Displaying 1 - 48 of 591
German
1:12
Internalisierte Verbindlichkeiten - gegenwärtig aber unsichtbar
Internalisierte Verbindlichkeiten entstehen, wenn keine Rückstellungen für zukünftige Verpflichtungen einer Organisation gebildet werden dürfen. Sie sind "gegenwärtig" und eine gute Erklärung für Reibungsverluste und Transformationsprobleme von Organisationen - aber "unsichtbar" in gängigen Bilanzen und nur mit Verspätung in den Kosten erkennbar. Der Vortrag stellt deshalb eine minimale, aber...
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German
1:12
Internalisierte Verbindlichkeiten - gegenwärtig aber unsichtbar
Internalisierte Verbindlichkeiten entstehen, wenn keine Rückstellungen für zukünftige Verpflichtungen einer Organisation gebildet werden dürfen. Sie sind "gegenwärtig" und eine gute Erklärung für Reibungsverluste und Transformationsprobleme von Organisationen - aber "unsichtbar" in gängigen Bilanzen und nur mit Verspätung in den Kosten erkennbar. Der Vortrag stellt deshalb eine minimale, aber...
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English
0:24
Agentic AI and the Self-Managing Enterprise
The March 2026 Systems Thinking Systems Practice conference in Hull included a presentation "Agentic AI and the Self-Managing Enterprise" [the slide set is included here] which explained that we - and AI agents - control a system by decisions that try to close a gap between some current state of the system and a target for that state. It went on to explain that, for AI agents to do that...
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English
0:24
Agentic AI and the Self-Managing Enterprise
The March 2026 Systems Thinking Systems Practice conference in Hull included a presentation "Agentic AI and the Self-Managing Enterprise" [the slide set is included here] which explained that we - and AI agents - control a system by decisions that try to close a gap between some current state of the system and a target for that state. It went on to explain that, for AI agents to do that...
Use with Accreditation
English
0:24
Symmasthesic Agency
This workshop will offer a taste of this complexity-attuned, radically inclusive approach to navigating and meeting real-world dilemmas involving multiple, diverse stakeholders. The approach brings to life a way of invoking 'Symmathesic Agency' (Gardiner, 2022). It has been developed and honed over decades in real-world applications. Following this introduction: If you want to apply this to a...
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English
0:24
Symmasthesic Agency
This workshop will offer a taste of this complexity-attuned, radically inclusive approach to navigating and meeting real-world dilemmas involving multiple, diverse stakeholders. The approach brings to life a way of invoking 'Symmathesic Agency' (Gardiner, 2022). It has been developed and honed over decades in real-world applications. Following this introduction: If you want to apply this to a...
Contact the Author
English
0:26
Patterns of systemic relationships in change programmes
Programmes are mechanisms used by organisations to meet their strategic objectives in uncertain and complex environments. The programme team operates as a Middle between the Top (investing organisation) and the Bottom (change target). Therefore, the tensions affecting the Middle and their ways of seeing themselves and others as people in contexts have a significant impact on achieving the desired...
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English
0:26
Patterns of systemic relationships in change programmes
Programmes are mechanisms used by organisations to meet their strategic objectives in uncertain and complex environments. The programme team operates as a Middle between the Top (investing organisation) and the Bottom (change target). Therefore, the tensions affecting the Middle and their ways of seeing themselves and others as people in contexts have a significant impact on achieving the desired...
Contact the Author
English
0:21
How might understanding tempo help systemic action in government-community interactions?
Many organisations suffer from reinforcing loops of images, ideas and habits of ever-compressed time horizons which can undermine value-generating activities such as other-regarding care work, cyclical work, and collective imagineering of alternatives. Systems thinking and futures thinking both lend themselves to critical examination of linear and short-term organisational assumptions that...
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English
0:21
How might understanding tempo help systemic action in government-community interactions?
Many organisations suffer from reinforcing loops of images, ideas and habits of ever-compressed time horizons which can undermine value-generating activities such as other-regarding care work, cyclical work, and collective imagineering of alternatives. Systems thinking and futures thinking both lend themselves to critical examination of linear and short-term organisational assumptions that...
Use with Accreditation
English
0:42
Building Systems Thinking capability for Governments
This panel examined how systems thinking can move from growing interest across government into everyday practice. Against a backdrop of devolution, organisational change and complex public challenges, speakers described a public sector rich in skilled people and promising initiatives, yet constrained by departmental silos, separate budgets and measures, short timeframes and established ways of...
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English
0:42
Building Systems Thinking capability for Governments
This panel examined how systems thinking can move from growing interest across government into everyday practice. Against a backdrop of devolution, organisational change and complex public challenges, speakers described a public sector rich in skilled people and promising initiatives, yet constrained by departmental silos, separate budgets and measures, short timeframes and established ways of...
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English
0:24
The Second Law of Technodynamics
Socio-technical systems work within the tension between autonomy and cohesion. Every mechanism of cohesion has an autonomy cost, and some also bring autonomy gains. Cohesion is dynamic and exhibits recurring regularities. One such regularity is concentration. A handful of platforms hold the world's attention, three cloud providers its infrastructure, and one company its chipmaking. Similar...
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English
0:24
The Second Law of Technodynamics
Socio-technical systems work within the tension between autonomy and cohesion. Every mechanism of cohesion has an autonomy cost, and some also bring autonomy gains. Cohesion is dynamic and exhibits recurring regularities. One such regularity is concentration. A handful of platforms hold the world's attention, three cloud providers its infrastructure, and one company its chipmaking. Similar...
Use with Accreditation
English
0:27
Review and Close: Building an inclusive systems practice community
This closing panel reflected on the conference and the community it brings together. Participants valued its warmth, openness and breadth, describing an event shaped by shared inquiry and conversation rather than a single set of expert voices. The range of perspectives—from apprentices and experienced practitioners to academics—created room to explore systems thinking in different ways and to...
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English
0:27
Review and Close: Building an inclusive systems practice community
This closing panel reflected on the conference and the community it brings together. Participants valued its warmth, openness and breadth, describing an event shaped by shared inquiry and conversation rather than a single set of expert voices. The range of perspectives—from apprentices and experienced practitioners to academics—created room to explore systems thinking in different ways and to...
Use with Accreditation
English
0:25
Systems in Symmetry: Symmetry in Systems - Critical Value Balance Theory
Systems Engineering is a well understood process in complex systems delivery and Systems Integration is a well-practiced discipline but an insightful understanding of how to test a systems viability and determine its stability is an immature field. This is largely because systems are complex, variable and nuanced to their context which appears to preclude the establishment of a common (simple)...
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English
0:25
Systems in Symmetry: Symmetry in Systems - Critical Value Balance Theory
Systems Engineering is a well understood process in complex systems delivery and Systems Integration is a well-practiced discipline but an insightful understanding of how to test a systems viability and determine its stability is an immature field. This is largely because systems are complex, variable and nuanced to their context which appears to preclude the establishment of a common (simple)...
Use with Accreditation
English
0:47
Opening Panel - learning systems practice
This panel explored how people come to systems thinking and how they make it useful in practice. Speakers from government, charities, health, construction and academia described varied journeys: some marked by a sudden moment of recognition, others by gradual learning. Across these accounts, systems thinking offered language for experiences that had previously been difficult to explain, and new...
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English
0:47
Opening Panel - learning systems practice
This panel explored how people come to systems thinking and how they make it useful in practice. Speakers from government, charities, health, construction and academia described varied journeys: some marked by a sudden moment of recognition, others by gradual learning. Across these accounts, systems thinking offered language for experiences that had previously been difficult to explain, and new...
Use with Accreditation
English
0:25
Systems, purpose and the pursuit of shared meaning
Words and diagrams are the staple products of systems investigations, but how do we know what these words and diagrams mean to the people we share them with, especially people who weren’t part of the discovery process that generated them? This session will explore some of the reasons we might assume we have shared meaning when we don’t, some simple principles for growing shared meaning when it isn...
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English
0:25
Systems, purpose and the pursuit of shared meaning
Words and diagrams are the staple products of systems investigations, but how do we know what these words and diagrams mean to the people we share them with, especially people who weren’t part of the discovery process that generated them? This session will explore some of the reasons we might assume we have shared meaning when we don’t, some simple principles for growing shared meaning when it isn...
Contact the Author
English
0:23
System Shapes, Orbital Perspectives and Spheres
Reflection from a first-year apprentice on Holism, how zooming in/out can also miss the information required as this perspective can be the same as standing behind something with the same blind spot believing we have changed vie . It leads to discuss systems as conceptual three-dimensional shapes where an orbital perspective could be required and even looking 'up' at a system may reveal...
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Confidential – Members Only
English
0:23
System Shapes, Orbital Perspectives and Spheres
Reflection from a first-year apprentice on Holism, how zooming in/out can also miss the information required as this perspective can be the same as standing behind something with the same blind spot believing we have changed vie . It leads to discuss systems as conceptual three-dimensional shapes where an orbital perspective could be required and even looking 'up' at a system may reveal...
Confidential – Members Only
English
0:15
From a Search for Intrinsic Value to Persistent Systems: The Deductive Development of TEQR
This presentation describes the deductive development of TEQR (Time–Energy–Quality–Risk), a structured framework for interrogating proposed change in persistent systems. Rather than beginning as an attempt to develop a systems methodology, the work originated from an unrelated question in economics: Does intrinsic value exist, and if so, how might it be defined? Following this line of inquiry...
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English
0:15
From a Search for Intrinsic Value to Persistent Systems: The Deductive Development of TEQR
This presentation describes the deductive development of TEQR (Time–Energy–Quality–Risk), a structured framework for interrogating proposed change in persistent systems. Rather than beginning as an attempt to develop a systems methodology, the work originated from an unrelated question in economics: Does intrinsic value exist, and if so, how might it be defined? Following this line of inquiry...
Contact the Author
English
0:31
The application of Deep Uncertainty approaches for strategy design in possible dynamic, high dimensional futures
The world is growing less predictable and more complex. The ability to design long term strategy is increasingly challenging. In recent years, this challenge has led to poor preparedness and handling of crises across finance regarding the impact of complex derivatives and inflationary forecasting; health regarding Covid-19 pandemic preparedness; energy forecasts for economic competitiveness and...
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English
0:31
The application of Deep Uncertainty approaches for strategy design in possible dynamic, high dimensional futures
The world is growing less predictable and more complex. The ability to design long term strategy is increasingly challenging. In recent years, this challenge has led to poor preparedness and handling of crises across finance regarding the impact of complex derivatives and inflationary forecasting; health regarding Covid-19 pandemic preparedness; energy forecasts for economic competitiveness and...
Use with Accreditation
English
0:23
How did it come to this? A systems perspective on crisis incubation
The onset of crises within organisations often appears to be a rapidly emerging event. However, the root causal factors for crises are often deep-seated and incubated within organisational processes and practices. The process of incubation, initially outlined by Barry Turner, can been framed as a mechanism for the generation of vulnerabilities in processes and practices within organisations which...
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English
0:23
How did it come to this? A systems perspective on crisis incubation
The onset of crises within organisations often appears to be a rapidly emerging event. However, the root causal factors for crises are often deep-seated and incubated within organisational processes and practices. The process of incubation, initially outlined by Barry Turner, can been framed as a mechanism for the generation of vulnerabilities in processes and practices within organisations which...
Contact the Author
English
11pp
A Full Software Implementation of the Viable System Model
[talk given at Metaphorum conference Sept 17-19 2026] This paper presents a full software implementation of Stafford Beer's Viable System Model (VSM) as a complete enterprise management system, combining a live demonstration with a discussion of the system's capabilities, the methodologies behind it, and the challenges encountered during development. The system is a stand-alone desktop application...
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English
11pp
A Full Software Implementation of the Viable System Model
[talk given at Metaphorum conference Sept 17-19 2026] This paper presents a full software implementation of Stafford Beer's Viable System Model (VSM) as a complete enterprise management system, combining a live demonstration with a discussion of the system's capabilities, the methodologies behind it, and the challenges encountered during development. The system is a stand-alone desktop application...
English
10pp
Teaching an Organisation to Watch the World
The part of the organisation that looks outward How the “intelligence function” of a living organisation can be built as a working mechanism — and why its hardest problem is deciding what to believe. Every organisation that survives has a part of itself that faces outward — watching the world, imagining futures, and arguing with the part that runs today’s operations. The management thinker...
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English
10pp
Teaching an Organisation to Watch the World
The part of the organisation that looks outward How the “intelligence function” of a living organisation can be built as a working mechanism — and why its hardest problem is deciding what to believe. Every organisation that survives has a part of itself that faces outward — watching the world, imagining futures, and arguing with the part that runs today’s operations. The management thinker...
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English
~7pp
Collective flourishing: shaping better futures together
' Collective Flourishing’ comprises two integrated parts: Collective – encompassing all life on Earth, now and in the future, taking a multi-species, more–than-human perspective, recognising the unique contributions of ‘the collective’ – an emergent property from the inherent complexity of the multitudes of interactions, interdependencies and inter-relationships between individual agents (both...
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English
~7pp
Collective flourishing: shaping better futures together
' Collective Flourishing’ comprises two integrated parts: Collective – encompassing all life on Earth, now and in the future, taking a multi-species, more–than-human perspective, recognising the unique contributions of ‘the collective’ – an emergent property from the inherent complexity of the multitudes of interactions, interdependencies and inter-relationships between individual agents (both...
English
0:49 +Q
"Flywheels", a practical application in the IT function in the insurance industry.
Abstract: Dr Andrea Weierich will present on "Flywheels", introducing a practical application in the IT function in the insurance industry. Enterprises must cope with strategy and decision-making processes in view of dynamic markets, accelerating technical developments in IT, and a variety of internal cooperations. From a business perspective, the focus is on how to stabilise the “flywheels” of...
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English
0:49 +Q
"Flywheels", a practical application in the IT function in the insurance industry.
Abstract: Dr Andrea Weierich will present on "Flywheels", introducing a practical application in the IT function in the insurance industry. Enterprises must cope with strategy and decision-making processes in view of dynamic markets, accelerating technical developments in IT, and a variety of internal cooperations. From a business perspective, the focus is on how to stabilise the “flywheels” of...
Use with Accreditation
English
0:49
Introducing the background and the methodological aspects of Frederic Vester's planning and management tool, the “Sensitivity Model"
Abstract: Gabriele Harrer-Puchner introduces the background and the methodological aspects of Frederic Vester's planning and management tool, the “Sensitivity Model". Based on his early biocybernetic approach of "systemic, interconnected thinking" (Vester 1988), Vester and his teams developed a structured, computer-assisted, iterative process that has been applied and continuously improved (Vester...
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English
0:49
Introducing the background and the methodological aspects of Frederic Vester's planning and management tool, the “Sensitivity Model"
Abstract: Gabriele Harrer-Puchner introduces the background and the methodological aspects of Frederic Vester's planning and management tool, the “Sensitivity Model". Based on his early biocybernetic approach of "systemic, interconnected thinking" (Vester 1988), Vester and his teams developed a structured, computer-assisted, iterative process that has been applied and continuously improved (Vester...
Contact the Author
English
8pp
Seeing the Whole System: A CSH Perspective on the Ockenden Report
This document presents a brief Critical Systems Heuristics (CSH) interpretation of the Ockenden Report (2026): Findings, Conclusions and Essential Actions from the Independent Review of Maternity Services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. Rather than simply summarising findings, this uses Werner Ulrich’s twelve boundary questions to examine the assumptions about purpose, power...
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English
8pp
Seeing the Whole System: A CSH Perspective on the Ockenden Report
This document presents a brief Critical Systems Heuristics (CSH) interpretation of the Ockenden Report (2026): Findings, Conclusions and Essential Actions from the Independent Review of Maternity Services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. Rather than simply summarising findings, this uses Werner Ulrich’s twelve boundary questions to examine the assumptions about purpose, power...
English
Cybernetic System Design for a Complex World: The Variety Calculus
RRP: £32.99; Paperback: 244pp; Publisher: Routledge; ISBN 978-1041166245. Cybernetic System Design for a Complex World has profound implications for leaders and decision-makers in any sector struggling to achieve clarity and agency in today’s complex and dynamic world. This book provides the means to tailor organisations, capabilities, and technologies to their specific operating environments...
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English
Cybernetic System Design for a Complex World: The Variety Calculus
RRP: £32.99; Paperback: 244pp; Publisher: Routledge; ISBN 978-1041166245. Cybernetic System Design for a Complex World has profound implications for leaders and decision-makers in any sector struggling to achieve clarity and agency in today’s complex and dynamic world. This book provides the means to tailor organisations, capabilities, and technologies to their specific operating environments...
English
0:48
Is safety breaking the Laws?
Health & Safety, the derogatory term used to describe everything associated with preventing work from being done. Why is this so? Because the clipboard wielding, hi-viz wearing workplace safety inspectors with limited emotional intelligence (or actual capabilities to do a real job) have been trained in the application of systematic rules and procedures. Unfortunately, this focus on compliance to...
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English
0:48
Is safety breaking the Laws?
Health & Safety, the derogatory term used to describe everything associated with preventing work from being done. Why is this so? Because the clipboard wielding, hi-viz wearing workplace safety inspectors with limited emotional intelligence (or actual capabilities to do a real job) have been trained in the application of systematic rules and procedures. Unfortunately, this focus on compliance to...
Use with Accreditation
English
00:19
Cross-institutional Community of Practice of Communities of Practice (CoP of CoPs)
How might Communities of Practice extend their learning beyond organisational boundaries? This session builds on a long-lived systemic inquiry within The Open University’s Systems Thinking in Practice (STiP) Community of Practice, reflecting on a year of collaboratively developing systemic capability. Drawing on recent insights, it explores an emerging direction: towards a cross-institutional...
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English
00:19
Cross-institutional Community of Practice of Communities of Practice (CoP of CoPs)
How might Communities of Practice extend their learning beyond organisational boundaries? This session builds on a long-lived systemic inquiry within The Open University’s Systems Thinking in Practice (STiP) Community of Practice, reflecting on a year of collaboratively developing systemic capability. Drawing on recent insights, it explores an emerging direction: towards a cross-institutional...
Use with Accreditation
English
Pulp System: Cybernetic Fables for Human Attention Spans
RRP: £11.99; Paperback: 229pp; Publisher: Big White Shed; ISBN 978-1915021519. "Pulp System" is the first work of fiction by Beltis Steamburton, a "synthetic persona with more interest in Systems Thinking than storytelling craft". In over thirty pieces, 'pulp' conventions are harnessed to explore cybernetic themes: Corporate sentience, ordinary characters in endless feedback loops, disloyal Al...
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English
Pulp System: Cybernetic Fables for Human Attention Spans
RRP: £11.99; Paperback: 229pp; Publisher: Big White Shed; ISBN 978-1915021519. "Pulp System" is the first work of fiction by Beltis Steamburton, a "synthetic persona with more interest in Systems Thinking than storytelling craft". In over thirty pieces, 'pulp' conventions are harnessed to explore cybernetic themes: Corporate sentience, ordinary characters in endless feedback loops, disloyal Al...
English
18pp
Bottom-Up Makes Top-Down
Introduction: The Problem of Organisational Design in a Complex World Across contemporary political, economic, and social landscapes, we see institutions struggling to cope with the complexity of the environments in which they operate. Political systems fail to address entrenched social issues; public services buckle under the weight of competing demands; businesses oscillate between over...
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English
18pp
Bottom-Up Makes Top-Down
Introduction: The Problem of Organisational Design in a Complex World Across contemporary political, economic, and social landscapes, we see institutions struggling to cope with the complexity of the environments in which they operate. Political systems fail to address entrenched social issues; public services buckle under the weight of competing demands; businesses oscillate between over...
English
The Fractal Organisation Manual: How to diagnose & design organisations using the Viable System Model
RRP: £12.99; Paperback: 192 pp; Publisher: SCiO; ISBN 979-8250847018 In a world of increasing turbulence, the need has never been greater for knowing how to build systems capable of maintaining their viability when all around them is change. This is a follow up to the Fractal Organization published by Wiley almost twenty years ago. It provides practical guidance on ways to use the Viable...
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English
The Fractal Organisation Manual: How to diagnose & design organisations using the Viable System Model
RRP: £12.99; Paperback: 192 pp; Publisher: SCiO; ISBN 979-8250847018 In a world of increasing turbulence, the need has never been greater for knowing how to build systems capable of maintaining their viability when all around them is change. This is a follow up to the Fractal Organization published by Wiley almost twenty years ago. It provides practical guidance on ways to use the Viable...
English
12pp
Understanding and Achieving Systemic Governance: Lessons from Finland
We stand at a critical juncture in human history. The climate emergency, biodiversity collapse, and mounting social inequalities demand governance capable of navigating complexity and uncertainty. Yet most governments still operate with hierarchical, control based systems designed for a simpler world that no longer exists. Between December 2024 and May 2025, we conducted a systemic co-inquiry in...
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English
12pp
Understanding and Achieving Systemic Governance: Lessons from Finland
We stand at a critical juncture in human history. The climate emergency, biodiversity collapse, and mounting social inequalities demand governance capable of navigating complexity and uncertainty. Yet most governments still operate with hierarchical, control based systems designed for a simpler world that no longer exists. Between December 2024 and May 2025, we conducted a systemic co-inquiry in...
Contact the Author
English
15pp
Reframing Public Services in Ireland as a Relational Practice
This paper makes the case for reframing public services in Ireland as Relational Public Services (RPS) that take a Human Learning Systems Approach (HLS), which describes a way of organising viable services built around relationships and collective learning, as distinct from transactions, targets and standardised processes. The approach centres on developing an understanding of complexity, raising...
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English
15pp
Reframing Public Services in Ireland as a Relational Practice
This paper makes the case for reframing public services in Ireland as Relational Public Services (RPS) that take a Human Learning Systems Approach (HLS), which describes a way of organising viable services built around relationships and collective learning, as distinct from transactions, targets and standardised processes. The approach centres on developing an understanding of complexity, raising...
English
Methods for Systems Thinking: 65+ Practical Approaches for Exploring Systems, Perspectives, and Complexity
RRP: £28.85; Paperback: 270 pp; Publisher: Routledge; ISBN 978-1041111719 Methods for Systems Thinking is a practical workbook with more than 65 methods you can apply right away. It helps you explore complex systems, involve the right people, and respond effectively to change. The QuickStart Guide shows you where to begin. You can start with the short theory section, use the 5M Methods Matrix...
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English
Methods for Systems Thinking: 65+ Practical Approaches for Exploring Systems, Perspectives, and Complexity
RRP: £28.85; Paperback: 270 pp; Publisher: Routledge; ISBN 978-1041111719 Methods for Systems Thinking is a practical workbook with more than 65 methods you can apply right away. It helps you explore complex systems, involve the right people, and respond effectively to change. The QuickStart Guide shows you where to begin. You can start with the short theory section, use the 5M Methods Matrix...
German
0:21
Interaktive Buchvorstellung von "Methods for Systems Thinking"
Es ist ein praxisorientiertes Arbeitsbuch mit über 65 Methoden, um komplexe Systeme zu verstehen und effektiv auf Veränderungen zu reagieren. Die Methoden sind nach ihrem Zweck in der 5M-Struktur (Motivate, Meet, Map, Make, Manage) sortiert und bieten jeweils eine kompakte Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitung für die direkte Anwendung. Das Buch erscheint am 27.02.2026 in englischer Sprache.
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German
0:21
Interaktive Buchvorstellung von "Methods for Systems Thinking"
Es ist ein praxisorientiertes Arbeitsbuch mit über 65 Methoden, um komplexe Systeme zu verstehen und effektiv auf Veränderungen zu reagieren. Die Methoden sind nach ihrem Zweck in der 5M-Struktur (Motivate, Meet, Map, Make, Manage) sortiert und bieten jeweils eine kompakte Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitung für die direkte Anwendung. Das Buch erscheint am 27.02.2026 in englischer Sprache.
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English
14pp
Pharmaceutical pollution from health care: a systems-based strategy for mitigating risks to public and environmental health
Published in The Lancet - Planetary Health - FREE DOWNLOAD ALL AUTHORS: Kelly Thornber, Matthew Bentham, Sharon Pfleger, Claas Kirchhelle, Fiona Adshead, Stewart Owen, Hayden Holmes, A Ross Brown, Caroline Farmer, Min Na Eii, Lydia Niemi, Lara Wöhler, Edward C F Wilson, Matthew J Wade, Wendy Tyler-Batt, Matthew Taylor, Georgina Sowman, Paul Southall, Richard Smith, Carol Routledge, John Redshaw...
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English
14pp
Pharmaceutical pollution from health care: a systems-based strategy for mitigating risks to public and environmental health
Published in The Lancet - Planetary Health - FREE DOWNLOAD ALL AUTHORS: Kelly Thornber, Matthew Bentham, Sharon Pfleger, Claas Kirchhelle, Fiona Adshead, Stewart Owen, Hayden Holmes, A Ross Brown, Caroline Farmer, Min Na Eii, Lydia Niemi, Lara Wöhler, Edward C F Wilson, Matthew J Wade, Wendy Tyler-Batt, Matthew Taylor, Georgina Sowman, Paul Southall, Richard Smith, Carol Routledge, John Redshaw...
English
SSM Case Study
Developing and embedding an ecosystem map for the UK National Measurement System (NMS) at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) using Soft Systems Methodology (SSM).
PROJECT Developing and embedding an ecosystem map for the UK National Measurement System (NMS) at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) using Soft Systems Methodology (SSM). PRACTITIONER Thomas Rowe, Systems Thinking Impact Manager, National Physical Laboratory SITUATION AND CONTEXT The UK’s NMS is a ~£100m per annum programme delivered on behalf of the Department for Science, Innovation and...
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English
SSM Case Study
Developing and embedding an ecosystem map for the UK National Measurement System (NMS) at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) using Soft Systems Methodology (SSM).
PROJECT Developing and embedding an ecosystem map for the UK National Measurement System (NMS) at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) using Soft Systems Methodology (SSM). PRACTITIONER Thomas Rowe, Systems Thinking Impact Manager, National Physical Laboratory SITUATION AND CONTEXT The UK’s NMS is a ~£100m per annum programme delivered on behalf of the Department for Science, Innovation and...
English
0:24 +Q
Using SSM to consider the best way to regulate a construction product
This report applies Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) to examine how a construction product can be effectively regulated under the UK Construction Products Regulation 2011 (CPR). This product is safety‑critical and increasing volumes of imports —combined with a complex post‑EU‑exit regulatory framework—create challenges for ensuring product compliance. The study explores issues across the supply...
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Use with Accreditation
English
0:24 +Q
Using SSM to consider the best way to regulate a construction product
This report applies Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) to examine how a construction product can be effectively regulated under the UK Construction Products Regulation 2011 (CPR). This product is safety‑critical and increasing volumes of imports —combined with a complex post‑EU‑exit regulatory framework—create challenges for ensuring product compliance. The study explores issues across the supply...
Use with Accreditation
English
0:31 +Q
Using SSM to support and engage colleagues in times of organisational change
This presentation reflects on using Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) to reshape risk management in a complex environmental organisation, Natural England. Tasked with delivering reforms and increasing risk-based decision-making, the team used rich pictures, conceptual models, and iterative exercises to navigate ambiguity, surface organizational tensions, and align stakeholders around risk...
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Use with Accreditation
English
0:31 +Q
Using SSM to support and engage colleagues in times of organisational change
This presentation reflects on using Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) to reshape risk management in a complex environmental organisation, Natural England. Tasked with delivering reforms and increasing risk-based decision-making, the team used rich pictures, conceptual models, and iterative exercises to navigate ambiguity, surface organizational tensions, and align stakeholders around risk...
Use with Accreditation
Finnish
Ihmiskeskeinen vaikuttavuuslaskenta – mistä vipuvarret systeemin muutokseen?
Miksi jotkut organisaatiot onnistuvat muuttamaan kokonaisia systeemejä, kun toiset jäävät yksittäisten toimenpiteiden tasolle? Pekka Lavila (Synesis, ImpactorX) esittelee menetelmän, jossa yhdistyvät systeeminen ajattelu, perinteinen tutkimustieto, kokemustieto ja taloudelliset vaikutukset. Lähestymistapa auttaa organisaatioita tunnistamaan kompleksisten ongelmien – kuten segregaation –...
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Finnish
Ihmiskeskeinen vaikuttavuuslaskenta – mistä vipuvarret systeemin muutokseen?
Miksi jotkut organisaatiot onnistuvat muuttamaan kokonaisia systeemejä, kun toiset jäävät yksittäisten toimenpiteiden tasolle? Pekka Lavila (Synesis, ImpactorX) esittelee menetelmän, jossa yhdistyvät systeeminen ajattelu, perinteinen tutkimustieto, kokemustieto ja taloudelliset vaikutukset. Lähestymistapa auttaa organisaatioita tunnistamaan kompleksisten ongelmien – kuten segregaation –...
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German
Systemisch-vernetztes Denken und Sustainability-Transformation
RRP: £45; Paperback: 395pp; Publisher: Springer Gabler; ISBN 978-3658486440 Dieses Buch bietet eine Darstellung von Frederic Vesters einflussreichen Arbeiten zum systemischen Denken und zur Sustainability-Transformation. Anlässlich des 100. Geburtstages dieses visionären Vordenkers versammelt der Band aktuelle Beiträge von Kolleginnen und Kollegen, Mitstreitern, Freunden und kritischen...
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German
Systemisch-vernetztes Denken und Sustainability-Transformation
RRP: £45; Paperback: 395pp; Publisher: Springer Gabler; ISBN 978-3658486440 Dieses Buch bietet eine Darstellung von Frederic Vesters einflussreichen Arbeiten zum systemischen Denken und zur Sustainability-Transformation. Anlässlich des 100. Geburtstages dieses visionären Vordenkers versammelt der Band aktuelle Beiträge von Kolleginnen und Kollegen, Mitstreitern, Freunden und kritischen...
English
0:25 +Q
New Horizons for VSM
This talk argues that the Viable System Model (VSM) can be strengthened by integrating social-constructivist approaches that address the human complexity of organizations. Drawing on career experience and case studies from utilities, healthcare, and large-scale mergers, it shows how meaning-making, relationships, power dynamics, and emotional pressures shape organizational viability as much as...
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English
0:25 +Q
New Horizons for VSM
This talk argues that the Viable System Model (VSM) can be strengthened by integrating social-constructivist approaches that address the human complexity of organizations. Drawing on career experience and case studies from utilities, healthcare, and large-scale mergers, it shows how meaning-making, relationships, power dynamics, and emotional pressures shape organizational viability as much as...
Contact the Author
English
0:27 +Q
The Value of Multi-Methodology and Adaptive Approaches in Complex Systems
This talk explores the value of multiple-methodology practice in navigating real-world complexity within children’s and adults’ social care. Drawing on a live intervention in Somerset’s Dementia Wellbeing Service—a partnership of 67 organizations—the presentation shows how shifting conditions, limited engagement, power imbalances, and hidden cultural boundaries required an adaptive and dynamic...
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English
0:27 +Q
The Value of Multi-Methodology and Adaptive Approaches in Complex Systems
This talk explores the value of multiple-methodology practice in navigating real-world complexity within children’s and adults’ social care. Drawing on a live intervention in Somerset’s Dementia Wellbeing Service—a partnership of 67 organizations—the presentation shows how shifting conditions, limited engagement, power imbalances, and hidden cultural boundaries required an adaptive and dynamic...
Contact the Author
English
0:39 +Q
Pacing Changes: Seeing Living Systems as Rhythms
How do you approach systems change when there’s no “pause” button? This presentation shifts how we see systems: from the default spatial-static to a more processual-dynamic perspective. We integrate concepts drawn from this living systems perspective found in anthropology, architecture, and classical Chinese medicine, amongst others. Pacing Changes is introduced as a method for working with the...
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English
0:39 +Q
Pacing Changes: Seeing Living Systems as Rhythms
How do you approach systems change when there’s no “pause” button? This presentation shifts how we see systems: from the default spatial-static to a more processual-dynamic perspective. We integrate concepts drawn from this living systems perspective found in anthropology, architecture, and classical Chinese medicine, amongst others. Pacing Changes is introduced as a method for working with the...
Contact the Author
German
1:26
Management-Kybernetik als allgemeiner Rahmen für die erfolgreiche Umsetzung von Lean Management
Zahlreiche Lean-Transformationsprojekte scheitern oder erreichen nicht die gewünschte Performance und/oder Tragfähigkeit, die für eine nachhaltige Umsetzung des Lean Managements erforderlich ist. Es gibt jedoch einige Faktoren, die die erfolgreiche Umsetzung des Lean Managements im Tagesgeschäft unterstützen. Dazu zählen nach Ansicht der Autoren die Managementkybernetik und insbesondere das Viable...
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German
1:26
Management-Kybernetik als allgemeiner Rahmen für die erfolgreiche Umsetzung von Lean Management
Zahlreiche Lean-Transformationsprojekte scheitern oder erreichen nicht die gewünschte Performance und/oder Tragfähigkeit, die für eine nachhaltige Umsetzung des Lean Managements erforderlich ist. Es gibt jedoch einige Faktoren, die die erfolgreiche Umsetzung des Lean Managements im Tagesgeschäft unterstützen. Dazu zählen nach Ansicht der Autoren die Managementkybernetik und insbesondere das Viable...
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English
0:25
Systems diagramming: Experiences of inviting people to draw
Kevin Collins, Senior Lecturer at the Open University, explores the value of systems diagramming as a tool for thinking, learning, and communicating about complex issues. Through examples ranging from classroom activities on “drought” to historical cases like Darwin’s tree of life, he shows how diagrams help surface assumptions, emotions, and framings, making mental models visible and open to...
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English
0:25
Systems diagramming: Experiences of inviting people to draw
Kevin Collins, Senior Lecturer at the Open University, explores the value of systems diagramming as a tool for thinking, learning, and communicating about complex issues. Through examples ranging from classroom activities on “drought” to historical cases like Darwin’s tree of life, he shows how diagrams help surface assumptions, emotions, and framings, making mental models visible and open to...
Use with Accreditation
English
0:49
Professionalising the Systems Thinking Practitioner: Navigating structure determinism? - keynote at SysPrac25
Interim abstract: Professionalizing the systems thinking practitioner: navigating structure determinism? builds on the ideas of Maturana, Checkland, and Vickers emphasising that systems are shaped by their structures, which both enable and limit change. Ray reflects on the Open University’s contributions to systems education, including postgraduate programs, and stresses the importance of systemic...
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English
0:49
Professionalising the Systems Thinking Practitioner: Navigating structure determinism? - keynote at SysPrac25
Interim abstract: Professionalizing the systems thinking practitioner: navigating structure determinism? builds on the ideas of Maturana, Checkland, and Vickers emphasising that systems are shaped by their structures, which both enable and limit change. Ray reflects on the Open University’s contributions to systems education, including postgraduate programs, and stresses the importance of systemic...
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English
0:22
Overcoming the boundaries between stakeholders for project success
Failure to identify the right stakeholder at the right stage of a project creates a likely risk the project will fail. The stakeholders are the providers of the support needed by the project, be it resources, knowledge, or consent. Not identifying may lead to incorrect assumptions and hidden barriers impacting time, cost and quality. The Stakeholder environment is usually complex and is...
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English
0:22
Overcoming the boundaries between stakeholders for project success
Failure to identify the right stakeholder at the right stage of a project creates a likely risk the project will fail. The stakeholders are the providers of the support needed by the project, be it resources, knowledge, or consent. Not identifying may lead to incorrect assumptions and hidden barriers impacting time, cost and quality. The Stakeholder environment is usually complex and is...
Contact the Author
English
0:24
Making Missions Possible with Systems Thinking
This talk explores the critical role of systems thinking in achieving mission success. The presentation highlights the necessity of applying systems thinking approaches to tackle the UK government's five major missions under its Plan for Change. Unlike traditional projects that focus on specific, concrete objectives, missions require a systems approach to address long-term, complex challenges. The...
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English
0:24
Making Missions Possible with Systems Thinking
This talk explores the critical role of systems thinking in achieving mission success. The presentation highlights the necessity of applying systems thinking approaches to tackle the UK government's five major missions under its Plan for Change. Unlike traditional projects that focus on specific, concrete objectives, missions require a systems approach to address long-term, complex challenges. The...
Use with Accreditation
English
0:11
Regulatory Strategy Design in the Construction Products Sector
This talk explores how systems thinking and participatory modelling were applied to strategy design in the UK construction products sector following systemic failures revealed by the Grenfell Tower fire. The speaker, bridging research and practice through a PhD and consultancy, emphasizes that the quality of information feeding strategy processes is a critical leverage point often overlooked...
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English
0:11
Regulatory Strategy Design in the Construction Products Sector
This talk explores how systems thinking and participatory modelling were applied to strategy design in the UK construction products sector following systemic failures revealed by the Grenfell Tower fire. The speaker, bridging research and practice through a PhD and consultancy, emphasizes that the quality of information feeding strategy processes is a critical leverage point often overlooked...
Contact the Author
English
System Dynamics (SD) - workshop at SysPrac25
This is the material for the hands-on workshop on how to build a system dynamics model. If you follow the step-by-step instructions, you will get a long way with actually creating a working model of your own, these slides point to a complete version of that model and the slideshow shows every step in turn.
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English
System Dynamics (SD) - workshop at SysPrac25
This is the material for the hands-on workshop on how to build a system dynamics model. If you follow the step-by-step instructions, you will get a long way with actually creating a working model of your own, these slides point to a complete version of that model and the slideshow shows every step in turn.
Contact the Author
English
0:14
Building a flywheel with an IT leadership team - Using Vester's Sensitivity Model to improve IT application cost dynamics
This presentation introduces a practical approach to building organizational momentum in IT leadership teams by combining the flywheel concept with Frederic Vester’s sensitivity model. Drawing on over two decades of leadership experience in corporate IT and Amazon Web Services, Andrea Weierich explores how systemic methods can help IT functions—often under cost, service, and complexity pressures...
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English
0:14
Building a flywheel with an IT leadership team - Using Vester's Sensitivity Model to improve IT application cost dynamics
This presentation introduces a practical approach to building organizational momentum in IT leadership teams by combining the flywheel concept with Frederic Vester’s sensitivity model. Drawing on over two decades of leadership experience in corporate IT and Amazon Web Services, Andrea Weierich explores how systemic methods can help IT functions—often under cost, service, and complexity pressures...
Use with Accreditation