An idea is a starting point

What is high agency?

Seeing a way to make something better, then taking a step to make it happen.

People with high agency don’t wait for someone else to solve their problems. They have a bias to action: they take a useful next step, even when the whole path isn’t clear.

Their confidence sounds like: “I don’t know how yet, but I can figure it out.” You build that confidence by trying, learning and asking for help along the way.

Two island castaways: A waits beside HELP written in sticks; B uses the sticks to build a raft and paddle away, demonstrating high agency.
B shows high agency. They use what they have to build a way forward. Asking for help can be part of taking action, too. Meme from George Mack’s High Agency essay.

A skill for a world that keeps changing.

New tools and unfamiliar problems won’t always come with instructions. Learning, adapting and finding a way forward are skills you can take anywhere.

Employers expect creative thinking, adaptability and lifelong learning to become even more important, according to the World Economic Forum’s 2025 skills outlook. Starting something at school is a chance to practise them now.

Try it at your school.

  1. 01

    Notice something

    What would make school better? A place to build things, meet people or try something new?

  2. 02

    Make it specific

    “Start a club” becomes “Run one lunchtime repair workshop for beginners.”

  3. 03

    Find your people

    Ask classmates what they need. Talk with an educator about space, safety and permission.

  4. 04

    Try, learn, repeat

    Start small. See what works. Change the plan as you learn.

That is why TKS Academic Partnerships runs this fund: to help students bring people together and start something at school.

Start your applicationSee a school project example

Inspired by George Mack’s essay. Read the original at HighAgency.com. About this fund.