Introduction To Ten Steps
Before the steps
What is a System?
As mentioned earlier, ‘Systems Thinking competence’ is one of the eight key competences identified by UNESCO in the context of education for sustainable development. According to UNESCO “Systems thinking competency is the ability to recognize and understand relationships; to analyse complex systems; to think of how systems are embedded within different domains and different scales; and to deal with uncertainty”. This definition has gained international acceptance and is used in this manual.
Before we proceed further on the journey of strengthening ‘systems thinking competence’, it is helpful to try and understand what a ‘system’ is!
Donella Meadows described a system as:
an interconnected set of elements that is coherently organized in a way that achieves something. If you look at that definition closely for a minute, you can see that a system must consist of three kinds of things: elements, interconnections, and a function or purpose.
To comprehend this abstract description and relate it to a daily life context, let us consider a bicycle as an example of a system.
A bicycle is a system because
- It consists of elements such as the wheels, brakes, handlebar, saddle, light etc.
- Connections exist between the different parts – such as pedals, chain wheel, bicycle chain, wheels.
- It has the function or purpose to be ridden and to transport at least one person from one place to another.
Can we consider a stationary bicycle which shows no movement and no rider handling it, as a ‘system’? Yes. Even in such condition, a bicycle is a ‘system’ and we may refer it as a static system. The bicycle when moving and handled by a rider becomes a dynamic system.
Each system has a system boundary. This is not necessarily defined by the system itself but by the question you may ask in the context of thinking about a system or thinking in systems.
To explain this. Let us once again refer to the bicycle. We might only consider a bicycle in the narrow boundaries of its original purpose – as a means of transport. But we could also ask: What will happen to my bicycle, if I park it outside my house? In such a scenario, we could consider that the system boundaries would include the various natural processes such as weathering, gradual loss of air in the bicycle tyre, deterioration of the quality of the leather saddle due to weathering processes, etc.
One may even expect that the bicycle might be stolen by someone. These examples show that a system may be nested as a sub-system within a larger system, and those are inside yet another system, which are part of the earth system. The earth itself is part of the solar system! Whether one touches these multiple systems finally depends on the questions that arise based on one’s perception.
The next section provides an overview of the steps to explore systems.
Overview of the Steps
| Steps | Activities & learning methods | Learning outputs | Learning outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Step 1 Describe and/ or visualize a part of a complex reality. |
Activity Produce a structured description. Learning Methods
|
A written or graphic description of the reality |
Ability to
|
| Step 2 Express that part of reality as a model. |
Activity Create a model. Learning Methods
|
Use the output from Step 1 to create a model |
Ability to
|
| Step 3 Understand the model as a system. |
Activity
Learning Methods
|
Use output from Step 2 to develop
|
Ability to
|
| Step 4 Use the model to explain the behaviour of the system. |
Activity
Learning Methods
|
Use the output from Step 3 to prepare
|
Ability to
|
| Step 5 Anticipate the behavior of the system. |
Activity
Learning Methods
|
Use the output from Step 4 to prepare
|
Ability to
|
| Step 6 Evaluate the impacts of the system on sustainable development (SD). |
Activity
Learning Methods
|
Use outputs from Steps 3, 4 and 5 to prepare
|
Ability to
|
| Step 7 Identify potential points of intervention. |
Activity
Learning Methods
|
Use the output from Step 3 (Systems diagram) to mark points of intervention
|
Ability to
|
| Step 8 Identify potential types of interventions. |
Activity Identify types of intervention for different leverage points, using examples Learning Methods
|
Use the output from Step 7 to prepare a description of one or more potential interventions
|
Ability to
|
| Step 9 Generate options to act for SD. |
Activity Design the aim (oriented to sustainability), and a strategy to achieve the aim. Learning Methods
|
Use the outputs from Steps 7 and 8 to select an intervention
|
Ability to use the understanding about systems and SD to
|
| Step 10 Assess the impacts of interventions on SD |
Activity Assess if the intervention strategy for changing the system towards sustainability is successful. Learning Methods
|
Use the outputs from Steps 3, 4 and 5 (systems diagram and systems behavior descriptions), and the intervention/s selected in Step 9, to prepare
|
Ability to
|
