Design Journeys – A Systemic Design Tourbook

Peter Jones Service Design, Social Systems Design, Systemic Design

We have completed updates for a second printing of Design Journeys through Complex Systems, the first practitioner handbook for systemic design practice, based on the Systemic Design Toolkit. The tools are largely the same, with some updated cases or images. We have edited throughout to improve clarity, especially for the instructions for use of the tools, some of which were completely new in 2022 when BIS Publishers printed the first run. The feature image now shows our first translation, a Japanese edition translated by service design professor Masanao Takeyama of Keio University who works with the design firm ACTANT. The Japanese edition is beautifully composed and published, and with this quality of production we have a high bar set for the next translation. We are exploring translations now in Spanish, Italian, and Korean. Design Journeys was written as an accessible tourbook style, a handbook for the journeys and many destinations …

RSD12 is Everything, Everywhere, All at Once

Peter Jones RSD, Strategic Innovation, Systemic Design

RSD12 is the twelfth iteration of the Relating Systems Thinking and Design Symposium and we are entangled over much of the world. With 14 RSD12 HUBS the onsite symposium is hosted this year by systemic design groups in China, Canada, Colombia, India, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, the UK, and the USA. Hub programs are 1–3 days in length and are scheduled sequentially from October 6–20. Each hub develops and manages its onsite event, including programming and registration. RSD12-ONLINE is a ticket to over 30 systemic design sessions and dozens of livestreamed presentations from 14 partnered hubs. The two-week program includes papers, workshops, interactive sessions, systems maps, and guest speakers. The RSD12-ONLINE pass works as a standalone experience or can augment your in-person experience at a hub. Either way, you will be able to jump into a world of systemic design every day from October 6 to October 20. The …

Systemic Design @ Service Design

Peter Jones System Leadership, Systemic Design

The Service Design College is hosting this year’s conference as the SDD Leadership Summit, September 15 & 16 in Barcelona. Co-author Kristel Van Ael and I are leading the track on systems leadership and systems thinking in the intensive leadership training. SDD organizer Inge Keizer writes about the event: Leadership is a dynamic and complex process that requires those who lead to navigate ever-changing landscapes and design for the future. To be effective, you must be resilient, adaptable, and capable of embracing uncertainty. Anticipating change, staying ahead of the curve, and working collaboratively with diverse teams are essential qualities for leaders to possess in today’s fast-paced world. To achieve these goals, you must take risks and engage in partnerships for change that can help drive innovation and create positive impact. This requires a deep understanding of the ecosystem in which the organisation operates and a willingness to challenge assumptions, embrace …

New Books Network Interview

Peter Jones Media Ecology, Systemic Design

Kristel and I held a wonderful interview with Kevin Lindsay of New Books Network last year, and after editing and staging other interviews, it was recently released. New Books in Systems and Cybernetics As I slowly settle into 2023 — reflecting on the blur that was 2022 — I can’t help but think about the complex problems (aka big messes!) we face at every turn: from increasingly devastating manifestations of the climate emergency, to the ubiquitous homelessness crisis, to the perplexing challenge of accessing a family physician in prosperous regions such as British Columbia, Canada. At the same time I am buoyed by the promise of Systems Thinking. Systems practices can take many forms and have the potential to inform — and guide us through — sensible, comprehensive and creative problem-solving. Here on this channel, we have explored some of the origins of systems and cybernetics by talking to knowledgeable …

Shifting Mindsets for Managing Complexity

Peter Jones Governance, Social Systems Design, Systemic Design

A “Macro” Argument – The Paradigm Shift happening The era of so-called New Public Management is slowly shifting. NPM has seen a significant, worldwide trend in public sector governance, has held the current paradigm since at least 1991, and arguably has survived, or absorbed several emerging movements in public management. Yet I see no academic agreement on what comes next. A recent development in public management has been sectoral innovation (e.g. De Vries, et al, 2018), and this might evolve toward the practices we are distinguish as complexity management. Yet digital governance, collaborative leadership, and e-governance are more frequently represented in the literature.  Yet these are more techniques with new management, not management innovation. We are looking for the adoption of new structural forms of management, or innovations that address the purposes of strategic leadership.  Digital governance changes the interface between stakeholders and government, it does little to change the …