From complexity to possibility
How system change becomes doable
The big challenge of system change is complexity. Countless actors, relationships, and dynamics make interventions difficult and their effects hard to foresee.
System innovation is precisely about turning this overwhelming complexity into something we can navigate. Here’s how!
It starts with coming together.
No one can transform a system alone. But when those who are part of it – and those affected by it – come together, something shifts.
In a shared space, people begin to agree on a common goal. They explore how their ways of working and interacting could change to move towards that goal.
As diverse perspectives are voiced and heard, complexity begins to loosen its grip. What felt overwhelming starts to feel like a shared puzzle we can work on together.
It happens step by step.
You don’t need a grand master plan before you begin.
Start small.
What’s one tiny experiment you could try to explore a new way of working together?
Where is there an opening for a pilot?
One step leads to the next. Along the way, we pause, reflect on what’s happening, learn from it, and adapt. Slowly but surely, complexity is translated into a series of experiments and a collective learning journey.
It’s supported by proven methods.
Every stage of this process, from design to implementation to evaluation, comes with its own challenges. The good news is that there are tried and tested methods to help navigate them.
These approaches have grown out of diverse fields of research and practice including systemic consulting, design thinking, system practice, Theory U, generative facilitation and others. While we’ve already learned a lot about how to spark system innovation, every new project brings fresh insights.
This is a work in progress!
The book we are developing offers a snapshot: a curated collection of methods that have proven helpful and impactful. But this is only the beginning. We’ll keep expanding this collection, and we invite you to contribute to it. Share your experiences and tools in the comments!
Together, we can turn complexity into possibility.