Multi-Scale Competency Architecture

= "“Let every scale do exactly what it is uniquely competent to do, and continuously reorganize the scales themselves according to empirical performance in a complex world.” [1]

Definition

Sacha Pignot:

"Governance should be organized across multiple nested and overlapping scales, with each scale handling exactly the competencies it is best suited for, based on empirical capacity rather than ideology or tradition. Scales are dynamically adjustable and can be non-hierarchical or heterarchical."

(https://soushi888.github.io/alternef-digital-garden/knowledge/governance-and-community/subsidiarity)

Charactetistics

Sacha Pignot:

Scale-Appropriate Problem Solving

1. "Molecular Networks handle biochemical processing at microsecond scales
2. Subcellular Components manage organelle-specific functions in minutes
3. Cellular Decision-Making occurs in hours for adaptation and survival
4. Tissue Coordination operates over days for growth and repair
5. Organ System Integration manages weeks-long processes like development
6. Organismal Navigation handles behavioral responses in seconds to minutes
7. Swarm Coordination enables collective action across multiple organisms

Emergent Without Central Control

1. No Central Director: Biological systems achieve complex coordination without hierarchical command
2. Local Competence: Each level possesses problem-solving capabilities within specific domains
3. Cross-Scale Communication: Information percolates bidirectionally across organizational levels
4. Adaptive Self-Organization: Systems reorganize based on changing conditions and feedback loops.

Learning from Biological Organization

1. Competency Mapping: Identify which governance levels are actually competent for specific decision types
2. Action Space Definition: Clarify the boundaries and capabilities of each governance scale
3. Dynamic Reorganization: Allow governance structures to evolve based on changing competencies
4. Cross-Scale Integration: Create mechanisms for information flow and coordination across levels."

(https://soushi888.github.io/alternef-digital-garden/knowledge/governance-and-community/subsidiarity)

Principles

Adopted from Sacha Pignot:

1.

• does not want everything decided at the national or global level by default.

• competency as the key criterion: The question is always: “Which scale/level is actually able to handle this issue effectively?”

• accept multiple scales of governance Family, neighborhood, city, bioregion, nation-state, planetary institutions can all have legitimate roles.

• pragmatic rather than dogmatic; rejects “smaller is always better” and “bigger is always better” in favor of fitness-for-purpose.

• support devolution by default There is a strong presumption in favor of lower/more local scales whenever possible.

• allows upward escalation when needed If a lower scale is overwhelmed or incompetent, authority/responsibility moves up (temporarily or permanent).

(via [2])

2.

21st century complexity science, systems thinking, post-progressive theory

Can be heterarchical, networked, overlapping, or even acentric; hierarchy is only one possible pattern Direction of justification

Bottom-up emergence with upward integration when necessary; no privileged direction

Scales are dynamic, emergent, and adjustable; new scales can form or dissolve as competencies change

Agnostic or skeptical about ontological priority; focuses on observable capacity and feedback loops

Systemic viability, anti-fragility, requisite variety (cybernetic/functional)

Closest real-world approximations: Ostrom’s polycentric resource regimes, some blockchain DAOs, Rojava’s democratic confederalism (partly), certain resilient city networks

Attitude toward the nation-state. Sees: the nation-state as just one (often obsolescent) scale among many

Conflict resolution between scales: Uses negotiation, game-theoretic mechanisms, or meta-scale arbitration; no automatic primacy

Time horizon & adaptability: Designed for rapid adaptation in high-complexity, fast-changing environments

(https://soushi888.github.io/alternef-digital-garden/knowledge/governance-and-community/subsidiarit)