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As described in the Methodology section of this site, the Macroinnovation Method (aka, the 'Policy Synchronization Method,' or PSM) is practiced at the level of learning-related policies and programs in organizations. The goal of the method is to craft policy and program environments that set the background conditions for organizational learning and innovation and which, as a result, arouse and strengthen the propensity of people to self-organize around problem-solving and innovation.

Key to our approach is the view that organizational learning and innovation is a self-organizing social process which, when fully expressed, exhibits pattern-like regularity in form (see Figure 1). Knowledge of this pattern by managers and practitioners is essential in order to determine which policies and programs will, in fact, be conducive to learning. Policies and programs which support, strengthen, and reinforce the self-organizing pattern of interest to us will, in the end, combine to enhance learning and innovation, whereas other choices might not.

Indeed, many policies and programs aimed at enhancing individual and group learning may, in fact, undermine innovation, especially when they conflict with the self-organizing pattern or when they simply fail to support it. It is very important, therefore, that policies and programs chosen to support organizational learning and innovation be selected by referencing the Knowledge Processing pattern as a starting point.

A brief narrative of the dynamics shown in Figure 1 might go something like this:

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-	The practice of business in the Business Process Environment (BPE) relies heavily on the use of knowledge held by individuals and groups -- indeed, the practice of business can be thought of as 'the practice of knowledge'
-	From time to time, individuals in the BPE encounter problems or opportunities for which their current knowledge leaves them ill equipped; epistemic gaps arise
-	In response, individuals periodically 'exit' the BPE mode and 'enter' the Knowledge Processing, or learning, mode
-	In the Knowledge Processing Environment (KPE), individuals engage in Information Acquisition and other learning activities as they begin to study their problem and search for solutions
-	Individuals who share interests or passions relative to their problems or opportunities sometimes co-attract one another and form groups or communities, in which they engage in mutual problem-solving and the exploration of opportunities
-	After a time, individuals and groups may come forward with tentative solutions to their issues -- we call these tentative solutions 'knowledge claims'
-	Knowledge claims are then subjected to various forms of testing and evaluation, and out of this process ­ informal or otherwise ­ comes choices about which claims to, in fact, adopt into practice
-	Information about the Knowledge Claim Evaluation process that unfolded and the claims ultimately adopted are shared with other members of the organization through a process of Knowledge Integration, including sharing
-	Shared and integrated knowledge then filters into the BPE, and business process behaviors change, accordingly
-	The practice of new knowledge invariably leads to the detection of new problems and opportunities, thereby kicking off the Knowledge Processing cycle anew, and the cycle then repeats itself

As we have said, this is a self-organizing process. It can emerge in any organizational setting in which groups of people are allied with one another in the pursuit of common goals. As workers encounter problems, opportunities, or other challenges, they engage in solution-searching behaviors which exhibit the pattern-like regularity shown in Figure 1, and as described above. These behaviors are extraordinarily effective in helping organizations to solve their problems and harness their opportunities; for that reason, they (the behaviors) should be supported, strengthened, and reinforced.

Our method focuses on policies and programs related to enhancing organizational learning and innovation (Knowledge Processing) in three areas. Here they are along with their individual policy/program categories:

Background Conditions

...1. Human Characteristics
...2. Density and Distribution of Connectedness
...3. Criticalist Attitude in Knowledge Processing
...4. Knowledge Entitlement
.........a. Attitudes
.........b. Behaviors

Knowledge Production

...1. Problem Claim Formulation (including Problem Recognition)
...2. Individual Learning (including Community of Inquiry Formation)
...3. Group Learning (including Community of Inquiry Formation)
...4. Information Acquisition
...5. Knowledge Claim Formulation
...6. Knowledge Claim Evaluation

Knowledge Integration

...1. Broadcasting
...2. Searching/Retrieving
...3. Teaching
...4. Sharing

Brief definitions of each policy/program category follow below.

Policy/Program Areas

Background Conditions

1.	Human Characteristics: Consists of policies and programs that have impact on levels of trust in the organization, as well as the degree of diversity in attitudes and values, or what we call ethodiversity (diversity in ethos).
2.	Density and Distribution of Connectedness: Consists of policies and programs that have impact on social and technological rules and infrastructures for interpersonal interaction in organizations.
3.	Criticalist Attitude in Knowledge Processing: Consists of policies and programs that have impact on the degree to which people in organizations are motivated to question organizational knowledge and to participate on an enterprise-wide basis in problem-solving and innovation (i.e., to engage in rigorous Knowledge Claim Evaluation).
4.	Knowledge Entitlement (Attitudes): Consists of policies and programs that have impact on how people in organizations feel about ownership of knowledge and whether or not intellectual property, for example, should belong to the organization versus shared with employees who help to create it.
5.	Knowledge Entitlement (Behaviors): Consists of policies and programs that have impact on actual individual and organizational behaviors related to the distribution of ownership and benefits of knowledge created in business settings.

Knowledge Production

1.	Problem Claim Formulation (including Problem Recognition): Consists of policies and programs that have impact on the extent to which employees in organizations actively participate in problem recognition and the articulation of related claims, versus relying only on managers or designated staff to do so.
2.	Individual Learning (including Community of Inquiry Formation): Consists of policies and programs that have impact on how individuals in organizations learn, including the extent to which they are free to pursue learning agendas of their own choosing.
3.	Group Learning (including Community of Inquiry Formation): Consists of policies and programs that have impact on the extent to which like-minded individuals in organizations are free to form groups or learning communities, and to engage in group learning with full organizational support.
4.	Information Acquisition: Consists of policies and programs that have impact on the extent to which people in organizations are afforded access to external sources of information as resources in support of problem-solving and learning.
5.	Knowledge Claim Formulation: Consists of policies and programs that have impact on how individuals and groups in organizations generate new ideas in response to problems, and the extent to which employees at large are permitted to participate in the formal knowledge processing affairs of the organization.
6.	Knowledge Claim Evaluation: Consists of policies and programs that have impact on how new ideas are tested and evaluated in an organization, and how transparent and inclusive related process are.

Knowledge Integration

1.	Broadcasting: Consists of policies and programs that have impact on how broadcasting tools and methods are used for distributing organizational knowledge.
2.	Searching/Retrieving: Consists of policies and programs that have impact on how searching and retrieving tools and methods are used for distributing organizational knowledge.
3.	Teaching: Consists of policies and programs that have impact on how teaching and training programs are used for distributing organizational knowledge.
4.	Sharing: Consists of policies and programs that have impact on how sharing strategies are used for distributing organizational knowledge.

By carefully selecting and managing policies and programs in each of the areas defined above, knowledge managers can literally shape and cultivate the organizational environment in which individual and collective learning occur. And while some of these actions will be determinative of outcomes, most will not. Organizational learning is a self-organizing process; the best we can do in our attempts to enhance it is to create an environment in which it can evolve and flourish in its own endemic ways. Indeed, this is arguably the best and most sustainable way to enhance learning and innovation in business!