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Context - systems thinking
Systems thinking is a theoretical approach that helps practitioners to understand the contextual and organizational dynamics within which a capacity development intervention takes place. This is important because the impact of interventions have to be measured against the backdrop of systemic forces which are usually more influential in the long term than the intervention itself.
Although systems thinking makes a lot of sense at the conceptual level, debate so far has tended to be quite abstract, making it difficult to draw clear guidance for practitioners. The current discussion is primarily focused on the complexity of systems, which tends to throw up so many potential interlinkages and dynamics among the different elements in a system that it is next to impossible to predict the outcomes of a single social change process. For some, the only logical conclusion to this analytical framework is ' don’t bother planning’, while others believe that systems thinking and planning are not mutually exclusive provided one is aware that it is difficult to guarantee the intended outcomes. In this section, we bring together various resources that help bring the concepts of systems thinking and complexity 'down to earth'. We begin with Bob Williams' helpful introduction to the topic, 'Thinking Systemically' in which he distinguishes three core systems approaches, based primarily on the type of relationships between actors and their relative location of actors within the overall system.
Featured Article
Thinking systemically
Support for capacity development is often framed in projects based on a very
narrow understanding of the factors that influence the ability to of people, organisations and
institutions to perform. There is a need to look at organisations and networks of
organisations
systemically embedded in and connected to a much wider context the potential to
help development workers better understand the factors that influence the abilities of people,
organisations and institutions to perform and to achieve desired outcomes.
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- analytical frameworks
Recent Articles
Evaluation for equitable development results
01 April 2012
This wide-ranging publication aims to contribute to the international debate on how to achieve
equitable development results by conceptualizing, designing, implementing and using evaluations
focused on human rights and equity. It does so by offering a number of strong contributions from 27
world-level experts and senior officers in institutions and governments dealing with development
and evaluation. The authors also presented their contribution in a series of webinars that are
available for download on the
My
M&E web portal. The book complements an earlier manual “
How to
design and implement equity-focused evaluations,” published in 2011.
Dealing with complexity through Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation (Praxis Paper 26)
22 March 2012
Published
by INTRAC in February 2012, this paper shares initial findings from an ongoing action research
project, involving nine Dutch and one Belgian international development organisation, in
collaboration with their Southern partners. The objective of the project is to explore if and how
more ‘complexity oriented’ Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PME) approaches can help them to
deal with diverse challenges that they encounter in their day-to-day practice.
Capacity, complexity and consulting: lessons from managing capacity development projects
20 March 2012
In recent years, the Research and Policy in Development (RAPID) programme of the UK-based
Overseas Development Institute (ODI) has increasingly focused on managing large, multiyear
processes, aimed at building the capacity of local institutions in developing countries to change
the way they engage with policy. This paper draws on the observations of RAPID staff involved
in various projects as well as on primary documentation such as trip reports, after action reviews
and project reports. It also includes a ‘ light-touch’ review of some of the grey and academic
literature available on capacity development, complexity, managing social change and aid agency
behaviour.
Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation: PRIA Global Partnership newsletter, Vol. 1, Issue 4
14 March 2012
The October 2011 issue of PRIA's Global Partnership newsletter contains a selection of papers
that were presented and discussed in the International Conference on Monitoring and Evaluation: New
Developments and Challenges, jointly organized by INTRAC, PSO and PRIA held on 14-16 June 2011 in
the Netherlands.
Changing minds: A guide to facilitated participatory planning
26 August 2011
This book draws on the work of thinkers and doers throughout the world who have grappled with
the challenge of planning complex institutions, especially health systems and development
projects. Their problem: Conventional planning methods often do not work. The solution:
Involve all the key stakeholders in making the plan. The challenge: Devise a planning system that
the principals and stakeholders can trust, and that is inclusive, balanced, and dynamic.
Creative capacity development
18 August 2011
The development community seems
constantly and restlessly in search of a singular approach that will “ solve” poverty, unveiling
new buzzwords every few years only to toss them aside. Reflecting on personal experience as
Director of a Cambodian capacity-building NGO, VBNK, Jenny Pearson argues that the
fundamental flaw with prevailing development approaches is that they remain embedded in a
technocratic and specialized paradigm that is ill-equipped to deal with the complexity of
real-world development contexts.
Other Topics
Essential Readings
-
Bob Williams (2009) "Thinking systematically", in Understanding Context, Capacity.org issue 37 (September 2009)
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Peter Senge (1990 and 2006) The Fifth Discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization, Broadway Business
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“Organism of Machine,” an article by Tony Land in Capacity.org issue 37, September 2009
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Cynefin: a sense of time and space, the social ecology of knowledge management David Snowden, in C. Despres and D. Chauvel, D. (eds) Knowledge Horizons: The Present and the Promise of Knowledge Management, Butterworth- Heinemann, 2000
More Web Resources
Featured Community
Systems Thinking World: Discussion group on LinkedIn
With a growing network of close to 9000 members, Systems Thinking World
brings together an active and diverse community of individuals who believe that "a systemic
perspective provides the best foundation for creating effective approaches for dealing with
challenges and shaping a better tomorrow". The Systems Thinking World Group on Linked In aims to
create content which furthers understanding of the value of a systemic perspective and enables
thinking and acting systemically. To join the group, please visit the SystemsWiki portal at the
link below, which also provides access to diverse articles and training opportunities on this
topic.
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