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Reported by Kate McNeil, CSaP Communications Coordinator
The challenges facing government tend to be multifaceted, complex, chronic, social, economic, and environmental, and their causes and potential solutions are typically unobvious, suggests Paul Kett, Director General at the Department for Education. In seeking solutions to these wicked problems, Mr. Kett and other speakers at CSaP's Virtual Seminar on Systems Thinking suggested that the tools and techniques of systems thinking have tremendous potential for policymakers.
Systems mapping can expose complexity, improve understanding, and generate opportunities to set shared outcomes frameworks and mechanisms for convening around common purposes while exposing the perverse impacts of well-intentioned policies. Throughout his career in central government, Paul Kett has noticed that it is the nature of government's departmental boundaries and associated accountabilities to simplify, reach for conventional approaches, and to generate solutions which favour short term initiatives and success which show progress within the timeframes of parliamentary cycles. Systems thinking offers a way to break this cycle of simplification, while creating opportunities to understand the roots of the problem. Moreover, its use can facilitate the adoption and sustaining of citizen-centric service design, oriented to match the lived experiences of those within a system.
In applying systems thinking to challenges facing government, Pedro Wrobel, Director of the Strategic Framework in the Cabinet Office, says we need to think beyond treating the symptoms of a problem, and develop clear objectives around which to orientate systems, while creating space to harness expertise and involve partners across the system in the design of solutions. He suggests that the point is to get the system to recognize and own the solution and maximize deliverability. This entails considering local solutions, having a clear governance structure that empowers leaders to break out of their silos, ensuring infrastructure supports systemic approaches, and supporting leaders with the incentives and training needed to take systems approaches.
We live in a complex world where many systems have evolved, rather than being planned, designed, or built, says Professor John Clarkson, Director of the Cambridge Engineering Design Centre. This phenomenon, alongside the phenomena of "systems of systems" is a common construct in areas such as healthcare, where a breakdown in one system can have spin-off consequences upon others. Professor Clarkson's work on the Improving Improvement Toolkit for health and care professionals has contributed to our understanding of how systems engineering can improve healthcare design by employing perspectives which take into account systems, design, risk, and people. His work suggests that we need to consider the multiple elements, stages and key parts of a system, designate system leaders, and understand how the system should perform and be managed. Moreover, when systems break down, he posits that the Design Council's Double Diamond Model is a valuable approach for exploring how to deliver solutions.
Breakdowns in systems are often a consequence of conflicts in complex, adaptive systems, suggests Luke Roberts, Managing Director at Resolve Consultants. He notes when you try to replace a single cog within a complex machine such as a supply chain, you cannot expect the machine to run in the same way. Instead, he suggests we need to do more to examine ecosystems, to understand where they find the power to adapt. Understanding these systems, and locating the causes of recurring negative outcomes, requires organisational leaders to see the totality of the system’s interactions.
This virtual seminar was part of CSaP’s 2020 Virtual Annual Conference Seminar Series, which will be running throughout the months of May and June. To learn more, or to register for your free ticket to attend an upcoming session, please visit our annual conference events page.