SYSTEMS COMMUNICATIONS
A systems-oriented approach to �strategic communication
RSD9
National Institute of Design
Ahmedabad, India
October 15, 2020
Zaid Khan
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This presentation will
briefly introduce �systems communications
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Systems communications is an evolved practice of strategic communication...
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...using a systemic design approach
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CONTEXT
We often use our maps to communicate complexity, but only with those invited (stakeholders, partners, clients, etc.) and a set structure (space, time, attention, interaction, dialogue)
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THE ISSUE
How do we communicate complexity outside the walls of our environment? To stakeholders that aren’t part of our engagement but are critical to change?
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THE INSIGHT
Perhaps we can learn from advertising’s use of strategic communications, where organizations are trying to respond to complex issues…
...but from a commercial orientation..?
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MY RESEARCH - SETUP
I got a “client” that represents multiple voices and has skin-in-the-game on a complex issue
The org:
Independent Media Association of Canada (IMAC)*
The arena:
Complex issues facing Canadian News Media
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MY RESEARCH - SETUP
I assembled a framework for strategic communication based on experience and practices from advertising
STAGE
Context
Objectives
Audiences
Research
Strategy
Message
Brief
Concept
Plan
Production
Launch
Evaluate
Refine
DESCRIPTION
Establish an understanding of the environment
Set coherent objectives between org, comms, marketing
Identify and understand relevant audiences
Uncover a deeper understanding of the issue
Articulate a way to move from the present to the desired future
Craft the message that can help achieve the strategy
Guide how creativity is to be used
Develop concepts to land on an idea that expresses the message
Architect where and how the idea will be experienced
Make the idea real; in its planned formats
Activate the idea as planned
Measure the impact according to the objectives
Adjust the idea as needed
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MY RESEARCH - EXECUTION
I developed a communication strategy but adapted each stage based on systemic design principles
Principles of Systemic Design (Jones, 2014)
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MY RESEARCH - LEARNINGS
Systems communications widens the scope and breadth of strategic communication
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION
Immediate environment
Immediate environment
Narrow ideal
Isolated; audience-centric
Singular pathway set
Reductive, singular, closed
STAGE
Context
Objectives
Audiences
Research
Strategy
Messaging
SYSTEMS COMMUNICATIONS
Higher-order system
Higher-order system
System’s variety
Connected; relationship-centric
Multiple pathways emerge
Reflective, multi-sided, inviting, open
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STAKEHOLDER GROUP
Traditional
Startup / Indie / Community
Tech Platforms
Public Servants & Policy Influencers
Industry Associations
Academics and Researchers
Private Funders
DESCRIPTION
Established news media organizations, public and private
Publications that serve a particular community
Technology firms whose platforms distribute news content.
Organizations or individuals that influence policies
Associations that represent news orgs and journalists
Institutions or individuals who study and publish research
Foundations and firms who fund news media orgs and projects
LEARNINGS - EXAMPLES FROM CASE STUDY
Casting a wider net of stakeholders, based on the broader media system, oppose to just IMAC’s allies
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Baseline
LEARNINGS - EXAMPLES FROM CASE STUDY
Conducted interviews to understand stakeholders’ perceptions about pathways forward
Pathway 1
Pathway 2
Pathway 3
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LEARNINGS - EXAMPLES FROM CASE STUDY
Resulting strategy had to transcend contested views by allowing for multiple pathways to emerge
DESIRED FUTURE
Sustainable models
More sources for professional news
Verifiable, fact-checked, information
Offering balanced perspective
Critical information needs are met
News is delivered in format people want
CURRENT SITUATION
Broken business model
Loss of advertising revenue
Smaller newsrooms, increasing pressured
Closures and staff layoffs
Changing news media habits
Ongoing digital / tech change
Proliferation of information
News deserts
PATHWAY(S) FORWARD
Gov’t funds industry
vs.
Gov’t funds ecosystem
Regulate tech platforms
vs.
Make use of tech platforms
Preserve business model
vs.
Create new models
CBC as competitor
vs.
CBC as ally
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LEARNINGS - EXAMPLES FROM CASE STUDY
An architecture that reflects IMAC’s message at the system-level and issue-level but invites stakeholders’ competing view, rather than close it off
Prototype Messaging Architecture
Message Testing Structure
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TAKEAWAY
Systems communications is a way to humbly invite people to create a shared understanding of a complex issue
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STAGE
Context
Objectives
Audiences
Research
Strategy
Messaging
Brief & Concept
Plan, Production, Launch
Evaluate & Refine
REFERENCES OR RESOURCES TO EXPLORE
Systemic Design Toolkit (Van Ael et al., 2018)
Strategic Foresight (Slaughter, 1999)
Evolutionary Stakeholder Discovery (Jones, 2018)
Systemic Design Research Methods (Jones, 2014)
Emergent Strategy (Mintzberg, 1985)
Meta / Master Narratives (Stephens & McCallum, 1998)
Sense-sharing Model & Rich Design Research Space (Sevaldson, 2018)
Tetrad of Media Effects (McLuhan, 1988), Transmedia Storytelling (Scolari, 2009), Art-Based Research (Leavy, 2019)
Developmental Evaluation (Patton, 1994), Evaluating Systems Changes (Cabaj, 2019)
POSSIBILITIES
Continuing the research along the strategic communication process
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POSSIBILITIES
Sense-sharing model may be a way to invite the creative concept development process (via the brief) towards systems-oriented outcomes
Rich design space (IUVO Project, AHO 2017)
FEATURES OF A SENSE SHARING MODEL
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POSSIBILITIES
Opportunity to explore innovation potential of systems communications for different types of organizations
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POSSIBILITIES
Two guides that get at the shape of systemic communications to come
Stephanie Fielding’s guide for creative knowledge mobilization (2020)
“Communicating with Interactive Articles” Fred Hohman, Matthew Conlen, Jeffrey Heer. Duen Horng (Polo) Chau (2020)
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POSSIBILITIES
Systems communications , expressed in creative forms, might connect immersion and interactivity
Various art and new media approaches are emerging: policy installations and exhibits, explorable explanations, explainer journalism, info or edu tainment, systemic games, etc.
Complexity Explorables: “Berlin 8AM”
Art in Policy Making: The 20 year Gap, Stephen Bennett and Cath Sleeman, 2018
Interactive Experiences: Opioids Don’t Discriminate
Design-friendly version coming soon
@zaid___khan
(three underscores)
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STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION:
“...the purposeful use of communication by an organization to fulfill its mission.”
-Hallahan, 2007
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ADAPTED RESEARCH QUESTION
How might a systemic design approach to strategic communication help IMAC reflect and respond to the complexity of the issues facing Canadian News Media and its stakeholders?
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How the principles of systemic design are expressed in systems communications
PRINCIPLE
Idealization
Appreciating Complexity
Purpose Finding
Boundary Framing
Requisite Variety
Feedback Coordination
System Ordering
HOW IT INFLUENCES SYSTEMS COMMUNICATIONS
By allowing room for the ongoing discovery of alternative futures
Recognizes that no single person/org has a full understanding of issue
Encourages the framing of problems that stakeholders find meaningful
Tries out different problem framings before committing
Aims to represent the variety of systems that’s being addressed
Invites opinions by modelling and visualizing knowledge
Creates coherence around the plan through structure and ordering