Systems Thinking

Large-scale social change requires broad cross-sector coordination, not the isolated intervention of individual organizations.

“Wicked” problems can’t be solved, but they can be tamed. Increasingly, these are the problems strategists face—and for which they are ill equipped.

This short concept note outlines a series of innovative approaches contained within a long-term participatory conflict transformation process that is itself innovative in that it seeks to develop a systemic response to a complex conflict system. The process is driven by an alliance of civil society actors known collectively as Partners in Conflict Transformation, PICOT, working across the North Eastern and Eastern districts, along the border of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. Similar types of processes have also been initiated in other contexts, drawing lessons and making contextually specific adjustments to the basic overall approach.

Developing a systems mindset, identifying the right tool for the job, and paying attention to human dynamics can help leaders move from theory to action when facing complex social problems.

A visual mapping technique that shows the interconnected variables causing system outcomes and the direction of influence among variables. Causal Loop Maps usually do not show magnitude of influence, so it is difficult to determine the net impact of multiple variables. By dampening, amplifying, or breaking relationships among these variables, one can influence the system. It is helpful when trying to address a specific problem or issue within a system. This technique can be used independently or as a part of a Systems Mapping process.

There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says…

Complexity week continues with this excellent stocktake from the ODI’s Harry Jones (who’s got a new guide out on ‘Managing Projects and Programmes in the Face of Complexity‘). Part two tomorrow. Seven years ago John Young, Ben Ramalingam and I decided to begin research on complexity theory and international development. We felt there was really …

Changing systems takes expertise and a deft touch. Jo Confino outlines the key ingredients required to help multiple stakeholders find a common vision

To make underlying systems more sustainable, it takes both tools and compassion, says SecondMuse's Joe Hsueh

This handy pocket guide builds on Systems Archetypes at a Glance. This guide lays out a specific application for each archetype–for example, using “Growth and Underinvestment” to manage capital planning. Then, a seven-step process for designing an intervention is presented. Finally, an example of the archetype in action’s instance, escalating frequent-flyer promotions, is mapped onto […]

Enhancing the resilience of ecosystem services (ES) that underpin human well-being is critical for meeting current and future societal needs, and requires specific governance and management policies. Using the literature, we identify seven generic policy-relevant principles for enhancing the resilience of desired ES in the face of disturbance and ongoing change in social-ecological systems (SES). These principles are (P1) maintain diversity and redundancy, (P2) manage connectivity, (P3) manage slow variables and feedbacks, (P4) foster an understanding of SES as complex adaptive systems (CAS), (P5) encourage learning and experimentation, (P6) broaden participation, and (P7) promote polycentric governance systems. We briefly define each principle, review how and when it enhances the resilience of ES, and conclude with major research gaps. In practice, the principles often co-occur and are highly interdependent. Key future needs are to better understand these interdependencies and to operationalize and apply the principles in different policy and management contexts.

A repository for links and information I find useful, or have included so that I can go back and look more deeply later. Updated regularly…

How a systems designer learned to explain what a systems designer is

By Donella Meadows~ Folks who do systems analysis have a great belief in “leverage points.” These are places within a complex system (a corporation, an economy, a living body, a city, an ecosystem) where a small shift in one thing can produce big changes in everything. This idea is not unique to systems analysis — …

See our Systems Thinking Resources below! Concepts and Frameworks The Five Learning Disciplines Developed by renowned systems thinker Peter Senge, these five disciplines each enhance the ability of a person or organization to use learning effectively. Leveraged together, they contribute heavily to the success of learning organizations, defined by Senge as, “…organizations where people continually …

ystems thinking has been described as a language for talking about the complex, interdependent issues managers face every day. Within that framework, causal loop diagrams can be thought of as sentences that are constructed by identifying the key variables in a system (the “nouns”) and indicating the causal relationships between them via links (the “verbs”). […]