Library – Adaptive Management in International Development - Custom feedLibrary – Adaptive Management in International Developmenthttps://docs.adaptdev.info/lib/2024-03-29T08:30:45.098407+00:00https://docs.adaptdev.info/lib/atom.xml?creator=%22Kania,+John%22KerkoThe Relational Work of Systems Changehttps://docs.adaptdev.info/lib/QV8XKVPW2023-02-24T12:23:33Z2023-02-24T12:27:22ZCollective impact efforts must prioritize working together in more relational ways to find systemic solutions to social problems.
Sometimes we lose sight of a simple truth about systems: They are made up of people. Despite all of the frameworks and tools at our disposal and all of our learning as a field of practice, purely technical, rational approaches to systems change will not make much of a dent in shifting power or altering our most deeply held beliefs. If most collective impact efforts fall short of supporting people to change in fundamentally consciousness-altering ways, then, the system they are a part of will not significantly change either.
However, over the past two decades, the prevailing view among many funders, board members, and institutional leaders has been that only quantifiable and predetermined outcomes can create impact. But if the interrelated, devastating, and deepening crises and divisions over the past two years have taught us anything, it is that complex, adaptive problems defy tidy logic models and reductive technical solutions. It is time to invest our collective energy in more relational and emergent approaches to transforming systems.Millgan, KatherineZerda, JuanitaKania, John2022.01https://doi.org/10.48558/MDBH-DA38en-usThe Relational Work of Systems ChangeEmbracing Emergence: How Collective Impact Addresses Complexityhttps://docs.adaptdev.info/lib/XXBRRH3V2023-02-24T11:20:37Z2023-02-24T11:22:50ZCollective impact is upending conventional wisdom on how we achieve social progress.Kania, JohnKramer, Mark2013.01https://doi.org/10.48558/zjy9-4d87en-usEmbracing Emergence: How Collective Impact Addresses ComplexityThe water of Systems Change: Action learning exercisehttps://docs.adaptdev.info/lib/JI6A6WGE2021-07-30T08:40:31Z2024-02-12T10:26:31ZBased on the “inverted triangle” framework presented in The Water of Systems Change, this activity is designed to help individuals think systemically about social change, explore what is happening below the surface on issues they care about, and determine how they and their organizations can pursue large-scale change in a disciplined and holistic manner.
The exercise is divided into 3 parts:
Part I uses the “inverted pyramid” introduced in The Water of Systems Change to perform an external assessment of opportunities to make progress on the social or environmental issue you are focused on.
Part II uses the same framework to consider internal conditions within yourself and your organization that should change in order for you to better support progress on your issue.
Part III takes what was developed in Parts I and II and asks “What to do next?”Kania, JohnKramer, MarkSenge, Peter2018enThe water of Systems Change: Action learning exerciseThe water of Systems Changehttps://docs.adaptdev.info/lib/FJCATAMP2020-10-15T11:15:32Z2024-02-12T10:18:47ZFoundations involved in systems change can increase their odds for success by focusing on the least explicit but most powerful conditions for change, while also turning the lens on themselves.
The Water of Systems Change aims to clarify what it means to shift these conditions. We offer the “inverted triangle” framework as an actionable model for funders and others interested in creating systems change, particularly those who are working to advance equity.
Top Takeaways
Systems change is about advancing equity by shifting the conditions that hold a problem in place.
To fully embrace systems change, funders should be prepared to see how their own ways of thinking and acting must change as well.
Shifts in system conditions are more likely to be sustained when working at three different levels of change: explicit, semi-explicit, and implicit.Kania, JohnKramer, MarkSenge, Peter2018enThe water of Systems ChangeCollective Impacthttps://docs.adaptdev.info/lib/WTI7GUAD2017-11-03T17:30:03Z2020-12-17T15:49:06ZLarge-scale social change requires broad cross-sector coordination, not the isolated intervention of individual organizations.Kania, JohnKramer, Mark2011Collective ImpactFostering Systems Changehttps://docs.adaptdev.info/lib/HFS9K9VV2017-10-11T15:19:45Z2017-10-11T15:19:45ZFive simple rules for foundations seeking to create lasting social change.Gopal, SrikKania, John2015.11.20Fostering Systems Change