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Many Indigenous worldviews have long understood the deep interconnectedness of our world.
Western sciences and public health is beginning to understand this through Complex Adaptive Systems.
Complex Systems
Complex Systems
Life is complex... And so are we!
Life is complex... And so are we!
It's no wonder our communities, environments, and ecosystems are complicated too. To improve wellbeing for people living in these systems, we need to understand their complexity.
Complex Problems
Complex Problems
"Wicked Problems" are complex too
"Wicked Problems" are complex too
Many of the biggest social, economical, and environmental challenges we face, like housing insecurity, poverty, and climate change, are also complex. They affect each other in complex ways. We can look at each problem on it's own (a "reductionist" mindset), and disagree about where the problems are, or we can understand how they're all related (a "systems" mindset) and work together to address them all collaboratively in the most effective ways we can. Understanding related assets and challenges will give us a deeper understanding of the things contributing to whatever it is we're focused on and help us work together.
The parable of the blind men and the elephant dates back to ~500BC in India, and is found in Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain writings.
If in disagreement about the problem or the solution, consider that you may all have unique information, each perspective of which is essential in gaining a more holistic view of the complex system.
Wicked Problems
Wicked Problems
Incomplete knowledge
Uncertain dynamics & Unpredictable behaviours
Unique elements
Multiple Stakeholders
No optimal solution
Complex Systems
Complex Systems
Interacting parts
Emergant properties
Non-linear
Sensitivity to initial conditions
Adapts to changing conditions
Requires a holistic approach
Systems Thinking
Systems Thinking
Common Features of Reductionist and Systems mindsets
Common Features of Reductionist and Systems mindsets
Because of how complicated our communities and environments are, it's important that we think about how something affects the whole community and the whole environment. It can help to recognize when we are thinking about just one part of a system (reductionist mindset), and when we are thinking about the relationships and effects in the whole system (systems mindset). This can help us identify both contributors and impacts in areas we might not be paying attention to (Nobles & Radley, 2021).
How does this impact more than just the area we're focused on?
How does this impact more than just the area we're focused on?
Who else is concerned?
Who else is concerned?
What if we make a change here? What else will change?
What if we make a change here? What else will change?
Where to Intervene in a Complex System
Where to Intervene in a Complex System
Where we focus our efforts changes how much they will affect our community. Leverage points describe how actions in certain places can have especially far reaching effects on a complex system (like our communities and environments) (Nobles & Radley, 2021). In the model below, the closer to the top of the table the focus area is, the more leverage it has to change the system. Acting on beliefs can lead to changes in goals; acting on goals can lead to changes in structures; acting on structures can lead to changes in events. If we only act on events, we might change that specific event, but they will keep happening.
Action Scales Model
Action Scales Model
"(a) The current system which is imbalanced – for example, towards an obesogenic environment. It causes population weight to increase alongside compounding other issues associated with social inequality. The aim is for system architects (i.e. those who can influence how the system functions) to reorientate the system in a way which supports a healthier population weight (b). By leveraging actions deeper within the system (e.g. goals and beliefs), a tipping point is more likely to be reached which can cause rapid changes in the system structure to occur. Because goals and beliefs hold greater weight in the system, reorientating them towards a healthy weight system will require more effort than focusing on events." (Nobles & Radley, 2021)
Leverage Points
Leverage Points
People can apply a small amount of force on a system
Leverage points are places where those small changes can have wide reaching effects
Leverage points may not be intuitive, or what you think
The best results may not come from huge scale effort, but small, well focused actions.
Small, cumulative actions at leverage points can be transformative.
Target the root causes
When you want to change an event, look for patterns. Then, identify structures that contribute to those patterns. Then, determine the models that those structures come from.
Paradigm shifts: Transforming those models can lead to redesigning structures, which can change the patterns, and ultimately change the events.
Multi-solving & Co-Benefits
Multi-solving & Co-Benefits
Multi-solving: Wicked problems must be targeted through leverage points in multiple parts of a complex system.
It may not be possible to solve a problem in one domain, without solving an interrelated problem in another domain.
Interdisciplinary collaborative approaches: A nexus-based approach tries to reduce trade-offs and build synergies, or mutual benefits (co-benefits), across sectors.
This requires creating open platforms (like BC Collaboration Center), focusing on the relationships between the parts
Consider your Nexus: Who can you partner with to better understand what affects your work, and what else your work affects?
Work Together to Focus Upstream
Work Together to Focus Upstream
Focus on the problem, not just on what you're doing.
Focus Upstream: preventative interventions (such as on the determinants of health) are more efficient and cost-effective
Collaborate for multiple points of intervention, from upstream to downstream and across multiple root causes
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