Discipline Or Practice: Systems Change

This toolkit allows organisations to change their mindset and move from a project-oriented approach towards a platform-way-of-working that is designed to tackle complex problems. The toolkit was developed and tested by the Danish Design Centre in collaboration with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and 40+ country offices. The toolkit consists of several mapping exercises. After using the integrated Mission Statement Generator to create an ambitious yet realistic mission statement,…

Features: Examples or Cases, Guiding framework, Video guidance

Creating City Portraits is a methodological guide for downscaling the Doughnut, and Doughnut Economics (based on the book and model of the same name), to the city and turning it into a tool for transformative action. This guide describes the methodology and introduces principles to consider at the city level as well as the interconnections between different scales, from household to global, to transform a city to a thriving and also ecologically and socially responsible one. The guide focuses on…

Features: Examples or Cases, Guiding framework

The handbook follows a co-design logic in terms of process, principles and practical tools to support practitioners in the design and implementation of system mapping processes by highlighting the knowledge management component. This resource provides rationale and guidance on the challenge-led system mapping approach, including facilitation guidance for running mapping workshops. This resource helps mapping practitioners: • visualise the diversity of innovation projects as a manageable set of…

Features: Examples or Cases, Facilitators guide, Guiding framework, Tips&Tricks

The resource is intended for those working in the international development or social impact space to assesses the future impact that innovation can deliver in a system. It focuses on three "systems": The Problem Space, The Innovation Space, The Context. It's goals are to precipitate better understanding of the problem of focus and the context in which it exists, assess enablers and barriers to innovation, track system change over time, and assess the impact of a program ex post facto. It…

Features: Examples or Cases, Guiding framework, Techniques

This mini-book is based around the Cynefin framework, a contexutalisation and sense-making framework developed by Dave Snowden. The resource provides an overview of the Cynefin framework and use of narrative research, guidance and a tool for developing shared sense-making, and tools and guidance for developing a portfolio of experiments for different types of problems, distinguishing between complicated and complex problems. The publisher requires a free login in exchange for downloading the…

Features: Guiding framework

This resource walks you through a systems practice, and describes process phases (Launch, Gain Clarity, Find Leverage, Act Strategically, and Learn and Adapt) and methods for guiding the practice. This resource has been developed in collaboration with teams across The Omidyar Group. This workbook aims to fill the gap between the promise of a systems approach for making social change and putting it into practice. It was created alongside curriculum as part of a paid course. For each method,…

Features: Associated curriculum, Examples or Cases, Guiding framework, Tips&Tricks

This report identifies five common pitfalls that organisations fall into when using theory of change, and walks through five rules of thumb that will help organisations to use the approach to tackle complex problems. The report includes case studies demonstrating these pitfalls and rules of thumb in practice.

Features: Examples or Cases

The Scenario Exploration System (SES) is a serious game for future simulation (2035 and 2050). It involves participants exploring their long-term objectives in contrasting scenario-related contexts while interacting with other stakeholders. By creating a realistic journey towards the future, the SES generates a safe space to simulate possible responses connected to any issue of interest to the participants. There are two editions: "Sustainable Transitions" and "Food Safety and Nutrition…

Features: Interactive diagnostic, Video guidance

The Game of Life 2050 draws on scenarios for a sustainable European society in 2050. It is an interactive board game in which players consider four scenarios that describe the radical changes needed to be living within key environmental boundaries by 2050. The game takes a minimum of 2 hours to run (ideally 4 hours) and involves 5-7 actors (each played by one person or in pairs) and one Games Master. Play consists of three ‘rounds’ in which actors are given a set of circumstances that have…

Features: Facilitators guide, Interactive diagnostic

A blog series introducing and sharing guidance for using different tools to support systems thinking and practice, including actor mapping, trend mapping, timeline mapping, ecocycle mapping, appreciative inquiry, and world cafe. Each offers a downloadable guide in exchange for an email address.

Features: Examples or Cases, Techniques