Understanding Context: Practical exercises for building systems map

Presentation by Jeff Mohr at the Civic Canopy 2017 Collective Impact Summit.

Transcript

1. Understanding Context Practical exercises for building systems maps +
2. “We must take care not to oversimplify an increasingly complex and dynamic reality. This is a common mistake, resulting in a great deal of bad conventional wisdom.” ~ Larry Kramer and Daniel Stid, Hewlett Foundation
8. Sugary-sweetened drinks banned from a school Childhood obesity rate over last 30 years; movement from urban to rural Unsafe neighborhoods and lack of open space leading to less exercise Freedom of choice vs. school’s job to prevent unhealthy choices
9. Individual Warm Up Using “childhood obesity” as a system, brainstorm 1-2 examples of: • Events • Patterns • Structures/Mental models
10. REMEMBER Hold your current (or favorite) strategy lightly Map what is, not what you want to happen Brainstorming rules apply This is a MUCH accelerated version
11. 1 Pick your frame
12. Framing question should focus your team on describing the system as it currently exists Avoid overly broad or specific questions Don’t embed solutions or hypotheses Try using these templates: “what forces account for the current level of _______” or “despite our best intentions, why have we been unable to _______”
13. Why have we been unable to meet the needs of Syrian refugee children? What forces account for the current levels of human slavery in corporate supply chains?
14. Your turn Quickly share a topic you care about with your table Pick a topic to use for the rest of today’s exercises Create a framing question for the topic using the “what forces account for the current level of…” template 6 min
15. 2 Enablers & inhibitors
16. Enablers Inhibitors
17. Refugees' commitment to helping/ volunteering Skilled educators in host countries Positive coordination among NGOs NGO experience & capacity to carry out programs Growing media attention on the issue Huge and growing number of refugees Restrictions around refugee employment Not enough financial support / donor fatigue Poverty Overcrowded classrooms Safety Trauma
18. Enablers Inhibitors Behaviors Policies Beliefs
19. Behaviors the actions people take (processes and skills of key people)
20. Behaviors the actions people take (processes and skills of key people) EXAMPLE positive coordination among NGOs
21. Policies rules and structures (systems, institutions, rule of law)
22. Policies rules and structures (systems, institutions, rule of law) EXAMPLE restrictions around refugee employment
23. Beliefs what people think and value (attitudes, norms, views of other groups)
24. Beliefs what people think and value (attitudes, norms, views of other groups) EXAMPLE refugees' commitment to helping/ volunteering
25. Your turn Brainstorm as many enablers and inhibitors you can think of for your topic Sort each enabler and inhibitor as primarily related to a belief, behavior or policy Fill in any gaps where you don’t have at least one belief, behavior, or policy 10 min
26. 3 Upstream / downstream
27. FACTOR Upstream causes Downstream effects
28. OVERCROWDED CLASSROOMS huge influx of Syrian refugees overstretched systems poor education quality resentment by host communities
30. Your turn Pick 2-3 enablers or inhibitors Generate a handful of upstream causes or drivers and indicate connections as same or opposite Generate a handful of downstream effects and indicate connections as same or opposite 10 min
31. 4 Build loops
32. VS.
33. VS.
36. Your turn Pick a theme that has come up in your exercises and try to draw a loop Start at one factor and add connections and factors until you end up back where you started Take a stab at whether the loop is reinforcing or balancing 10 min
37. ? Questions?
38. Thank you! jeff@kumu.io @kumupowered https://kumu.io +