The Decelerator

?? “I was deeply skeptical about this at the beginning and am now a total convert.” – Linda Craig ?? “It’s allowed us to have some of the more tricky conversations we could easily have avoided, which might have otherwise built resentment and strife.” – Louise Armstrong At The Decelerator, we create space for people to explore an often hidden —and sometimes taboo— aspect of organisational life: endings. Supervision has become an essential practice in helping our team navigate this work with care and integrity. It’s not just about support—it’s about building strength, deepening trust, and growing our capacity to sit with discomfort. We ask this of the people and organisations we work with, so we hold ourselves to the same standard. Our ability to create impact starts with how we show up with and for each other. Read our latest Substack from The Decelerator's supervisor Max St John, who shares how supervision shapes our team and the impact it's having. (link in comments)

Day to day, we support organisations to confidently and critically explore their lifespan and purpose. But how are we applying these ideas to our own journey? In our latest substack, Louise Armstrong and Iona Lawrence share some of the steps we're taking at the start of our journey—while keeping our own organisational lifespan in mind. https://lnkd.in/eN6RuC4p

This week, Creative Scotland announced the latest round of multi-year funding grants. The Decelerator is pleased that Creative Scotland is offering transition funding and more-than-financial-support to unsuccessful applicants. The more-than-financial support is being led by Community Enterprise and we are glad to be working with them to offer Decelerator Hotline conversations to unsuccessful applicants wanting space to pause, reflect, and explore all possible options. So if recent funding decisions by Creative Scotland mean you are facing uncertain times or difficult choices, our brilliant, compassionate team is here to support you with free, confidential and pragmatic support. That said, the reality is that arts funding remains uncertain, and every week we see organisations within the arts sector and across civil society grappling with complex decisions even after securing enviable funding packages. These struggles are not just about cash flow and business model insufficiencies, but also governance, internal dynamics, burnout, and long-term sustainability. So if you are a Scottish arts organisation, whether or not you were successful this time, you likely still face major decisions—including the possibility of transitions or endings. So this is a regular, friendly reminder that The Decelerator Hotline is here for ALL of you. Time and again, we hear from organisations that exploring possible endings makes them feel stronger, more confident, and more impactful—not less. The sooner you open up conversations about possible endings, the more possibilities you'll have. ?? What might happen if we viewed endings as opportunities for focus, clarity, resilience and the jumping off point for new possibilities? What happens if this is possible both when an organisation comes to questions of endings from a position of strength or resilience, or forced by circumstance and changes that are (to an extent) out of their control? ?? ?? Link in comments: Details of Creative Scotland's Transition Support Programme to apply for support via Community Enterprise ?? If you or an organisation you know could benefit from space to think with The Decelerator Hotline, don’t hesitate to reach out—link in comments.

?? Deceleration in Practice ?? Through The Decelerator’s pilot work, including conversations on the Hotline and collaborations with organisations navigating endings, the team has identified key principles that reflect the most resonant and supportive ideas for working on endings and transitions. These are: ?? Reimagine the potential of endings ?? Recognise endings are inevitable ?? Put mission first, always ?? Work with feelings ?? End with intention ?? Unleash a legacy fit for the future We begin by applying these principles to ourselves at The Decelerator. The principles serve as both a guide for how we approach our work and a foundation for helping others create space to pause, recalibrate, and embrace the possibilities that thoughtful endings can bring. Whether applied to an organisation’s strategy process, evaluation journey, or more specifically related to an ending—a closure, a leadership transition, or the conclusion of a project—these principles provide a compass for navigating possible and planned endings with care, clarity, and impact. ?? Want to find out more about these principles? You’ll find the link to our Pilot’s Impact Report in the comments.

?? Hello! Is it you we’re looking for? ?? Have you ever considered — or had experience with — the impact of endings in civil society? Whether it’s an organisational closure, a leadership transition, or a project coming to a close, these pivotal moments define the legacy of the work we do. At The Decelerator, we’re on a mission to make these endings and transitions purposeful, compassionate, and impactful. As we embark on a new chapter in 2025, we’re looking for Deceleration Hotline Navigators to join our team. If you’re passionate about making a meaningful difference during moments of profound change, this could be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for. You can find the link to the full job description for the Deceleration Hotline Navigator role in the comments.

??Key insights from The Decelerator’s pilot (2023-2024)?? Over the past year, the Decelerator Pilot (2023-2024) has explored the often-overlooked area of organisational endings. Over 123 calls to our Hotline, we've noticed a few patterns emerging: ?? Endings are often seen as "giving up" or "failure". ? “Last-minute-itis” seems to prevail over timely decision-making and proactive planning. ?? Funding shortfalls and business model challenges seem to be driving questions of endings, often alongside debilitating social conflicts within and between organisations? ?? The delicate dynamics between funders and grantees don't seem to be helping create the conditions for better endings.? ?? Endings often reinforce inequities, injustices and imbalances with organisations and sectors. ?? Most importantly perhaps, bad endings are not inevitable—intentional planning and new ways of thinking about them can transform their potential impact and the legacy of all types of endings. ?? Find the link to the full Impact Report in the comments. ?? We’re running an experiment to bring together people from across civil society in the UK—people who are interested in or working on the kinds of changes and the endings we explore in our impact report. If this resonates with you, join one of our upcoming Deceleration Hours in February, April, June, or August.

?? The Decelerator’s Pilot in Numbers (2023-2024) ?? From supporting 123 organisations to catalysing systemic change in partnership with 11 funders and 3 national institutions, we're on a mission to reframe and reshape how civil society navigates endings and transitions. ?? Read the full report in the comments. ??? Keen to hear more? You'll find links to upcoming events and conversations to dive into the detail of all this and more in the comments.

Going the Distance: Lessons from The Decelerator's Pilot ?? When we launched The Decelerator in autumn 2023, we were being led by a question: What if organisational endings weren’t feared but embraced as opportunities for growth, learning, and renewal? As we compiled our?Pilot Impact Report late last year, it was crystal clear that our pilot has been a journey of discovery, filled with creativity, challenges, insights, and, above all, some hope. ?? From supporting 123 organisations through our hotline to developing tools and building partnerships, 2024 has been a journey of deepening relationships. Ultimately we've uncovered the role The Decelerator can play—alongside others—to transform civil society. We’ve learned that pacing ourselves and supporting others to approaching endings with care, dignity, foresight and strategy can lead to renewed pace, strength and resilience. ?? ?? ?? Links to our blog and full impact report in comments below ?? ??

One of the central pillars of what we do at The Decelerator is our closures hotline. Our team of Hotline Navigators offer support to anyone in a civil society organisation who feels that a closure might be on the horizon (or imminent) and needs help to understand their options. Often the biggest benefits it offers is for people to feel like they're not alone - to feel that they are seen. Organisational closures are not simply a logistical or administrative issue, they are present emotional, psychological and relational challenges too. Ultimately, in the middle of all the difficulty are individual human beings trying their best to deal with very tricky situations - and the feedback I've heard from people that have made use of the service leads me to believe that what we offer is not only unique but incredibly valuable. In recent months demand for our service has spiked by 300%. There are many conclusions that can be drawn from this and it's likely that there are a multiplicity of factors at play. The simple outcome is that as a funded, charitable operation we need to put the Hotline on pause for a short while. My colleagues have written a short piece explaining all of this in more detail and provide some signposting to additional support, if you're looking to navigate a closure of your own. #closure #civilsociety #endings

?? Hold The Line: The Decelerator Hotline Is Temporarily Closed Until December 2024 ?? Over recent months, The Decelerator Hotline has seen an unprecedented surge in demand—a 300% increase in requests between July and October 2024 alone. Unfortunately, this has quickly exhausted our pilot resources, and we are unable to accommodate new requests until at least December 2024. Here's a few things you (or people you know) might want / need to know: ?? Current Status: Effective immediately, the hotline is closed for new calls until at least December 2024. We will, however, continue to handle a limited number of referrals from our funding partners. ?? Why the Pause? Demand for support has outstripped our budget. We think there are lots of reasons for this, but it's too early to draw single or strong conclusions. What we do know is that we are committed to meeting this demand sustainably, and require additional funding and process updates to do so. ?? Looking Ahead: In the coming weeks, we’ll focus on securing further funding and refining our hotline process. An update on next steps will be provided by 25th November 2024. ?? For Immediate Support: 1?? Self-Serve Resources: Visit our website or read our latest substack to access tools that can support self-reflective practice and guide internal discussions. 2?? Additional Support Options: Reach out to infrastructure organisations, funders, or trusted peers who may offer timely advice and resources. ? What’s Next for The Decelerator? ? Those familiar with The Decelerator know our mission isn’t to create a single hotline to serve all of civil society. Instead, our aim is to catalyse “deceleration” capacity across the systems we all operate within—whether in infrastructure organisations, funding bodies, or the daily practices of the organisations we love and serve. If you find yourself frustrated or concerned by our temporary closure, and your organisation could address this need for deceleration through its own helpdesk, hotline, or guidance services, we would be keen to hear from you. We offer training, communities of practice and other kinds of knowledge sharing so that our work and learnings can inspire and inform the work of others. ?? Most of all, thank you for being on this deceleration journey with us - as a friend, colleague or comrade. We will provide an update on the hotline service by 25th November 2025. ?? https://lnkd.in/eczibMa2