Systems thinking considers problems in the context of their systems. It focuses on the relationships between different elements. Isolated issues are not the main focus of systems thinking.
Government policies usually face complex and connected issues. Old methods sometimes ignore how issues are related. It allows policymakers to grasp the bigger context.
Governments can pinpoint causes using systems thinking. Such insight creates stronger policies. It reduces the risk of surprise consequences.
It promotes working together in government. It helps remove divisions between departments. Departments coordinate more effectively.
It raises the quality of government decisions. It helps leaders anticipate what will happen. Policies become more sustainable with these insights.
Increasingly, governments use this approach in policy. It supports creative responses to change. Systems thinking is valuable for tackling complex policy issues.
Changing needs are easier to meet. It encourages learning from what has happened. Policies can change and adapt more easily.
Policies withstand shocks with systems thinking. Governments can prevent problems sooner. It supports strategic planning.
Evaluation shapes policy outcomes. Real-world data inform policy updates. Policies become better through this process.
It applies to every part of policy creation. All policy steps use this approach. This ensures that policies remain relevant and effective.
It encourages citizen participation. Governments can meet more needs. Fairness is improved through this approach.
Systems thinking challenges old ways. Mistakes are not repeated. Continuous improvement is encouraged.
Difficult problems are tackled. Creativity and flexibility thrive. Systems thinking supports tackling global issues.
Various perspectives are welcomed. Different people contribute. Policies are more comprehensive.
Skills development is important. Skill building is important. Employees are better prepared.
Resource use is optimized. Effective measures are selected. Money is spent efficiently.
Accurate assessment is possible. Goals are defined. Policy effects are easier to follow.
Decisions are clearer to the public. Communication is open. Public confidence grows.
Overall, systems thinking can lead to better government policy. Policy gains strength and inclusivity. Governments should consider using systems thinking in all policy areas.
alyx slater from food standards agency reflects on why systems thinking is an essential component of policy design.
posts about systems thinking written by lancingfarrell
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under national or state-based legislation, local governments are commonly required to prepare municipal health and wellbeing plans. yet, the issues these plans aim to address are often complex, and programmatic planning approaches traditionally used by practitioners struggle to engage with such complexity as they assume these issues can be ‘solved’ in isolation. systems thinking is increasingly being used as an approach to deal with those struggles more effectively, yet little is known about whether local governments and other stakeholders think systems approaches are feasible and acceptable in practice. this study tested a systems thinking approach to gauge if it could better address complex place-based health and wellbeing issues, such as to reduce noncommunicable diseases. guided by a systems change framework, the approach comprised a facilitated systemic inquiry and rich picture process involving diverse stakeholders in a remote municipality in the australian state of tasmania. among the participants there was broad support for the systems approach tested and they thought it was effective for increasing systems thinking capacity, collaboratively revealing systemic issues, and identifying opportunities to address those issues. they valued the rich picture because it created shared understandings of local issues. the findings suggest more is needed from macro-level policy to support place-based stakeholders to undertake systems approaches in practice, which could result in more sustainable and effective systems change required to improve health and wellbeing outcomes. the findings have implications for theory, research, and practice across interdisciplinary fields concerned with placed-based systems change, especially in rural and remote municipalities.
last month we had a really interesting ibspn seminar on applications of systemic thinking to behaviour change. using a systems lens to explore behavioural challenges in policy development can lead to impactful and holistic policy solutions.
a systems thinking approach to public health policy development is essential as it ensures there has been a thorough investigation into the dynamic complexit...
new ideas for improving policy making cannot mask the shortfall in funding that many public services are facing.
by catherine hobbs why does public policy go wrong? how can researchers who are systems thinkers begin to create the conditions in which those involved in public policy may flourish within their po…
background systems thinking approaches are increasingly being used by communities to address complex chronic disease. this paper reports on the vichealth local government partnership (vlgp) which sought to co-create improvements in the health and well-being of children and young people by working with local government in victoria, australia. methods the vlgp included a series of health promotion modules, aimed at creating policy, programme and practice changes across local government. one of these modules, connecting the dots – creating solutions for lasting change, aimed to build capacity for systems thinking in municipal public health and well-being planning across 13 councils. the approach was adapted and data were collected on the stimuli for, and results of, adaptation. results the council adapted the systems thinking approach to meet geographic characteristics, priority health issue/s and participant target group needs. adaptions applied to workshop materials, training delivery, existing and new resources, and to align with other community-based approaches. stimuli for adaptation included the covid-19 pandemic, needs of children and young people, capacity of council to deliver the workshop series, and time available within the project or for the participant group. conclusions systems thinking was used and adapted by councils to improve the health and well-being of children and young people and increase the voices of children and young people in decision-making. flexible delivery is critical to ensure communities can adapt the approach to meet local needs.
the challenges facing government tend to be mutlifacted, complex, chronic, social, economic and environmental, and their causes and potential solutions are typically unobvious, suggests paul kett, director general at the department for education. as part of csap's 2020 annual virtual conference, we explored how systems thinking can help government seek solutions to wicked problems.
this article explores the importance of systems thinking as a mindset for designing, developing, procuring and delivering products, services, programs and policies, and how to apply it to product management.
increased systems thinking capacity—that is, the capacity to consider systemic effects of policies and actions—is necessary for translating knowledge on sustainable development goals’ (sdgs) interactions into practice. various models and tools that seek to support more evidence-based policy-making have been developed with the purpose of exploring system effects across sdgs. however, these often lack integration of behavioral aspects and contextual factors that influence the decision-making process. we analyze three applications of a decision-support approach called sdg synergies, which aims at building capacity in systems thinking among decision-makers and implementing agencies. our objective is to explore how behavior and context influences whether and how knowledge is taken up and acted upon when making decisions. drawing on empirical material from mongolia, colombia, and sri lanka, we identify three sets of mechanisms that appear important for enabling more systemic thinking: system boundaries (time, scale, and space), rules of engagement (ownership, representation, and purpose), and biases (confirmation biases and participation biases). results highlight some key challenges for systemic thinking that merit further attention in future applications, including the importance of localizing sdgs and incorporating this knowledge to national-level assessments, an unwillingness of stakeholders to acknowledge trade-offs, the challenge of addressing transformational as opposed to incremental change, and striking a balance between the flexibility of the approach vis-à-vis scientific robustness.
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context knowledge mobilisation (km) is a vital strategy in efforts to improve public health policy and practice. linear models describing knowledge transfer and translation have moved towards multi-directional and complexity-attuned approaches where knowledge is produced and becomes meaningful through social processes. there are calls for systems approaches to km but little guidance on how this can be operationalised. this paper describes the contribution that systems thinking can make to km and provides guidance about how to put it into action. methods we apply a model of systems thinking (which focuses on leveraging change in complex systems) to eight km practices empirically identified by others. we describe how these models interact and draw out some key learnings for applying systems thinking practically to km in public health policy and practice. examples of empirical studies, tools and targeted strategies are provided. findings systems thinking can enhance and fundamentally transform km. it upholds a pluralistic view of knowledge as informed by multiple parts of the system and reconstituted through use. mobilisation is conceived as a situated, non-prescriptive and potentially destabilising practice, no longer conceptualised as a discrete piece of work within wider efforts to strengthen public health but as integral to and in continual dialogue with those efforts. a systems approach to km relies on contextual understanding, collaborative practices, addressing power imbalances and adaptive learning that responds to changing interactions between mobilisation activities and context. conclusion systems thinking offers valuable perspectives, tools and strategies to better understand complex problems in their settings and for strengthening km practice. we make four suggestions for further developing empirical evidence and debate about how systems thinking can enhance our capacity to mobilise knowledge for solving complex problems – (1) be specific about what is meant by ‘systems thinking’, (2) describe counterfactual km scenarios so the added value of systems thinking is clearer, (3) widen conceptualisations of impact when evaluating km, and (4) use methods that can track how and where knowledge is mobilised in complex systems.
systems thinking for better social policy: a case study in financial wellbeing
background there is increasing interest in using systems thinking to tackle ‘wicked’ policy problems in preventive health, but this can be challenging for policy-makers because the literature is amorphous and often highly theoretical. little is known about how best to support health policy-makers to gain skills in understanding and applying systems thinking for policy action. methods in-depth interviews were conducted with 18 policy-makers who are participating in an australian research collaboration that uses a systems approach. our aim was to explore factors that support policy-makers to use systems approaches, and to identify any impacts of systems thinking on policy thinking or action, including the pathways through which these impacts occurred. results all 18 policy-makers agreed that systems thinking has merit but some questioned its practical policy utility. a small minority were confused about what systems thinking is or which approaches were being used in the collaboration. the majority were engaged with systems thinking and this group identified concrete impacts on their work. they reported using systems-focused research, ideas, tools and resources in policy work that were contributing to the development of practical methodologies for policy design, scaling up, implementation and evaluation; and to new prevention narratives. importantly, systems thinking was helping some policy-makers to reconceptualise health problems and contexts, goals, potential policy solutions and methods. in short, they were changing how they think about preventive health. conclusion these results show that researchers and policy-makers can put systems thinking into action as part of a research collaboration, and that this can result in discernible impacts on policy processes. in this case, action-oriented collaboration and capacity development over a 5-year period facilitated mutual learning and practical application. this indicates that policy-makers can get substantial applied value from systems thinking when they are involved in extended co-production processes that target policy impact and are supported by responsive capacity strategies.
systems thinking has seen growing popularity in current times. with world events such as the covid-19 pandemic, the ukraine war, the macro-economic uncertainty in the developed world, and the climate emergency, governments, industries, nonprofits, and education institutions have come to realize that
browsing the daily news headlines might lead one to conclude that we live in an era ruled by populism, fear, and misinformation. in reality, over the past…
by catherine hobbs and gerald midgley. originally published on the integration and implementation in
from complexity to capability: in this blog post, kristian hudson, yharc implementation specialist's recent podcast conversation with professor harvey maylor explores how embracing uncertainty and the interconnectedness of real-world systems – core tenets of complexity science – can revolutionise implementation science. we dive into practical applications and how to shift systems towards better outcomes.
the cecan 2024 conference ‘looking back and looking forward: closing the loop from evaluation to policy making’ considered the questions ‘what is the role of systems thinking in evaluation? is it the answer to wicked problems?’ in one of its breakout sessions.
traditional innovation approaches—breakthrough and design thinking—often ignore the complex ripple effects they produce in interconnected systems. in a world facing multifaceted challenges like climate change and sustainability, a systems-thinking approach offers a more resilient and holistic path forward. systems thinking emphasizes understanding interdependencies, redefining problems iteratively, and engaging diverse stakeholders to co-create solutions. this article outlines a four-step framework: (1) define a desired future state. (2) reframe problems so that they resonate across stakeholders. (3) focus on flows and relationships over discrete products. and (4) implement small nudges to gradually shift the system. examples from maple leaf foods, co-operators insurance, and the csa group illustrate how this approach can realign business models for long-term sustainability. while not a replacement for other innovation methods, systems thinking addresses their limitations in tackling “wicked problems.” it encourages companies to anticipate unintended consequences, build coalitions, and adaptively guide transformation in complex environments.
in november 2022, the centre for science and policy delivered a series of policy workshops on how to apply systems thnking to policy making. these workshops brought together policy makers and experts to discuss health systems, physical infrastructure, and conflict.
better decisions emerge when we think across systems - understanding how different policies influence health outcomes and economic vitality
a systems thinking approach is essential for public health policy development, offering a framework to navigate the dynamic complexities inherent in public health issues. this methodology enables policymakers to comprehend the interconnections ...
worldwide there is increasing interest in both academic and government sectors to evaluate the different impacts of electronic government (e-government) systems. a number of predictive, cause-effect, linearly and functionally oriented models of evaluation have been proposed and applied. the focus of...
“the covid-19 pandemic has shown what governments can do when faced with an existential threat……”
systems thinking provides new ways of seeing the world, focusing attention on the relationship between elements in complex systems and the spaces inbetween. haynes study shows that many policy-makers valued systems thinking as a new way to approach ...
interest in applying systems thinking (st) in public health and healthcare improvement has increased in the past decade, but its practical use is still uncle...
systems thinking is a mental framework that helps us to become better problem solvers. it takes a systemic approach to solving complex issues.
explore the idea of systems thinking as a new model for government; a new way of doing, certainly, but also a new way of thinking and being.
in theory, ‘systems thinking’ offers a remarkably attractive solution to the persistent challenges of preventive public health. haynes and colleagues’ recent analysis of the prevention centre in australia offers reason for optimism that it might be possible to translate this promise into action on the ground. in this commentary, we critically assess the claims from this promising case study and their broader applicability to the cause of preventive health. we argue that, in many other contexts, persistent obstacles remain, such as a lack of buy-in from senior policy actors, and a lack of tangible or concrete action following through on an abstract commitment to systems thinking.