Systems Thinking

A co-creation activity to generate actionable power-redistribution frameworks for research and design in organizations.

Collective impact efforts must prioritize working together in more relational ways to find systemic solutions to social problems.

PDF | On Jan 1, 1996, Richard Barbrook and others published The Californian Ideology | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate

Wilding as a Decolonial Future for (Dis)topia Australis Yin Paradies15.08.2022 Amongst a multiplicity of possible worlds, the hierarchical societal paradigm of...

Why updating the way we look at the world is so critical now, and so hard, and how we can get better at doing it.

The backslide of reproductive rights, the refusal to take action on climate, the attacks on trans kids, none of this happened overnight.

by Rachel Sinha and Tatiana Fraser

How to use systems thinking to drive improved outcomes in complex situations.

Kristel Van Ael and I completed a year-long project for this special book, designing the first practitioner handbook for systemic design practice. BIS Publishers is listing the book, and it will be in print by May. We summarize the value proposition as follows: This book presents important new developments in systemic design, guided into practitioner pathways that teach the power of using visual tools in collaborative dialogue to make sense of complexity. As the 21st century becomes ever-more complicated, leaders and changemakers are forced to deal with highly complex issues on a daily basis, with decisions that may have impacts far into the future.  Accessibly designed as a launchpad for both new learners and experienced practitioners, Design Journeys Through Complex Systems will affirmatively shift how you, your team, and client projects generate insights about high-complexity problems. With the book’s 30 design techniques presented in context, you will discover powerful insights ... Read More

Design thinking has delivered an impressive creative boon. But to tackle our most complex social challenges design methods must be augmented with systems thinking.

Learn how a systems approach can help you unite a community around an issue, map a system for change, and design a strategy to shift the status quo.

Has anyone ever seen/created a tool or canvas using Donella Meadows leverage points, which is designed to help people think about different places to intervene in a system?— Thea Snow (@theasnow) March 10, 2022

Reshaping what’s desirable, feasible and viable using ‘Systems Leverage Maps’.

Systems change is not for everyone, but making a good choice is

Tatiana Fraser & Rachel Sinha

Archetypes are recurring patterns of behavior that give insights into the structures that drive systems. They offer a way of deciphering…

Over the last five chapters in this series on tools for systems thinkers, I have looked at fundamental concepts, feedback loops, dominant…

I have long been a fan of showing how problem solving desperately needs systems thinking. If you are familiar with my work, you may have…

In this series on systems thinking, I share the key insights and tools needed to develop and advance a systems mindset for dealing with…

My journey to design as a system thinker and the things I’ve learned

Complexity heightens the importance of effective management, but poses challenges for the tools and approaches used most widely in international development. This guide provides an overview of these challenges and proposes a way forward

Wise executives tailor their approach to fit the complexity of the circumstances they face.

The deep changes necessary to accelerate progress against society's most intractable problems require someone who catalyzes collective leadership.

(2005). All changes great and small: Exploring approaches to change and its leadership. Journal of Change Management: Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 121-151.

We are programmed at an early age to think that failure is bad. That belief prevents organizations from effectively learning from their missteps.

For six years, the RE-AMP network—comprising 125 nonprofits and funders across eight states in the U.S.’s upper Midwest—has been focused on just one audacious goal: reducing regional global warming emissions 80 percent (from 2005 levels) by 2050. And it’s working.

Organizations in the peacebuilding field face the imperative of taking a holistic, integrated approach to peacebuilding that combines traditionally distinct disciplines such as human rights, humanitarian assistance, sustainable development, environment, conflict resolution, security, and the rule of law in order to be effective in today’s complex conflicts. The concept of a Network of Effective Action is proposed as a set of practices for collaboration that is capable of facilitating integrated approaches to peacebuilding both on the ground and in terms of the theoretical development of the field.

Why nonprofits and funders need to put networks of relationships, instead of transactions and grants, at the core of organizational strategies.

Every company faces a learning dilemma: the smartest people find it the hardest to learn.

The field of philanthropy is exploring what it takes to achieve impact in complex environments. The terms “adaptive” and “emergent” are beginning to be used, often interchangeably, to describe strategies by which funders can tackle complexity. This article proposes distinguishing between the two and explores more deeply how the research into complexity can inform philanthropic practice.