We discuss what it means for an organisation to have, and act consistently with the values that underpin the good society. We call these organisations with a “beating heart”. The metaphor has come from our observations of how people, when interacting directly with one another on matters that genuinely interest them (mostly) seem to act in accordance with the values that promote cooperation and the common good. They listen, learn, and are responsive and empathic. However the beating heart that infuses such interactions is much harder to detect at the organisational level which is so often lifeless and may appear captured by an alien, colonising force.

What goes wrong? Is it possible for organisations to live and breathe the same adaptive, constructive processes that characterise ordinary human relationships? How do organisations with a beating heart arise, what do they look and feel like, how are they sustained and what are their impacts? Can we, as community psychologists and insiders to these organisations “work the boundaries” and revive the ailing pulses of settings that have become sluggish with repetition and apathy?

Our discussants will each give a brief response to these questions. Niki Harré will argue that the beautiful mission of the university is being suffocated with our penchant for competitive finite games. Brad Olson and Gordon Lee will comment on the discipline of psychology, and Peta Dzidic will examine how science for the public good can turn bad. Paul Rhodes will focus on mental health services as non-places and embodied open dialogue as an alternative, and Tiffeny Jimenez will show how non-profit organisations may find themselves enacting neoliberal values while espousing the values of liberation. We will then involve all attendees in a broader discussion of whether, and how, community psychologists can help organisations develop a beating heart.