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The oxygen evolving complex (OEC) of photosystem II is responsible for the four-electron oxidation of water to dioxygen in oxygenic photosynthetic organisms. These organisms use light to drive this thermodynamically uphill process to harvest high-energy electrons from water for cellular energy, generating O2 as a byproduct. While numerous details of the operation of the OEC are well understood, the molecular mechanism of O=O formation remains under debate. Model complex chemistry from our group will be presented wherein we have prepared cluster systems with little or no terminal multidentate ligation in order to generate geometrically flexible and reactive clusters. Two systems will be presented: a series of Ca-Mn-O hemicubane clusters with variable calcium content, and their electrocatalytic activity in activation of water in oxidation reactions, and a Mn cubane cluster with a pendant Mn=O moiety that evolves dioxygen from an oxidation state analagous to the turnover state of the natural system