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 systems approach. By combining Critical Systems Heuristics, elements of Soft Systems Methodology, and the Viable System Model, the practitioner generated rapid insight, revealed structural and relational risks, and developed a more viable conceptual model for improvement. The talk demonstrates how methodological flexibility enhances collaboration, supports ethical practice, and enables more resilient, responsive system design.
