Books, Articles and Newsletters

This talk offers a candid exploration of systems thinking within the UK Government, delivered from the unique perspective of a senior civil servant. Drawing on practical examples such as natural flood risk management and the Troubled Families programme, the speaker illustrates both the power and the challenges of applying systemic approaches to complex public sector problems. The abstract...

PROJECT A Soft and Critical Systems approach exploring Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) challenges in a Research Project Team PRACTITIONER Emilia Slawkowska APPROX. DATE 2023/24 SITUATION AND CONTEXT EDI implementation requires a holistic and systematic approach addressing root causes whilst setting clear goals and providing actionable solutions. This intervention focused on a Research...

Using a causal loop diagram for designing points of intervention in the OODA Loop to enhance the competencies for protecting yourself, other around you and your business. Translating this into a non-systems model for designing the training delivery of the competencies for a non-systems thinking participants. (Bringing safety into systems thinking and taking systems thinking into safety).

The workshop “ Humanizing Systems” invited participants to explore how organizations can shift from a mechanistic focus on efficiency toward regenerative ways of working. Drawing on your book Humanizing the Corporation: A Regenerative Leadership Playbook, Jan introduced how systems theory and developmental science reveal that collaboration emerges not from alignment alone, but from the dynamic...

In complex organisational systems, the perspectives we choose to include—or exclude—shape the quality and fairness of our decisions. This workshop introduces participants to Critical Systems Heuristics (CSH) and the use of boundary judgements to make sense of selectivity and partiality in system design and change. Through the Calls4U case study, participants explore how innovation and AI adoption...

PROJECT Designing for Viability in a Politically Constrained System: A Multi-Method Intervention in Timetable Production PRACTITIONER Mike Jones, LBI Consulting CONTEXT Following the 2018 timetable crisis, Timetable Production (TTP) suffered persistent dysfunction: fragmented structure, firefighting culture, weak coordination, and a lack of strategic foresight. Despite previous restructures...

This research investigates why post-occupancy evaluation (POE) is not mainstream practice in the built environment, despite its potential to bridge the gap between building design expectations and real-world performance. Buildings often fail to deliver on energy efficiency, comfort, and usability, yet systemic barriers—including supply chain fragmentation, short-term contracting, weak...

This talk first outlines the practice of systemic investing, and then presents the capabilities, limitations, so-called externalities, and rhetorical framings of AI in general. On this basis, the ways in which AI is both conceptually and empirically able to augment the practice of systemic investing is then presented, highlighting the tensions that result from AI augmentations, and concluding with...

PROJECT Applying insight from Systems Laws to challenge thinking on, and service design for, the Multiple Disadvantage system. PRACTITIONER Gavin Roberts DATE 2023-2025 CONTEXT AND SYSTEM OF INTEREST (SOI) Multiple Disadvantage (MD) refers to experiencing several complex issues simultaneously, such as homelessness, substance use, mental health challenges ( see article attachment for figures)...

James Stauch spoke about his recently published book, The 55 Minutes, the title of which draws inspiration from Albert Einstein's aphorism about spending 55 minutes defining a problem. The book helps fill a gap between scholarly insight - which can be less accessible to practitioners - and the experience-informed practice of systems understanding within a wide range of organizational, industry...

Patrick and Mike held an informal 'fireside chat' on the future of systems thinking, blending humour with serious reflection. They traced the development of the field using adoption life-cycle models, noting the shift from early innovators and visionaries to a broader, more risk-averse early majority. A central theme was the tension between accessibility and depth: for systems thinking to reach...

Dennis Fishbacher-Smith, drawing on experience as both an academic and practitioner in government, health, and resilience, explores how organizations handle crises, information, and weak signals. He argues that crises are often self-generated through managerial failures to recognize and act on early warnings, and that human factors—awareness, competence, and commitment—are central to information...

PROJECT Patterns of Strategy: partnering in a tender process INTERVENTION CONTEXT VM is small consultancy that helps clients create organisational change through visual thinking and semantic data. One of our public infrastructure clients put out a tender for five-year packages of work to support their digital teams. The tender touched on work we currently delivered, with packages of work so large...

Chris describes how his research explores means of introducing systems thinking to professionals from diverse disciplines as they begin their learning journeys. The support of community is a vital ingredient as they begin building the capability to help their organisations work more effectively with complex challenges, however this presentation emphasises how learning can be guided by contextual...

In this presentation, I set out to show how we might reframe the relationship between humans and artificial intelligence by using systems thinking and quantum-informed perspectives. Rather than treating AI as a standalone optimisation tool, I argued for a view of AI as a co-evolving partner within socio-technical systems. I drew on critical systems methods, rich pictures, and system dynamics...

PROJECT Let’s Talk Safety - Bringing Safety into Systems Thinking, and Systems Thinking into Safety PRACTITIONER Robin Stowell (Apprentice) SITUATION AND CONTEXT The traditional occupational safety profession is largely dominated by a reductionist risk management paradigm. This conventional approach focuses heavily on hazard identification, risk registers, regulatory compliance, and post-incident...

RRP: £12.99; Paperback: ‎ 249 pp; Publisher: ‎ SCiO (2nd edition); ISBN 979-8298960878 2nd edition: If you feel as though the world has become more complex, you are not alone. There is a growing realisation of the need to deal with the complexity, uncertainty and speed of change of our world. These systemic factors increase the challenge for all of us and expose some traditional approaches which...

This talk explores a new interpretation and extends Beer’s VSM model towards the application of social change in times of turbulence and uncertainty. Inspired by music design theory, this talk highlights the importance of creativity and finding your instrument for social innovation. Despair need not flourish. https://www.kim-mclear.com/

Translating Systems Thinking into practical, real-world applications can be challenging. How can we collaboratively create outcomes that are compelling enough to influence policy, or accessible enough for widespread adoption? What process can we follow to form systemic maps and transform these into actionable blueprints? In this session, Teun will guide us through the process of participatory...

Values in Action is a hands-on, thought-provoking and practical workbook designed to equip people with tools to explore, question, and strengthen the ethical and practical foundations of their and others' decision-making. The purpose of the workbook is to enable you and others make well-grounded claims that whatever you are doing is the right thing to do. That claim to ‘rightness’ is, individually...

Transformationen wirksam begleiten zu können, erfordert inhärente Komplexität anzuerkennen und einen konstruktiven Umgang damit zu finden. In diesem Vortrag beleuchten wir die Prinzipien unserer Wahrnehmung und entdecken gemeinsam ein von C. S. Holling inspiriertes Modell organisatorischer Weiterentwicklung. Wir betrachten wie präzise Sprache und bewusste Perspektivwechsel entscheidend dazu...

PROJECT Cultural inquiry and complexity PRACTITIONER Benjamin Taylor, RedQuadrant APPROX. DATE 2017–ongoing SITUATION AND CONTEXT Many clients asked for ‘culture change’—but didn’t know what culture was or how it changed. Existing tools were either superficial or overly rigid. SYSTEM OF INTEREST Organisational culture as a dynamic, emergent system shaped by behaviours, stories, systems, and power...

RRP: £18.41; Paperback: ‎ 572 pp; Publisher: ‎ Atco Spacelab; ISBN 978-1069483508 - also available as a FREE pdf download, follow link Albert Einstein is credited with saying, "If I had an hour to solve a problem, I'd spend fifty-five minutes thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about solutions." This book is about how to use those metaphorical first fifty-five minutes wisely. If...

FREE to download 120 pp Publisher: SCiO Publishing This book provides a very brief introduction to the topic of complexity and its application in various disciplines such as science, systems theory, cybernetics, management, and more. It presents fundamental theories and models that deepen the understanding of dynamics, interactions, and patterns in complex systems. Contributions by important...

Organisations are “social activity systems”. People come together and create a system to produce products and services for other people to benefit from, either for the purposes of financial and/or social gain. This talk is about how we design these systems and on the discipline of Business Architecture and Target Operating Model design, or what is often today referred to as “Enterprise Design”...

FREE to download ‎ 120 pp Publisher: ‎ SCiO Publishing Dieses Buch bietet eine sehr kurze Einführung in das Themengebiet Komplexität und deren Anwendung in verschiedenen Disziplinen wie Naturwissenschaften, Systemtheorie, Kybernetik, Management und mehr. Es stellt grundlegende Theorien und Modelle vor, die das Verständnis von Dynamiken, Interaktionen und Mustern in komplexen Systemen vertiefen...

Steve looks into the operations space of service management systems where the user interfaces with the organisation. The focus is on three particular 'services': IT services, car repairs, and healthcare; and shows the similarities and differences in how they manage the different types of 'repair' (cybernetic) loops. Of particular interest is how the user is drawn into the organisation for these...

Ray Ison is Professor Emeritus of Systems at the UK Open University (OU), where he has contributed to systems thinking and practice since 1994. He played a key role in OU’s Systems Thinking in Practice (STiP) program, leading research, teaching, and the professionalization of Systems Thinking Practitioner Apprenticeships. His research spans sustainability, governance, and learning systems...

Kari Mikkelä, M.Sc (Tech), Executive Producer, Urban Mill Innovation Platform; Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Aalto University Kari Mikkelä has over 30 years of academic, corporate, and NGO experience in learning, innovation, and business services. During his career, he has worked in and for several organizations in a variety of capacities specialized in...

Tim Logan is Partner at Good Impact Labs, an education leader, connector and facilitator. Tim moves projects from innovative learning design to effectively executing ideas on the ground, swiftly. Bringing his extensive learnings and insights from a global career in youth work, teaching, school leadership and consultancy, Tim has worked with prominent clients around the world to develop new and...

The images may be used and shared, provided that the author is credited as Annika Varjonen / Visual Impact and the name of the event – Learning Finland? Systemic Challenges and Opportunities – is mentioned alongside.

Dr. Piret Tõnurist is a senior programme manager at the OECD, Observatory of Public Sector Innovation (OPSI), GOV/INDIGO. She leads OECD’s work on government innovation and is the co-founder of the cross-directorate Mission Action Lab. In previous years she managed OPSI’s work programme on systems thinking and created the work stream on anticipatory governance. Piret holds a research fellowship at...

As systems evolve – whether cognitive, organizational, or societal – they must be organized according to a logic that matches the complexity of their environment, the epistemic capacity of their agents, and the metaphysical stance through which meaning is made. In this presentation, Dr. Janne J. Korhonen introduces the concept of Vertical Multiparadigmatism: a framework that weaves together four...

Wie können Unternehmen über Nachhaltigkeit hinausgehen und aktiv zur Regeneration ökologischer, sozialer und wirtschaftlicher Systeme beitragen? Und worin liegt überhaupt der Unterschied zwischen Nachhaltigkeit und Regeneration? Dieser Vortrag beleuchtet Grundlagen, aber auch Hebel und Ansätze die Organisationen nutzen können, um diesen Wandel in ihren Strukturen und Prozessen zu verankern. Marcel...

RRP: £18; Paperback: ‎ 267 pp; Publisher: ‎ Agendashift Press; ISBN 978-1068443602 How do leaders at all scales of organisation create the conditions for innovation, excellence, and performance? Initial clues are to be found in the Wholehearted organisation – one that recognises the leadership of those who find the right challenges to engage with, invite others into that process, and celebrate...

Systems thinking is interpreted differently depending on perception and context, yet identifying its fundamentals is crucial. If it has evolved into a “brand name” for a way of thinking—both intuitive and learnable—then certain core elements must be present for it to hold meaning, much like a hoover must clean and store dirt. However, no definitive definition exists, and a universal one is...

Peter shares his experience from over thirty years of systems thinking practice majoring on the use and application of system dynamics modelling in the health and care sector with a focus on the place that Causal Loop Diagrams have played in that work. He will cover its contribution to introducing people to systems thinking as it supports system dynamics modelling and its application in...

Historically, practitioners have often relied on a single familiar approach based on their training, education, or personal biases. However, systems practitioners possess a variety of systems approaches, leading to the question: which approach should be used for what purpose and why? This session explores various methods for selecting and utilising multiple systems approaches in real-world...

Social learning is a set of principles, activities and behaviours, relating to how people collaborate and co-operate to learn in a variety of situations within institutional and organisational structures. This brief introduction explores its principles and methods, as well as providing an illustration of how it has been applied in a micro-enterprise environment, where individuals or small...

Psychological safety—feeling safe to be oneself, take risks, and speak candidly—has been predominantly instrumentalised as a tool for driving innovation and profit in organisations. This presentation argues for a fundamental shift in perspective: feeling safe is a basic human right, not merely a means to an end. The current focus on staff dynamics often overlooks service recipients, creating an...

"Opening the Box: Systems Thinking for Transformative Conversations" delves into the core principles of systems thinking, offering practical insights to help individuals and organizations navigate complexity. Authored by Jan De Visch, Miguel Pantaleon, Namrata Arora and Tony Korycki, this book promises to be an invaluable resource for anyone interested in understanding and applying systems...

Gavin Roberts and Carla Owen give an enlightening talk on the power of logical frameworks. They explore a range of systems concepts to position logical frameworks – or logframes – within a broader systems context, including PQRs, laddering, and Gregory Bateson's work on logical levels of thinking. They show how logframes can enhance group understanding, communication, and decision-making in...

In complex and high-stakes environments, stability is an illusion. Reflecting on my experiences as a soldier in Afghanistan, this talk explores the challenges of adapting strategy and execution in the face of chaos, risk aversion, and an agile adversary. Through the lens of systems thinking, I’ll unpack the principles and dynamics that underpin strategic adaptation, highlighting the need for...

Nirosha’s leadership and innovative approaches learnt through JGA’s Systems Thinking apprenticeship have transformed how her team tackles public health challenges, inspiring her colleagues to adopt more comprehensive and interconnected strategies. Currently, she has just secured a critical grant for her department off the back of systems thinking methodologies. Nirosha is also co-authoring a...

Georgina Wilson, [a JGA STiP apprencticeship graduate] Founder and CEO of BUD Leaders, has spent over a decade pioneering systems change initiatives that empower Black and other Global Majority women in business. Through BUD Leaders, a pioneering black-led, female-led social enterprise, Georgina works to disrupt leadership structures and drive equity. Her organisation collaborates with large...

"abriendo la caja" es una introducción a cuatro formas de pensar sobre la realidad que nos rodea que nos ayudan una perspectiva más holistica y facilitan tener conversaciones más profundas y prácticas sobre cómo navegar la complejidad y la incertidumbre. Timecode 0:00 - Intro 0:35 - Capítulo 1: La conversación 3:30 - Los retos de la conversación 10:06 - Capítulo 2: "Abriendo la Caja" 12:10 - La...

Root cause analysis, sometimes known as the 5 Whys, has been seen as a panacea or as a failure depending on how it’s used. One frequent problem with root cause analysis is that it is used to support a blame culture. Once we’ve found the person at the root of the problem (the one that made the ‘mistake’) and know who to blame we can proceed with a clear conscience. However, taking a look at a...

Practising Systems Thinking can be messy; the situations we inhabit are messy, the language of practise can be messy, the landscape of practitioners, bodies, evangelists, methods, and educational providers is undoubtedly complex. So how do we learn about how to practise, how is that different to 'teaching', and what opportunities are there out there for learning, without become technocractic. This...