What are the deep drivers of your problem system?
Social systems design for complex services
I’m holding a workshop this week on dialogic design at Oslo School of Architecture and Design. Their unique program in Systems-Oriented Design has a lot in common with OCADU Strategic Foresight and Innovation.
A workshop on dialogic design for complex systems and social systems methodologies.
There is an urgent need to wisely address complex social issues effectively and democratically. There is a social and educational need to improve design methods for social and systemic innovation.
There are underlying systemic forces that all social, business and policy innovation will deal with in a given horizon. We can develop sound understanding of these forces in scenarios and as interdependent problem systems through dialogic design practices. Systemic design methods provide capacity to mixed stakeholder groups and organizations for navigating complexity and identifying challenges with the highest leverage in a social system.
The methodological value of social systems design process is in identifying common drivers and influences underlying an interconnected problematique in complex systems (ecological and climate changes, economic change and credit, consumer demographics, re-localization vs globalization, political trends, energy policy and costs).
The social value of the process is in enabling designers, researchers, and our organizations effectively address urgent socially-relevant challenges by gaining experience and understanding of effective methods from the systems field.
We will co-create a research-based understanding of social design methods for systemic design, for global human and social concerns and industry sectors.
Learning Modes:
- Participatory workshop, Group discussion, Lecture and discussion
- Readings provided in advance of workshop.
- Online documentation: Brief concept summaries online, video and photo records of sessions
- Presentation files provided online after discussions.
Social Systems Design and Methods
Developing an understanding of social systems methods in services design and social innovation. Adapting dialogic design methods to social systems in the context of continuing projects.
Readings and Materials
- Flanagan, T.R. and Bausch, K.C. (2011). A Democratic Approach to Sustainable Futures. Institute for 21st Century Agoras: Ongoing Emergence Press.
- Loye D. (2007). The Global Sounding. From D. Loye: Measuring Evolution: A Leadership Guide to the Health and Wealth of Nations. Carmel, CA: Benjamin Franklin Press.
The Global Sounding
Review of projects in terms of evolutionary criteria. Evaluation of the use and design of process.
Dialogic Design Methods
Design methodologies in social systems are presented , providing both a theoretical and practical basis to understand, intervene in, and design complex social systems. Design research methods, group facilitation, scenario creation, and influence mapping methods and approaches are covered and practiced over the series. These are explored as collaborative interdisciplinary methods of a systems design approach.
Creating a Problematique
The exercise creates a collective problematique, a global challenge map representing the critical shared concerns of a social system.
Construction of a Consensus Map
The Predicament of Mankind
Reconstructing the Global Problematique – Developing understanding of Ozbekhan’s Predicament of Mankind 40 years later. How is this re-envisioned today to identify and reclaim root causes points in the global problematique?
Workshop Readings
- Ackoff, R.L. (2004). Transforming the systems movement. Address at IFSR, May 26, 2004.
- Buchanan, Richard. (1992). Wicked Problems in Design Thinking. Design Issues, 8 (2), 5-21.
- Christakis, Alexander N. (2004). A Retrospective Structural Inquiry on the Problematique of the Club of Rome. Institute for 21st Century Global Agoras.
- Flanagan, TR and Bausch, K. (2011). A Democratic Approach to Sustainable Futures. Agoras Institute: Ongoing Emergence Press. Chapter 6 available as download.
- Gregory, Amanda. (2010). Systems thinking for strategic development. Proceedings of ISSS 2010, Waterloo, July 2010.
- Jones, PH. (2009). Learning the lessons of systems thinking: Exploring the gap between Thinking and Leadership. Integral Leadership Review, IX (4), August 2009. Also at: http://redesignresearch.com/dialogues/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/Lessons-from-Systems-Thinking.pdf
- Jones, PH, Christakis, AN., & Flanagan, TR. (2007). Dialogic design for the intelligent enterprise: Collaborative strategy, process, and action. In Proceedings of INCOSE 2007, San Diego, June 25-29.
- Loye, D. (2007). The Global Sounding. Carmel, CA: Benjamin Franklin Press.
- Ozbekhan, O. (1970.) The Predicament of Mankind. Club of Rome report.
- Ozbekhan, O. (1968). The Triumph of Technology: “Can Implies Ought”. King Resources report.
- Rittel, H. and Weber, M. (1973). Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning. Policy Sciences, 4, 155-169.
- Warfield, J.N. and Perino, G.H. (1999). The problematique: Evolution of an idea. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 16, 221–226.
