> THE JOURNEY: SIX PHASES OVER ONE YEAR
The work unfolds across six distinct phases, each building on what came before.
In the first two months, we convene and scope. The Five Fellows are selected and onboarded. Each Fellow then gathers their Field Researchers and begins the work of defining what their constitutional theme actually requires. They research best practices, explore precedents, and define the scope and key questions for their area. This isn't about coming with answers - it's about understanding the territory.
Each Fellow produces a scoping document that maps what they can see from here and, critically, begins to surface what's missing from our initial thinking.
Month three brings the first Vision Fish review, an intensive two-day workshop where Fellows present their scoping work. The Vision Fish provide strategic feedback, and we work together to see how the themes connect and where gaps or overlaps exist. This is where we ask: Is this the right scope? What are we missing? How do these pieces fit together? The Fellows leave with refined direction and a clearer sense of how their work integrates with the whole.
Months four through six are for deep work. Fellows return to their Field Researchers for intensive artefact creation. They draft the actual constitutional elements for their themes, working through research, consultation, and iteration. These artefacts can take any form that serves the purpose - text, video, interactive media, whatever will help people understand and engage with the constitutional principles. This is also when the explicit mandate to discover "what's missing" comes into its own. Fellows are actively looking for what we didn't anticipate, what our initial framing overlooked, what reality reveals that theory missed.
Month seven is the second Vision Fish review, another intensive workshop where Fellows present their constitutional artefacts. Now we're asking: Does this actually work as governance? Can real people understand and use this? How do these pieces fit together into a coherent whole? The Vision Fish reviews for clarity, implementability, and integration.
We identify contradictions that need resolving and provide guidance for revision.
Months eight through ten are for creative testing - and this is where things get really interesting. We take the constitutional artefacts out of the abstract and test them through storytelling, theatre, role-play, and games. We run scenario simulations: "What would happen if...?" We engage the broader h2g2 community in play-testing. We use the actual infrastructure that the Heart of Gold workstream has been building to pilot these governance structures in practice.
This creative testing period culminates in the First Annual Hitchhiker Congress - one anchor event bringing together the Vision Fish, Fellows, and Field Researchers, surrounded by up to 42 satellite events happening across different locations, formats, and communities. The anchor event becomes the central gathering where constitutional learning is shared and integrated, while the satellite events test the constitution in diverse contexts - perhaps theatre performances in one city, governance simulations in another, podcast discussions, walking conversations, community forums.
Each satellite event feeds insights back to the anchor Congress, creating a rich tapestry of testing across geographies and approaches.
This phase is about feeling how the constitution works, not just thinking about it. What emerges? What did we miss? Where does governance break down under stress? Do people actually want to participate under this structure? The Congress and its satellite events produce field reports, identify gaps and failure modes, and generate emergent wisdom that only comes from actually trying to live under these principles.
The final phase, months eleven through twelve, is where everything comes together. The Vision Fish and Fellows integrate all the learning from creative testing and the First Annual Hitchhiker Congress. We create the final Constitution, incorporating the insights that only emerged through practice. We design the specific legal company structure that will enable member ownership. We define the transition plan from Not Panicking Ltd to the new governance structure. We establish the plans for building membership in the next phase. We prepare for public launch. Everything is documented, not just the final Constitution, but the process itself, so others can learn from what we discovered.