The founding organizations for the International Network for Relational Development from the US, Portugal, Spain and UK met in Lisbon, Portugal from July 20-24 to develop an intial agreement for how to work together. We concluded by signing the Lisbon Declaration.
Shared Values
- Courage
- Mutual Respect
- Curiosity
- Care
Background
Several founding partners met at the Roundtable 2024 in Berkeley, then a broader group met virtually in February, March, May and June 2025 to discuss the promotion, research, and application of relational coordination and relational evolution across different sectors globally. The ambition of the Network is to provide a global platform where organizations, practitioners, and researchers can engage in the development and dissemination of relational models. These models will be applied to areas such as healthcare, education, community building, public sector and organizational development more broadly.
The starting point for the International Network for Relational Development is to create a more relationally-coordinated world, where human relationships are prioritized as essential to personal well-being, organizational effectiveness, and societal progress.
Specifically, members of this network seek to:
- Advance relational thinking and systemic approaches to address societal and organizational challenges, namely through the lens of the Theory of Relational Coordination (J. H. Gittell) and Theory of Relational Evolution (J. Quintana).
- Facilitate international cooperation in research, training, and practice in the field of relational dynamics.
- Provide resources and tools for enhancing relational capacity in various professional and social environments.


Founding Partners
Relational Lab (https://site.relationallab.pt/)
- Vasco Andrade
- Francisca Assis Teixeira
- Rui Marques
- Marta Marques
- Sofia Pereira
Instituto Relacional de Barcelona (https://www.institutorelacional.org/)
- Mora Del Fresno
- Pau Quintana
- Joan Quintana
- Noelia Rodriguez
- Esther Trujillo
The Relationships Project (https://relationshipsproject.org/)
- Neil Denton
- David Robinson
County Devon (https://www.devon.gov.uk/)
- Matt Jones
Relational Coordination Collaborative (https://heller.brandeis.edu/relational-coordination/index)
- Claus Jebsen
- Fernanda Artimos de Oliveira
- Lauren Hajjar
- Ignacio Pavez Barrio
- Miranda Jane Safir
- John Paul Stephens
RELATE Lab (https://www.relatelab.org)
- Leah Gordon
- Matthew Lewis
- Alexander Mansour
- Brian Park
- Niki Steckler
- Anais Tuepker
Relational Coordination Analytics (https://rcanalytic.com/)
- Heba Ali
- Jody Hoffer Gittell
- Wale Olaleye
- Ann Tukari
INRD Events
Date/Time |
Location |
Event |
May 22, 2025 |
Virtual - DONE |
May RC Cafe: Building the International Network for Relational Development |
July 22-24, 2025 |
Lisbon - DONE |
Conference for the International Network for Relational Development, hosted by the Relational Lab |
July 24-29, 2025 |
Copenhagen - DONE |
Academy of Management Annual Meeting - Special events hosted by the RCC and the Organization Development and Change Division |
November 6-8, 2025 |
Boston |
RCC Roundtable: Finding Integrative Solutions to Complex Problems - How Relationships Matter |