Applying Systems Thinking in Practice to the Governance Review of a UK Chartered University
The Open University's recent Governance Review began as a constitutional reform exercise focused on reviewing the University's Charter, Statutes, Ordinances and committee structures. Like many governance reviews in Higher Education, it was expected to address structures, roles, powers and accountabilities. However, as the review unfolded, questions about governance quickly became an examination of the University itself. It led to broader questions on how the University works in practice - about management, organisational culture, expertise, legitimacy, institutional purpose and organisational learning. Drawing on Systems Thinking in Practice (STiP) and Critical Systems Heuristics (CSH), the review team explored ‘governance and management’ not as separate domains but as interconnected dimensions of a wider institutional system. CSH provided a framework for examining four sources of influence: motivation, control, knowledge and legitimacy, helping to surface assumptions that might otherwise have remained implicit. The inquiry exposed not merely differing opinions but differing worldviews concerning purpose, authority, representation, expertise and legitimacy. It also highlighted the value of treating both the University and the Governance Review itself as systems of inquiry operating at different recursive levels. This presentation reflects on the contribution of STiP and CSH within a complex and politically sensitive governance context. We explore where these approaches added value, where their contribution was less clear, and how they helped create conversational spaces in which constitutional, managerial, academic, STiP and experiential perspectives could be brought into dialogue. We end with lessons for STiP practitioners engaged in governance, organisational learning and institutional change.
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