ICOS · Foundation programme
Coherence
Institute for Coherent Organising Systems · An Institute of The Accord
A six-module foundation programme in coherence: what it is, how it operates, what disrupts or imitates it, and how to recognise and apply it across individual and collective systems.
- Online
- Self-paced
- Six modules
- Assessed
Programme structure
01What Is Coherence?Available now
Question
What actually makes something coherent?
In this module, you will establish what coherence means, what it does not mean, and why coherence concerns the relationship between parts rather than whether something appears positive, calm or desirable.
02How Coherence OperatesMonday 19 October 2026
Question
How does coherence function within a system?
In this module, you will move from definition to mechanism: parts, relationships, information, feedback, internal consistency, adaptation, and the relationship between local behaviour and the whole.
03What Coherence Is NotMonday 9 November 2026
Question
What can look or feel coherent without actually being coherent?
In this module, you will examine the states and signals that can be mistaken for coherence, including the distinction between regulation and coherence.
04Distortion and IncoherenceMonday 30 November 2026
Question
What causes a system to stop accurately relating to itself or reality?
In this module, you will study how coherence breaks down: contradiction, fragmentation, suppression of information, rigid identity, self-protection, feedback failure, narrative maintenance, adaptation to distortion, and how incoherence can become stable.
05Recognising CoherenceMonday 21 December 2026
Question
How can we actually tell whether something is coherent?
In this module, you will use a discernment framework. By the end of the module, you will understand how to assess coherence rather than merely perceive it.
06Applied CoherenceMonday 11 January 2027
Question
What does coherence look like when it is actually lived and built?
In this module, you will integrate and apply the framework across self, relationships, groups, leadership, organisations and information.