Conversations that Challenge: Failure: Does fear hold us back from changing systems?Thursday, July 712pm – 1pm

Conversations that Challenge: Failure: Does fear hold us back from changing systems? – New System Alliance

A Time for Heretics, orginal for 1996, rejected by IIBDavid Hawk1996, Transcript of Annual Meeting of EIBA

(23) A Time for Heretics, orginal for 1996, rejected by IIB | David Hawk – Academia.edu

Twelve potluck principles for social design

Twelve potluck principles for social design | DISCERN: International Journal of Design for Social Change, Sustainable Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Twelve potluck principles for social design

Authors

• Christian NoldThe Open University
• Patrycja KaszynskaUniversity of the Arts London
• Jocelyn BaileyUniversity of the Arts London
• Lucy KimbellUniversity of the Arts London

Keywords: 

social design, design principles, manifesto, boundary objects, design research

Abstract

The term ‘social design’ is used in a variety of contexts, but—or maybe because of this—it is far from clear what it means. The starting point for this paper is that there is a need for stronger and more critical community discourse to understand and clarify what social design is and what it does. By analyzing key texts, the paper identifies commonalities, disagreements and unresolved questions in relation to social design. Drawing on the example of citizen science, the paper argues for a need to develop principles for social design for further inquiry and discipline-building for social design. The paper offers twelve principles that focus on the notion of the social in social design, its methods and practices and its normative intent, as well as its critical reflexivity. These principles are intended as a ‘potluck’ boundary object to kickstart a stronger social design community. The paper reports feedback from two workshops where these principles were discussed and tested with design academics suggesting how the principles can be applied.

The Memory of Systems April 26, 2021 Cameron D. Norman 619 Viewscense, complexity, decision making, design, developmental evaluation, evaluation, Living History, path dependence, reflective practice, systems change, systems thinking, W. Edwards DemingSystems change is so difficult because is the link between the past, present and future is tight and often invisible.The term “system(s) change” is often used without a clear sense of what it means.What is the system that needs to be changed and how is that system defined? These are two important questions that will shape the answers.Systems are also affected by history and this ‘memory’ within a system is an important, yet often neglected part of understanding change.Remembering where systems started is an important signal for where they can go.

The Memory of Systems – Censemaking

FOCUS: CONFRONTING LEGACIES OF OPPRESSIONRSD UPDATES | RSD11 PROGRAMBookmark0Confronting legacies of oppression in systemic designSystemic design is often complicit in the reproduction of oppression, contributing to structural inequities being designed into our systems. A growing group of scholars and practitioners are confronting legacies of oppression in this domain, such as through explorations into decolonizing systems thinking (Goodchild, 2021), and abolitionist design (Fathallah & Lewis, 2021), and design justice (Costanza-Chock, 2020). To grapple with the systemic nature of oppression, a greater commitment to equity, self-determination and liberation in, through and beyond systemic design is needed.

Focus: Confronting legacies of oppression

The riddle of emergence – where do novel things come from?By Kevin Mitchell – May 23, 2022It’s not true, that there’s nothing new under the sun. The universe is producing novelty all the time. Galaxies, stars, and planets, where none existed before. New elements, new molecules – life itself, with the explosion of new species, and eventually new minds, capable of new thoughts. New types of things at new levels of existence – discrete entities composed of smaller entities, arranged in specific ways. New systems with new properties and new causal powers, governed by new principles. So where does all this novelty come from?

The riddle of emergence – where do novel things come from?

Connecting lived experiences of systems conveners in governancewith Paula Chies Schommer and Rachel Gondo

Connecting lived experiences of systems conveners in governance | by Florencia Guerzovich | Jun, 2022 | Medium

COMMENTARYNervous System: Cybernetics and the Birth of Computer EthicsThe origin of the idea of ‘cyber’ wasn’t just about security, but rather ethics and psychology. This month’s history of cybersecurity examines the work of American mathematician and physicist Norbert Wiener and the beginnings of ‘cybernetics.’June 08, 2022 at 10:00 AM 6 minute readInnovationBy David Kalat, BRG

Nervous System: Cybernetics and the Birth of Computer Ethics | Legaltech News

A really nice little article that it is worthing signing up to get past the sign-in wall (free) to read.

Systems Approaches to Child ProtectionWed, Jun 22, 2022 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM BST

Registration

On Facebook, Gerald Midgley says:

The Centre for Systems Studies at the University of Hull (UK) is hosting a seminar with two presenters at 3-5pm (UK time) on Wednesday 22 June. The focus will be ‘SYSTEMS APPROACHES TO CHILD PROTECTION’. Details of the two talks are below. Please register for the event at this web site: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/regi…/1237358922890229259

‘TRANSFORMING THE RUNAWAY CHILD PROTECTION SYSTEM’, by Andy Bilson (University of Central Lancashire).

The child protection system in England is in runaway mode. Child protection investigations have tripled, whilst the number of child deaths and children found to have been physically or sexually abused is little changed. The system impacts on a considerable proportion of children, and has become increasingly investigative and focused on parental shortcomings (what has been termed ‘institutionalized parental blame’). The number of children separated from families has increased dramatically, and the costs of placement are soaring, so no funds remain to offer help to families. Can a systems approach to the use of research, especially one that makes oppressed groups visible, reverse these trends? Andy Bilson will present his work so far, and open a conversation about the way forward.

‘THE CREATIVE AND FLEXIBLE APPLICATION OF SYSTEMS METHODOLOGIES FOR CHILD PROTECTION: A CASE STUDY FROM INDIA’, by Rajneesh Chowdhury (University of Hull).

Although at the policy level, India is committed to providing a safe, just and equitable environment for children, there is little evidence that such commitments have effectively trickled down to having real, on-the-ground impacts. Several organizational, administrative and competency-related issues pose serious impediments to the operation of the institutional structures that protect and uphold children’s rights and child protection in India. Poverty and lack of awareness are significant factors that lead to violations of children’s rights. This presentation will explore the application of systems methodologies in a creative and flexible manner to design an intervention for children’s rights and child protection in India. A case-study with the Universal Team for Social Action and Health (UTSAH), a non-governmental organization (NGO) specializing in child protection, will be discussed. The intervention was designed around the deployment of Critical Systems Heuristics (CSH), which helped in unfolding and increasing understanding of tensions in the system; gaps between what ought to happen and what actually happens; the challenges of social inclusion and exclusion; and the lack of clarity about the stakes that stakeholders have, and what their issues are. The intervention design involved the application of CSH with two tools: CATWOE (a mnemonic for Customers, Actors, Transformation, Worldview, Owners and Environment) from Soft Systems Methodology, and an assumption-surfacing tool from Strategic Assumption Surfacing and Testing. A program of action was designed through this intervention, which will be presented in two phases: the first phase has already been implemented, and covers children’s rights and child protection case management, police reforms and community sensitization; the second phase is planned to begin soon, and covers a visionary fellowship program for senior-level police officers and managers to address system change. A reflection on the case will be provided in light of Holistic Flexibility, a conceptual lens in systems thinking that calls for greater creativity and flexibility in systems thinking and practice.

Once again, here is the link for registering for the event: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/regi…/1237358922890229259

JUNE 21 EVENT

We invite you to come reflect, connect, celebrate (y)our wins, set intentions, and honor the solstice together. There will be time to learn more about Illuminate and network collaborations and what’s on the horizon for our collective work towards systems change for a just, equitable and regenerative future for all. Hear from some of your network comrades about their involvement and vision for this workConnect and reflect with others working to transform some of today’s most complex challengesLearn about existing and emerging opportunities to deepen our collective (un)learning and actionWe will be offering the Soirée on two different days and times to accommodate multiple time zones. Speakers and content may vary. You are welcome to attend both!

*Note that the event on the 21st and 22nd have unique registration links*

Link June 21 Solstice Soirée — Illuminate Systems (and 22 June link is available there too) – explore if you want to joint the Illuminate systems change community (it’s free)

Jun 13Synthesis Map Expo 2022 #1 from OCADU — Systems Thinking Ontario

by David Ing

Mon, June 13, 20226:30 PM – 8:30 PM EDT

Online

One in a series of presentations of synthesis maps created in systemic design courses at OCADU graduate programsAbout this eventSynthesis maps are rich visualizations that illustrate the real-world complexity of systemic challenges, and typically used to not only “map system problems” but to propose design recommendations for systems change and policies (from health to public policy, from service experiences to social change) from evidence gathered in stakeholder research. Policymakers and organizational stakeholders use synthesis maps for strategic advising, long-term planning, and considering interventions for social and systemic challenges (wicked problems).Please see: https://wiki.st-on.org/2022-06-13 for more detailsOpen-minded novices and learners are always welcomed. We’ll try to keep the conversations understandable by the layman, and entertain questions for clarification.To be notified of future sessions, please join the Google Group: http://bit.ly/st-on

Synthesis Map Expo 2022 #1 from OCADU — Systems Thinking Ontario Registration, Mon, Jun 13, 2022 at 6:30 PM | Eventbrite

The Fin Ray® Paper KitTail fins of bony fish do not bend away from the compressive force – as would be expected – in the event of a compressive load, but instead bend in the direction of the compressive force. This initially surprising feature enables highly efficient force transmission of the fish to the surrounding medium of water. When the fish moves by flapping its tail, the tail fin assumes the (concave) shape of a ladle (with the open side in the direction of the flapping of the fin). The water volume enclosed by the tail fin is accelerated to the rear, propelling the fish forwards in the process. The adaptive change in shape of the tail fin is a reason for the good force transmission. From a technical point of view, the tail fin of the bony fish is a design which has been optimised in terms of lateral force application in the course of evolution.

The Fin Ray® Paper Kit – Technology for schools – Learning Systems – Festo Didactic

Also https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2751

The function of fin rays as proprioceptive sensors in fish

Designed and co-facilitated by Fritjof Capra and Jen Mason, the Systems View Lab is an interactive, online learning experience for executive teams who wish to develop and deepen their systems thinking capabilities and explore the applications of a Systems View of Life within the specific context of their organization.

Home – Systems View LAB

Peter Kawalek takes a look at information while Clément Vidal considers how cybernetics might help in the search for extraterrestrial life

President’s Series : Astrobiology and Cybernetics Tickets, Wed 15 Jun 2022 at 17:00 | Eventbrite