The document discusses how to approach monitoring and evaluation (M&E) when working with complex problems. It highlights the importance of understanding the type of problem you are dealing with and designing the M&E framework accordingly. The document also emphasizes the need to regularly learn and adapt, capture system-level change, and track and report on intermediate progress. It provides guidance on how to build the “learn and adapt” function, measure system-level change, and track and report on progress. The document concludes by acknowledging the challenges of tracking progress in complex problems and suggests using a framework that enables self-checking, provides signals of progress, and ensures transparency with stakeholders.

“On the Ways of Learning” by Mary Catherine Bateson explores the various ways in which we learn from our experiences. The author emphasizes the importance of peripheral vision, the ability to make connections between different life experiences, and the value of contrast in learning. Bateson also discusses the practice of storytelling as a means of making connections and understanding the world. She argues that learning is a fundamental human adaptive process and that embracing ambiguity and complexity can lead to a more satisfying and sustainable relationship with the world.

The polarity between Deep Structures and Surface Structures is crucial for integral thinking, allowing for a nuanced understanding of reality. Deep structures are the underlying, often implicit structures that govern systems, while surface structures are their explicit, observable manifestations. Understanding this polarity enhances our ability to make sense of complex realities and adapt our thinking to both enduring principles and emergent trends. Supporting members have access to a Full Polarity Map and a revolutionary new training program by Beena Sharma designed to teach the higher-order thinking common to leading-edge individuals at the integral stage of development.

This blog post is part of a series complementing the short film series “Stepping Into Systems” on systems change. It features rich sharings from interviews with systems change practitioners. The blog pairs with the first film in the series, which asks foundational questions about systems change and explores the qualities that systems exhibit. The post explores practitioners’ definitions of systems and systems change, and the systemic qualities of nestedness, interconnectedness, emergence, and aliveness. The practitioners also discuss the dynamic and ever-evolving nature of systems and the potential for systems change to highlight strengths and shift conditions that bring societies and individuals to their full potential.

Differentiation and Integration are fundamental dynamics in Ken Wilber’s Integral Theory. Differentiation involves creating uniqueness and distinction within a system, leading to diversity and individuality. Integration, on the other hand, synthesizes these diverse elements into a functioning whole, fostering unity and interconnectedness. Both processes are essential for the health, evolution, and complexity of consciousness and systems. Differentiation allows for specialization and the introduction of novel features, while integration ensures harmonious interrelation and cohesion. However, when differentiation is not adequately integrated, dissociation can occur, and when integration is excessive, repression may arise. The balance between differentiation and integration is crucial for holistic development.

The article discusses the ideas of Mushtaq Khan on institutional economics, political economy, and methodology of economics, and connects them to concepts in scale-free regulative development, morphogenesis, and cognitive science. Khan argues that socioeconomies are non-ergodic dynamical systems with hysteresis, which means that socioeconomies must be “goal-directed agents that can make mistakes.” He views the economy through the lens of individual choice as overly reductive and misses opportunities for intervention and explanation. Khan’s position is that viewing the economy exclusively through the lens of individual choice and emergence of supply, demand, and market prices is overly reductive and misses opportunities for intervention and explanation.

Gamifying the note-taking process in Obsidian can make it more enjoyable and engaging. The author compares the experience to playing Minecraft and highlights the challenges and excitement that come with gaming. They provide several strategies for gamifying Obsidian, including adopting a challenge mindset, creating a superhero alter ego, fighting against obstacles, and framing note-making as an adventure. The author also suggests finding allies to join the journey and treating the PKM system as a knowledge garden. Lastly, they emphasize the importance of clarity, setting goals, and providing feedback to reduce procrastination and spark action.

The School of System Change has created a film series that covers fundamental concepts and topics related to systems change. The series aims to (re)awaken a felt sense of knowing the world as systemic and invite viewers to get started on their systems-learning journey. The series was created through a process of convening and yarning with practitioners from diverse and multiple lineages of systems practice, and the resulting films are rooted in the varied sharings and the aliveness and livingness of the practitioners’ work. The School has also created a blog series that adds more depth to the learnings found in the films and celebrates the rich multiplicity of systems practice.

In this article, the author explores the concept of “Regeneration” and distinguishes it from mere “good intentions.” Drawing from personal and professional experiences, the author discusses a shift in perspective towards a more holistic view that considers the interconnectedness of all living systems. The article highlights the importance of understanding system dynamics, recognizing the uniqueness and potential of each entity, and developing individual and collective capacities. The author also reflects on the transition from a self-centric approach to a system-centric approach, emphasizing the role of active participation in the renewal of the world.

The author discusses the concepts of pragmatism, patterns, and assemblages in this post. They refer to the role of language, art, and intuition in sense-making and decision-making. The author also explores the idea of pattern languages and how they can be used to solve complex problems. They mention their work with Hexi and the importance of knowing when an assembly becomes an assemblage. Finally, they touch on the topics of granularity, diversity, and the mapping of attitudes in the context of organizational design and strategy.

In this blog post, the author discusses the concept of abductive reasoning and its role in human decision-making. Abductive reasoning is about finding connections between seemingly unrelated things and is a critical aspect of human resilience and adaptability. The author also explores the link between experience, intuition, and abductive thinking. They emphasize the importance of anomalies and surprise in triggering abductive thinking and highlight the need to balance uncertainty reduction with the ability to detect and respond to anomalies. The post concludes by mentioning future posts on AI and a new sensing capability.

In this letter, the author reflects on the nature of care during winter in Cyprus compared to Northern Europe. They describe how winter in Cyprus is a time of rejuvenation and growth, with lush green landscapes and vibrant trees. The author also discusses their exploration of the concept of care and lists a series of questions they are considering, such as the definition of care, the undervaluing of care, the interdependence of care for people and the environment, and the relationship between care and control. They emphasize the importance of care in the face of social and ecological crises and the need to navigate the complexities and trade-offs involved in providing care.

The author reflects on the Children’s Party Story as a teaching tool to understand the different ways we manage relationships at work versus in our personal lives. They discuss the ability to recognize patterns of behavior and adapt our identity and interaction style based on context. The author also explores how our ability to detect dishonesty and maintain fairness diminishes in larger groups or social media contexts. They emphasize the importance of understanding the fluidity of identity and the influence of social patterns and trust. The author questions the prevalence of organizational frameworks and categories that overlook these natural abilities and interactions. They suggest that understanding and influencing culture requires reflection on our innate understanding of interactions rather than relying on generalized qualities and abstractions.

Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is an approach to interpersonal relating that focuses on creating a high quality of connection between people. It recognizes the importance of boundaries as strategies for meeting needs and maintaining healthy relationships. NVC provides tools for setting boundaries, such as expressing requests instead of demands and using protective use of force when necessary. The practice of NVC also emphasizes interrupting conversations with honesty or empathy and understanding the power of saying and receiving “no.” By understanding boundaries as strategies in service of needs, NVC helps individuals develop healthier relationships and achieve a balance between honesty and harmony.

This document provides a 3-step guide to gaining clarity in your personal knowledge management (PKM) practice for the new year. The first step involves creating a table of the top 5 knowledge nodes in your graph, allowing you to reflect on your main interests for the upcoming year. The second step focuses on reflecting on your curiosity about each knowledge node, using a contextual column to rank your level of curiosity. The final step involves creating additional contextual columns to fill in with information about sources, notes, creations, and knowledge, helping you to create an Interest Landscape and surface valuable connections within your knowledge graph.

The second webinar of the three-part trauma and system change series is an exploration of trauma and its role in social change. The webinar features social change leaders and collective healers who discuss how to move towards healing systems. The webinar begins with an exercise led by Dr. Goodchild to help participants arrive and be present with their heart and mind. The exercise involves smudging with Sage and an introduction to the Yarning methodology for knowledge production and sharing. The Yarning methodology involves sharing stories and experiences from lived reality, including academic research and personal life journeys.

The Well-being Project is hosting a three-part webinar series on trauma in collaboration with the Collective Change Lab. The panelists discuss the importance of addressing trauma in social change work and promoting collective healing. The conversation covers different types of trauma, including individual, intergenerational, collective, historical, and systemic trauma. The panelists share their personal experiences and expertise in the field.

Interoceptive journaling is a mindfulness practice that involves recording and reflecting upon bodily sensations to improve interoceptive awareness and strengthen the bond between mind and body. By recognizing and understanding bodily signals, this practice can help enhance emotional regulation, self-awareness, and overall well-being. Interoceptive journaling can be practiced through free-flow writing or guided prompts, such as the eight questions provided. This practice is most effective when done regularly and can be easily included as part of any mindfulness practice.

In this post, the author expands on the heuristics for managing complexity, focusing on the first one: optimize the granularity. The author argues that the only way to scale a complex system is by decomposition to the lowest level of coherent granularity and then allowing recombination, not repetition or aggregation. The author also discusses the importance of abstraction and coherence in managing complexity, emphasizing the need to focus on changing things at a micro level to shift evolutionary pathways and create sustainable and coherent solutions.

The author emphasizes the need for small projects, particularly middle-bottom-up change, and stresses the importance of senior middle managers who have real problems and make things work over a longer time. While reflections on practice and theory have been distilled into simple, memorable heuristics, the author is revising these heuristics to manage complex situations. The author identifies three key aspects of managing a complex system; optimizing granularity, distributing cognition/interpretation, and disinter-mediate decision makers. The author discusses the need to create trans-disciplinary theory to design simple methods and tools, integrating different theory bases.

This article presents a new theory of change called “a theory of complex potential states.” The author argues that existing theories of change and models of systems dynamics are inadequate for addressing the multiple crises we face. The theory of complex potential states proposes a shift away from complex adaptive systems thinking, which focuses on competition and adaptation, and towards opening up to new potentials in every relationship and environment. The article draws on the work of Christopher Alexander, Alfred North Whitehead, and Gilbert Simondon to develop this new theory, which emphasizes the generative potentials and processes that underlie living structures. The theory of complex potential states suggests that change occurs through creating relationships and advancing towards complex relational states.