New Approaches to Leverage Points for Systems Change Thu, May 27 5:30pm – 6:30pm BST Zoom

New Approaches to Leverage Points for Systems Change | Si Network

New Approaches to Leverage Points for Systems Change

Thu, May 275:30pm – 6:30pm BSTZoomMeetingAdd to CalendarGoingMaybeNot Going

98 members are going

The idea of leverage points was introduced by Donella Meadows in a paper where she proposed a set of places to intervene in a system that would result in varying degrees of change within the overall organization. She started with the insight that there are levers or places within a complex system where a “small shift in one thing can produce big changes in everything.” 

The idea of leverage points has since captured people’s imagination and become a popular concept. In the past number of years new ideas have emerged around leverage points such as the idea of systems aikido, systems acupuncture, and system gardening. In this discussion hosted by the Si London Hub we will explore these “new approaches to leverage points for system change”. 

Speakers

Anna Birney, director of School of System Change and author of “Cultivating System Change: A Practitioner’s Companion” 

Orit Gal Senior Lecturer for Strategy and Complexity at Regents University London and creator of Social acupuncture theory.

More speakers yet to be confirmed.

Online Event, Date: May 27th, 5:30pm UK

source (ful phd)

A critical systems thinking approach for the planning of information technology in the information society – Digital Repository

A critical systems thinking approach for the planning of information technology in the information society

Córdoba-Pachon, José-Rodrigo

Business

December 2001

Thesis or dissertation

Rights© 2001 José-Rodrigo Córdoba-Pachon. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the copyright holder.Abstract

This thesis presents a view of the situation of Information and Communications Technology Planning (ICTP) from the perspective of Critical Systems Thinking (CST). Nowadays with the increasing use of information and communications technologies and the possibilities of management of information, organisations and people in general focus attention on the planning of these technologies. Such type of planning has been often understood as a process that aims to get competitive advantage through the use of information and ensure that it will contribute to the improvement of the way of life of societies. The outcomes in different countries and problems encountered make necessary to explore the possibility of an alternative view in planning that could be more inclusive and participative regarding people involved and affected by this process.

In this thesis such a view is defined as ‘strategic’. It considers that different groups of people have different concerns that are necessary to address. By using a combination between the systems theories of Autopoiesis and boundary critique, the strategic view is presented. It opens the possibility of including different groups of people and their concerns, as well as debating the consequences of addressing some of these concerns in action. Concerns are viewed as system boundaries.

A methodological approach to support a process of ICTP is defined from the strategic view. This approach was used to intervene at Javeriana University in Colombia in a project called “Exploring possible roles for information technologies at Javeriana University” from March to July 1999. Reflections about this project lead the author to propose enriching the strategic view with an understanding of the issue of ethics in the practice of ICTP and in the improvement of the way of life of individual and collective subjects. The ideas of power and ethics from Michel Foucault are used to enrich the strategic view of planning and to enhance critique on the ethics fostered by practitioners. This critique fosters also continuous awareness about the life projects of practitioners and of individuals in general, as a proposal to improve their way of life in the development of the information society.

European Journal of Operational Research Available online 4 December 2020 In Press, Corrected ProofWhat are Corrected Proof articles? Decision Support Designing interagency responses to wicked problems: Creating a common, cross-agency understanding Author links open overlay panelPamelaSydelkoabcGeraldMidgleycdefghAngelaEspinosaci

Designing interagency responses to wicked problems: Creating a common, cross-agency understanding – ScienceDirect

European Journal of Operational Research

Available online 4 December 2020In Press, Corrected ProofWhat are Corrected Proof articles?

Decision SupportDesigning interagency responses to wicked problems: Creating a common, cross-agency understanding

Author links open overlay panelPamelaSydelko^abcGeraldMidgley^cdefghAngelaEspinosa^ci

On the systems thinking facebook groups, Gerald Midley said:

“Here is a new paper (written by Pam Sydelko, Angela Espinosa and me), currently in press with the European Journal of Operational Research. It is free to download for the next fifty days (the paywall goes up on 20 June 2021).”

The Bactra Review: Occasional and eclectic book reviews by Cosma Shalizi   132 A New Kind of Science by Stephen Wolfram Wolfram Media, 2002

Stephen Wolfram, A New Kind of Science

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A Sexy New Theory of Consciousness Is All Up in Your Feelings | WIRED

JASON KEHECULTURE03.29.2021 08:00 AM

A Sexy New Theory of Consciousness Gets All Up in Your Feelings

Neuroscience is bad at explaining what it’s like to be alive. Mark Solms thinks he can change that—with help from Freud, of all people.

NEUROSCIENCE SHOULD BE the sexiest of the sciences. To study it is to study the very stuff that makes stuff studiable in the first place. Then you look at an fMRI scan and realize it’s all, actually, amazingly boring. This bit lights up when that thing happens—so what? A functional map of the brain tells us almost nothing about what it feels like to be alive. Even certain neuroscientists have an axon to grind with this “objective,” “cognitivist” way of thinking. One is Mark Solms, and in his new book, The Hidden Spring, he doesn’t just talk about anatomy and electrochemistry—though there is some of that. He also puts forth an entire new theory of consciousness, sexed up with input from the original sexpert himself, Sigmund Freud.

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A Sexy New Theory of Consciousness Is All Up in Your Feelings | WIRED

ASC Speaker Series #5: A Causal Ontology of Nature by Angus Jenkinson – YouTube

ASC Speaker Series #5: A Causal Ontology of Nature by Angus Jenkinson

American Society for Cybernetics – ASC

When considering the significance of the revolution that cybernetics brought to the meta-paradigm of science, it may be useful to re-consider the cybernetics of causality and its radical implications. During his presentation Jenkins will introduce a framework for doing so. According to Jenkins, the implications of such a model underpin practices of prediction, planning and intervention into the social and natural order. He argues that without clarity about the natural orders of causal flow and nexus, many fail to tackle major issues of our era in concert. This introduction will focus on clarifying the proposed causal orders enabling the conversation to further explore implications and responses. An interesting aspect is a potentially useful review of the notion of “second-order” in cybernetics.

Journal of Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics

Journal of Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics

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Developing our new Systemic Design Framework | by Cat Drew | Design Council | Apr, 2021 | Medium

Developing our new Systemic Design Framework

Cat DrewFollowingApr 27 · 10 min read

I’m writing this as the back story about how our Systemic Design Framework came to be. This is not the press release, nor the formal description in the report on the website, but a look at the ‘invisible’ intelligence which is embedded in its design. I hope these learnings can be used by designers wanting to adopt a systemic design approach, as the challenges I encountered in creating the Framework may well be the same as you will encounter when using it.

What it is

The Systemic Design Framework is an evolution of Design Council’s design frameworks, starting with the globally renowned Double Diamond, and more recently the Framework for Innovation. It is our way of synthesising how we see people on our own programmes, and through research with other designers using design to address complex challenges. These challenges are systemic, require more than one organisation, and can probably never be entirely solved. You can read more about it here, but the framework:

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Developing our new Systemic Design Framework | by Cat Drew | Design Council | Apr, 2021 | Medium

Call for Papers: Special Issue on Diversity & Universality in Systems Thinking

Journal of Systems Thinking

Evidently a new journal with quite a list of editorial board:

The Journal of Systems Thinking (JoST) (ISSN 2767-3847) is a rolling, online-only, open-access, free-to-publish, double-blind peer-reviewed journal dedicated to basic scientific research, innovation, and public understanding in the areas of Systems Thinking (cognitive complexity), Systems Mapping (visual complexity), Systems Leadership (organizational complexity), and Systems Science (ontological complexity). 

Call for Papers: Special Issue on Diversity & Universality in Systems Thinking

The field of systems thinking may be in the midst of a sea change event—a ‘fourth wave’ predicated on the search to identify universal patterns that unify the diversity of frameworks and methods in the field as well as, perhaps, knowledge and disciplines in general. It is critically important that the field of systems thinking resolve what Bateson called a ‘double bind’ between a diversity of methods and the universality of patterns that underlies them. Furthermore, the best candidate theories, grounded in evidence, must be vetted and reviewed. JoST’s Special Issue on Diversity and Unity will frame the debate. Thus, we issue a Call for Papers—an open and invited call for papers responding to the paper:

Cabrera, D., Cabrera, L. and Midgley, G. (2021) The Four Waves of Systems Thinking. In, Routledge Handbook of Systems Thinking, (Eds) Cabrera, D., Cabrera, L. and Midgley, G. Routledge. London, UK. 

• We are inviting notable experts on the topic as well as providing an open, general call for response papers.
• Submissions can be any length up to 8000 words.
• Using this form, you must notify us that you intend to submit a paper by May 30, 2021 (this takes less than one minute).
• Rolling submission closes August, 30 2021. 
• To Submit to our Special Issue access the target paper here and submit your paper here.

Please feel free to share this notice and the image below on social media or with your department, organization, and/or advanced graduate students. 

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How do we know where there is potential to intervene and leverage impact in a changing system? The practitioners perspective | SpringerLink

How do we know where there is potential to intervene and leverage impact in a changing system? The practitioners perspective

• Anna Birney 

Sustainability Science (2021)

Abstract

More and more people and organisations who are addressing complex sustainability challenges are turning to systems change practices. They are looking to get to grips with complexity and to better understand how to use their resources, position and influence to address the challenges. These people are working across civil society, philanthropy, business, international development, government and beyond. Many hope that adopting this emerging practice will give them the answers to the long held questions of – How do I know where to intervene? How do I know that what I am doing is the ‘right’ thing? Am I using my resources for their greatest effect? Once we have set ambitious goals around issues like inequality and climate change, how do I know I am creating impact?. In 1999 Donella Meadows wrote a paper entitled Leverage points: places to intervene in a system to help translate the work of systems dynamics into understanding where a small amount of energy might have a greater effect. Ever since, practitioners have been chasing these elusive leverage points trying to understand how this might be made useful and practical. There is, however, no silver bullet to changing a system. At Forum for the Future and through the School of System Change, we work on a number of different projects such as the Protein Challenge and Boundless Roots Community as well as collaborate on, coach and co-inquire with others such as the Marine CoLAB, Oneless, Lankelly Chase Foundation. In this paper we seek to build on systems change ideas and theories, using Forum for the Future experience of working with these ideas in practice, and offer actionable knowledge (Coghlan 2007) to other change makers who are grappling with these questions. This paper provides four qualities that help us understand the dynamics of a changing system, and how potential in these dynamics might be identified and be translated into strategy and interventions. I explore and illustrate these through cases and examples and raise the question about how change makers might value what we measure when understanding impact in the context of a changing system.

Our newest discussion amongst Ecology of Systems Thinking facebook group facilitators and guests. With Nora Bateson, Dr. Derek Cabrera, Dr. Laura Cabrera, Peter Jones, Dr. Gerald Midgley, and Benjamin Taylor about Universality and Diversity in Systems Thinking.

Our group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ecologyofsystemsthinking

Diversity & Universality in Systems Thinking – YouTube