizations. Low engagement costs the world economy about $10 trillion in lost productivity, roughly 9% of GDP (Gallup, 2026), while vital organizations create, on average, 3 percentage points more shareholder value each year (Boston Consulting Group, 2025).

• Societies. The U.S. Surgeon General (2023) likens the harm of loneliness and isolation to smoking 15 cigarettes a day; a lack of vitality in creative sectors weakens social cohesion and local economies (UNESCO, 2026); and as AI scales, the World Economic Forum (2026) warns it threatens "the value of being human."

Living Labs make vitality visible again, in each person and each place, honoring what makes each one unique. Every dialogue is an invitation to step outside the usual game and reimagine how to live and build, so that change agents do not simply play a depleting game well. The research is neutral about what it finds and open about what it hopes for: that communities see clearly, imagine freely, and grow in ways that give back more life than they take.

A Living Lab is a season of participatory research held with a community, in cohorts of members who choose to take part. Each cohort opens with a community launch; each participant then has one dialogue with a Vitality Steward about what helps their vitality flow and what drains it, moving from what is to what could be, and closing with a step they feel moved to take. Their words are carefully understood and served back as portraits the community can recognize itself in, and people choose what to act on, together and on their own. Then the next cohort begins, and the picture deepens.

At its heart is one rhythm: seeing clearly what is, imagining freely what could be, and acting, however small. Many of us have had few invitations to imagine; the Living Lab offers that invitation, and treats imagination as a capacity that grows when it is welcomed, and that stirs the motivation and the courage to act. There is no small act, as long as it comes from a full and ever-expanding heart.

References

• Boston Consulting Group. (2025). The vitality code. https://web-assets.bcg.com/2b/c4/6c9523ad416f84599c10625d7f86/the-vitality-code-apr-2025-r.pdf

• Cigna Healthcare. (2025). Cigna Healthcare international health study 2025. https://www.cignaglobal.com/static/cigna-rebranding/pdf/cignaglobal-uvsl/cigna-healthcare-international-health-study-2025-final.pdf

• Creators 4 Mental Health. (2025). Research. https://www.creators4mentalhealth.com/research

• Gallup. (2026). State of the global workplace. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace.aspx

• MaRS Discovery District. (2025). Mind Balance Project: Helping founders in health sciences find support. https://www.marsdd.com/research-and-insights/mind-balance-project-helping-founders-in-health-sciences-find-support/

• Startup Snapshot. (2023). The untold toll: The impact of stress on the well-being of startup founders and CEOs. https://www.startupsnapshot.com/research/the-untold-toll-the-impact-of-stress-on-the-well-being-of-startup-founders-and-ceos/

• UNESCO. (2026). Reshaping creativity reports. https://www.unesco.org/en/reshaping-creativity-reports

• U.S. Surgeon General. (2023). Our epidemic of loneliness and isolation. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf

• World Economic Forum. (2026). The global risks report 2026. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Global_Risks_Report_2026.pdf