Tag: Systems Practitioner Course

BUILDING CAPACITY FOR STAKEHOLDERS

Capacity building (step 2 of the ELLab), is actually an integral part throughout all the steps of the ELLab process. The participants (all stakeholders) are building capacity (informal training) in systems thinking, interconnectedness and model construction, … Read the rest

Mapping the system starts through exchanging the perceptions of a problem and exploring questions such as:

• What exactly is the problem we face?
• How did the problematic situation originate?
• What might be its underlying causes?
• How can the problem potentially

… Read the rest

THE IMPORTANCE OF INVOLVING ALL RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS

Identifying, mapping and prioritising a project’s stakeholder community are the most important first steps in managing complexity.

Projects and other initiatives can only be considered successful when their key stakeholders acknowledge that they … Read the rest

THE SYSTEMS-BASED EVOLUTIONARY LEARNING LABORATORY FRAMEWORK

This section describes a comprehensive systems thinking approach, embedded in a cyclic Evolutionary Learning Laboratory (ELLab) framework that is designed to deal effectively with complex issues in a variety of contexts.

The ELLab is … Read the rest

THE COMPLEXITY OF ANY SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH

We have all become interconnected in a vast physical and digital web. Potentially contentious issues, such as healthcare, environmental protection, gender relationships, poverty, mental health, economic development, migration, land … Read the rest

WHAT IS A SYSTEM?

The story of ‘the six blind men and an elephant’ has slightly different versions in different cultures. The story goes like this: Once upon a time, there lived
six blind men in a village. One day … Read the rest

WHY SYSTEMS THINKING

Despite many efforts to deal with the various complex issues facing our societies, plans and problem solutions are seldom long lasting, because we, as individuals, and our leaders are most likely to fall into the trap of … Read the rest

Until now our inability to effectively deal with ever-increasing globally complex environments sees our world abound with failed projects and programs. The waste and opportunity cost is staggering at the local, regional, national and global level. In this respect, it … Read the rest