Fifteen characteristics of complex social systems

March 17, 2020March 31, 2020 Community Member Concepts, Systems Adaptation, Author - Hamilton Carvalho, Complex systems, Emergence, Endogenous view, Feedback loops, Non-linearities, Path dependence, Power, Resilience, System dynamics approach

By Hamilton Carvalho

What is it about complex social systems that keeps reproducing old problems, as well as adding new ones? How can public policy move away from what I call the Mencken Syndrome (in reference to a quotation from American journalist Henry Mencken) – that is, continually proposing clear and simple solutions to complex social problems – that are also wrong!

With this goal in mind, I have compiled a list of fifteen major characteristics of complex social systems based on the system dynamics and complexity sciences literatures, as well as my own research. Continue reading →

Yin-yang thinking – A solution to dealing with unknown unknowns?

December 3, 2019January 8, 2020 Community Member Concepts, Systems, Unknowns Adaptation, Ambiguity, Author - Alicia Hennig, Author - Christiane Prange, Culture, Decision making, Partner - Defence Science and Technology, Risk, Uncertainty, Unknown unknowns, Yin-yang

By Christiane Prange and Alicia Hennig

author - christiane prange — Christiane Prange (biography)

Sometimes, we wonder why decisions in Asia are being made at gargantuan speed. How do Asians deal with uncertainty arising from unknown unknowns? Can yin-yang thinking that is typical for several Asian cultures provide a useful answer?

Let’s look at differences between Asian and Western thinking first. Western people tend to prefer strategic planning with linear extrapolation of things past. The underlying mantra is risk management to buffer the organization and to protect it from harmful consequences for the business. But juxtaposing risk and uncertainty is critical. Under conditions of uncertainty, linearity is at stake and risk management limited. Continue reading →

Accountability and adapting to surprises

August 27, 2019March 9, 2020 Community Member Concepts, Unknowns Accountability, Adaptation, Author - Patricia Hirl Longstaff, Complex systems, Partner - Defence Science and Technology, Surprises, Unknown unknowns

By Patricia Hirl Longstaff

Image of Patricia Hirl Longstaff — Patricia Hirl Longstaff (biography)

We have all been there: something bad happens and somebody (maybe an innocent somebody) has their career ruined in order to prove that the problem has been fixed. When is blame appropriate? When is the blame game not only the wrong response, but damaging for long-term decision making?

In a complex and adapting world, errors and failure are not avoidable. The challenges decision-makers and organizations face are sometimes predictable but sometimes brand new. Adapting to surprises requires more flexibility, fewer unbreakable rules, more improvisation and deductive tinkering, and a lot more information about what’s going right and going wrong. But getting there is not easy because this challenges some very closely held assumptions about how the world works and our desire to control things. Continue reading →

Adaptive social learning for systemic leadership

April 23, 2019March 6, 2020 Community Member Competencies, Education, Frameworks, Systems Adaptation, Author - Catherine Hobbs, Critical system heuristics, Leadership, Operations research, Reflexivity, Social learning, Soft systems methodology, Systems thinking, Viable system model

By Catherine Hobbs

What’s involved in developing human capacity to address complexity, taking a mid- to longer-term viewpoint than is usual? How can we create the conditions in which people can cope with the daily challenges of living in a complex world and flourish? What form of leadership is required to inspire and catalyse this transformation?

Framework for adaptive social learning

The need for systems thinking is often referred to, but rarely considered, as a rich and comprehensive resource which could be developed further and applied. Continue reading →

Managing deep uncertainty: Exploratory modeling, adaptive plans and joint sense making

August 15, 2017March 17, 2020 Community Member Decision support, Methods, Unknowns Adaptation, Author - Jan Kwakkel, Complex systems, Modelling, Prediction, Scenarios, Sense-making, Uncertainty, Unknown unknowns

By Jan Kwakkel

How can decision making on complex systems come to grips with irreducible, or deep, uncertainty? Such uncertainty has three sources:

Intrinsic limits to predictability in complex systems.
A variety of stakeholders with different perspectives on what the system is and what problem needs to be solved.
Complex systems are generally subject to dynamic change, and can never be completely understood.

Deep uncertainty means that the various parties to a decision do not know or cannot agree on how the system works, how likely various possible future states of the world are, and how important the various outcomes of interest are. Continue reading →

Bringing the Immunity-to-Change™ process to the scientific community

July 4, 2017January 1, 2020 Community Member Change, Methods, Participation Adaptation, Author - Cheryl Vaughan, Author - Erica Lawlor, Collaboration, Science of team science, Teams

By Erica Lawlor and Cheryl Vaughan

How can scientists whose careers were formed in an incentive system that cultivates competitive and territorial behaviors be helped to meet the expectations of collaborative research frameworks? A team-based approach that transcends disciplinary boundaries may be a tall order for scientists who “grew up” in a system where funding and promotion are based upon a proven record of individual contributions to a field of research. But that is the direction in which much of science is heading. Continue reading →

Integration and Implementation Insights

Research resources for understanding and acting on complex real-world problems

Adaptation

Fifteen characteristics of complex social systems

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Yin-yang thinking – A solution to dealing with unknown unknowns?

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Accountability and adapting to surprises

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Managing deep uncertainty: Exploratory modeling, adaptive plans and joint sense making

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Bringing the Immunity-to-Change™ process to the scientific community

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