Alan’s Notes – Beth Smith (Cynefin), CECAN Webinar, 13th March 2024
Complex Adaptive Systems (human ones)
Emergence is key, so measuring the parts and tracking progress towards pre-determined destinations, isn’t appropriate
Subjective experiences matter, so measuring the visible won’t suffice
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Key principles for enhancing the functioning of such systems
Reduce granularity – go small
Distribute cognition – share in the thinking and making sense, so that participants become subjects not objects of the inquiry
Disintermediate – remove the middle-man interpretation
Collective sense-making, seeking coherent heterogeneity which does not collapse diversity
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Sensemaker to understand perspectives, feelings and relationships
Triangles about (system) dynamics, and sliders.
Change happens not by scaling but by decomposition and recombination
My question: I’d love to hear more about how the process of decomposition and recombination (which Beth said is how change happens in complex adaptive systems) relates to the notion of scaling. Is there more to say beyond the idea that scaling is not a helpful way to think about supporting change in CAS?
