P=ENTS Glossary

This glossary is here to help you make sense of P=ENTS terms that appear throughout this website.

Adjustment - The process of adapting a community building plan and its execution to changing circumstances.

Alliance - Stage 5 of 7 for P=ENTS community members.

Ally - A P=ENTS community member who has reached Stage 5. There are 3 roles an Ally can take. They are ENTS, TENS and/or NETS.

Amelioration - The process of improving and refining the P=ENTS methodology in response to feedback and testing in real-world scenarios.

Anointer - A P=ENTS community member who has reached Stage 7. 

Anointment - Stage 7 of 7 for P=ENTS community members.

Apprenticeship - The term used to cover all aspects of P=ENTS methodology training.

Attestation - The formal affirmation of a P=ENTS community builder's skills through the seven stages.

Colloquium - The term used to refer to situations where stakeholder feedback and insights are sought.

Commonalty - The term used to refer to a P=ENTS community member gaining full access to the rest of the community.

Communication - the term used to refer to public relations and stakeholder interactions.

Community -  when the term "community" is used in the P=ENTS methodology, any of the following definitions may apply:

(1) A body of people who live in the same place, usually sharing a common cultural or ethnic identity. Hence: a place where a particular body of people lives.

(2) (a) A body of people leading a communal life according to a religious rule; a religious society, a monastic body.

(2) (b) A body of people practising communal living (esp. with shared ownership of property) on ideological or political grounds.

(3) (a) Originally: the adherents of a religion considered in their entirety. Later also more generally: a group of people distinguished by shared circumstances of nationality, race, religion, sexuality, etc.; esp. such a group living within a larger society from which it is distinct.

(3) (b) A group of people who share the same interests, pursuits, or occupation, esp. when distinct from those of the society in which they live. 

(3) (c) A group of nations claiming unity of purpose or common interests.

(4) With definite article. The civic body to which all belong; the public; society. 

(5) A group of animals or plants in the same place; (Ecology) a group of organisms growing or living together in natural conditions or occupying a specified area. 

(6) An online facility, such as an electronic bulletin board, forum, or chat room, where users can share information or discuss topics of mutual interest. 

A shared or common quality or state. 

(7) (a)  Life in association with others; the social state. 

(7) (b)  Social cohesion; mutual support and affinity such as is derived from living in a community.

Source: Oxford English Dictionary

Community building plan - A plan created by a community builder following the P=ENTS methodology, specifically the P=ENTS framework.

Counsel - The act of providing advice, guidance or suggestions based on one's expertise or wisdom.

Creative Commons -  An American non-profit organisation and international network devoted to educational access and expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The P=ENTS methodology © 2023 is licensed under Attribution-Sharealike 4.0 International (CC VY-SA 4.0)   This is a Creative Commons licence that lets others remix, tweak, and build upon one's work even for commercial purposes, as long as they credit the creator and licence their new creations under the identical terms. This licence is often compared to “copyright” free and open source software licences. 

Criteria - This term refers to the levels of expectation for a community's progress, similar to KPIs.

Decentralisation -  The process of transferring power, authority or decision-making from a central authority to multiple distributed entities or individuals, creating greater autonomy, participation and a more democratic and inclusive approach to community building. 

Discernment - The process of recognising or identifying community members with potential leadership qualities.

Documentation - The documents used in the P=ENTS methodology which pertain to its purpose, components and implementation guidelines .

Education - The first pillar of the P=ENTS methodology. When combined with the other three pillars of narrative, transparency and structure, any community can achieve progress.

Emulation - This refers to studying and imitating the works and achievements of esteemed individuals or established models.

Engager - A P=ENTS community member who has reached Stage 3. 

Engagement - Stage 3 of 7 for P=ENTS community members. 

Enlistment - This term refers to the process of recruiting or enrolling individuals for a particular purpose or endeavour, e.g. TENs or those responsible for P=ENTS expedition.

ENT - A P=ENTS accredited community member with experience of applying the P=ENTS methodology in a community and has met the requirements of Stage 5 (Alliance).

Execution - This term refers specifically to the process of implementing a P=ENTS community building plan.

Expedition - This is a term that refers to the entire deployment process, including execution, provisioining, emulation, enlistment, adjustment, amelioration, discernment and reporting.

Instruction - This term refers to the act of teaching others, e.g. P=ENTS community members instructing members of the communities they serve.

Introspection - A key part of the Reflection stage, often used synonmously, and refers to the process of P=ENTS community members examinining their own thoughts, feelings and experiences.

Framework - The step-by-step template used by P=ENTS community builders to implement the P=ENTS methodology in their communities.

Inquiry - The term used to refer to a needs assessment for community building.

Mentorship - The term used to refer to a key part of the Engagement stage, where P=ENTS community members are paired with a more experienced community member to help them develop and improve.

Mission - Stage 2 of 7 for P=ENTS community members.

Missionary - A P=ENTS community member who has reached Stage 2. 

Narrative - The second pillar of the P=ENTS methodology. When combined with the other three pillars of education, transparency and structure, any community can achieve progress.

NET - A P=ENTS community member who specialises in raising awareness of the P=ENTS methodology and expanding its reach.

Open Source -  A collaborative and transparent approach to developing and sharing the P=ENTS methodology. 

P=ENTS: The P stands for progress in a community. This is created by applying the four pillars of the methodology, which are represented by the E for education, the N for narrative, the T for transparency and the S for structure.

Pillars - The four areas of imlementation of the three obective values of the P=ENTS methodology. The pillars are education, narrative, transparency and structure. Together, they fuel community progress.

Praxis - This term refers to the practical application of the theory a P=ENTS community member learns in the Scholarship stage.

Principles - The twelve fundamental assumptions of the P=ENTS methodology, which derive from the three sacred values.

Professional Assistance - The training, consultancy and deployment services related to community building advertised on this website.

Propagation - This term refers to the process of community expansion, where decentralisation and self-replication play key roles.

Provisioning - This term refers to the process of resource allocation.

Reflection - Stage 4 of 7 for P=ENTS community members.

Reflector - A P=ENTS community member who has reached Stage 4.

Reporting - Reporting is a crucial aspect of P=ENTS expedition and ensures that all relevant stakeholders are kept up to speed with all community buildling efforts.

Reputation - The term used to refer specifically to public relations.

Role - This term refers to any of the three roles taken by a P=ENTS community builder (ENT, TEN and NET).

Scholar - A P=ENTS community member who has reached Stage 1.

Scholarship - Stage 1 of 7 for P=ENTS community members.

Servant - A P=ENTS community member who has reached Stage 6.

Service - Stage 6 of 7 for P=ENTS community members.

Self-replication - the process a community leader undertakes at the end of their tenure, where they replace themselves with a community member whom they have trained. This is done to prevent abuse of power and to promote a culture of operational decentralisation.

Social impact - The work that P=ENTS community builders do to solve social issues iin urgent need of resolution.

Stages - The ranking structure used by the P=ENTS methodology to distinguish between levels of experience in the P=ENTS community.

Strategem - An element in P=ENTS strategy development.

Structure - The fourth pillar of the P=ENTS methodology. When combined with the other three pillars of education, narrative and transparency, any community can achieve progress.

Systems - The term used to refer to the processes and procedures used in the P=ENTS methodology.

Tenets - The 40 beliefs about community building held to be true through the real world experience and collective experience of ENTS. Each of the 4 pillars of education, narrative, transparency and structure has 10 tenets each, and together they form the backbone of the P=ENTS community building methodology. 

TEN -  A P=ENTS community member who is a subject-matter expert on any of the 4 pillars. TENs also can be external experts who have expertise in a specialised area of interest related to a community being build using the P=ENTS methodology.

Theory - The learning undertaken by P=ENTS community builders, primarily in the Scholarship stage.

Tools & Techniques - The go-to resources for P=ENTS community builders to implement the P=ENTS framework in their communities.

Training & Support - The educational and support resources availiable to P=ENTS community builders.

Transparency - The third pillar of the P=ENTS methodology. When combined with the other three pillars of education, narrative and structure, any community can achieve progress.

Values - The three sacred, objective and timeless foundational elements of the P=ENTS methodology, which are truth, beauty and goodness.