Cynthia Rayner

François Bonnici

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Catalyst 2030

Module 1 Workshop

The Systems Work �of Social Change

Outline

Module 1: Complexity, Scale & Depth

• Introductions & Check-In (10 min)
• Overview & Case Study (20 min)
• Independent Work (10 min)
• Breakout Groups (25 min)
• Discussion (20 min)
• Next Steps & Modules 2-3 (5 min)

An Industry of Social Change

• Our approach to social change is driven by an industrial mindset, two centuries in the making
• With this mindset, public, private, and nonprofit sectors exchange large sums of money, expertise, and resources
• Technical goals to stave off poverty, disease, and hunger at a global scale

complex, large scale, and deep

Social challenges are

Complexity?

What do we mean by

1. Baking a Cake

4 Types of Problems

• Has a recipe
• Reproducible
• Fewer variables
• Does not require expertise
• We know the likely outcome

2. Send a Rocket to the Moon

4 Types of Problems

• Extensive manual; a formula
• Reproducible, with hard work
• High level of expertise
• Separate into parts, then coordinate
• If we follow instructions, it will work

3. Respond to a Pandemic

4 Types of Problems

• Cause and effect are unrelated
• Stabilise first, then analyse
• Any action is acceptable, inaction is unacceptable
• Act-sense-respond
• Outcome unknown!

4. Raising a Child

4 Types of Problems

• No recipe or formula
• Success with one gives no assurance of future success
• Expertise is helpful but insufficient
• Outcome unknown!
• Relationships are key

Features of Complexity

• Relationship based! You cannot isolate the parts
• No single formulation of the problem 🡪 lots of disagreement
• No end point
• Unique situations and contexts
• Solutions are not true/false but good/poor

Large-Scale?

What do we mean by

• Problems become bigger as efforts are made to solve them across larger geographies and populations
• Wicked problems have no stopping point; we will see more of them as we learn

Scale vs Scale

• Scale (Efficiency) = marginally higher impacts by increasing throughput in a system�
• Scale (Size) = “scaling simply refers, in its most elemental form, to how a system responds when its size changes” (G. West)

We don’t fully understand how scale works in complex adaptive systems (ie, social systems)

Depth?

What do we mean by

• Deeply held beliefs, values, and assumptions—qualities that are extraordinarily difficult to shift
• Systems fail when they entrench our beliefs and behaviors to the extent that we cannot only not change, we cannot even imagine change.

We are the systems we seek to change.

By participating in them, we maintain and extend them.

Aim to build responsive & representative systems

Systems work principles

FOSTER CONNECTION

RECONFIGURE POWER

EMBRACE CONTEXT

Case Studies

Uncovering Systems Work

• Context
• Surface Work
• Systems Work Principles
• Systems Work Practices
• Tactics
• Deep Systems Change

RLabs

Uncovering Systems Work

• Context: Racialized geographic, economic and social exclusion of communities
• Surface Work: Technology training for youth
• Systems Work Principle: Foster connection
• Systems Work Practice: Cultivate collectives
• Tactics: i) Build a “We”� ii) Create safe havens� iii) “Pooling” experiences
• Deep Systems Change: Growing action systems

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Primary Actors

are individuals and groups

CORE QUESTION: �WHO SHOULD DRIVE CHANGE?

living at the point of greatest complexity in the system

Fostering Connection

building collective identity

PRINCIPLE 1

to stay together while learning

Embracing Context

encouraging a plurality of solutions

PRINCIPLE 2

that meet emerging needs

Reconfiguring Power

ensuring that primary actors are

PRINCIPLE 3

in positions of decision-making

INDEPENDENT WORK

• Who are the primary actors in your system?
• How is your organization fostering connection among these individuals and groups?
• How is your organization equipping primary actors to embrace context?
• How is your organization reconfiguring power towards primary actors?

BREAKOUT GROUPS

• Who are the primary actors in your system?
• Choose one principle and describe where you are already doing systems work

DISCUSSION

Module 2: Practices of Systems Work

Coming Up!

• Pre-Readings:
• Chapters 4-7
• 1-Pager Case Studies
• How to apply the practices and tactics to “deepen” your systems work

Ensure primary actors at the heart of the process

Systems work practices

FOSTER CONNECTION

RECONFIGURE POWER

EMBRACE CONTEXT

CULTIVATE COLLECTIVES

EQUIP

PROBLEM-SOLVERS

PROMOTE PLATFORMS

DISRUPT POLICIES AND PATTERNS