Giving Compass' Take:

• The authors discuss tips and insights into the article, 'The Water of Systems Change' which is a guide to help make the systems change approach more accessible to nonprofits.

• How will this help organizations that are struggling to find systems change-oriented solutions to large scale problems?

• Read about how systems change helps philanthropy.

In our work with foundation and nonprofit leaders over the past few years, we have seen an increasing number of questions about systems change as leaders in the social sector struggle to make sense of what can often seem like an abstract, theoretical notion.

Mark Kramer, Peter Senge, and I recently published a new article, The Water of Systems Change, with the goal of making systems change more accessible, given its importance to achieving large-scale progress on social and environmental issues.

But how do we get from the written page to actually using the insights of the article? One way is to begin applying the article’s main framework—which we affectionately refer to as “the inverted triangle”—to the issue you are working on.

To help with this, we have developed a new tool oriented around assessing the 6 conditions that typically hold social and environmental problems in place, and doing this from the perspective of both external and internal conditions for change.

Considering the 3 levels of systems change in the framework also allows those using the tool to explore more deeply the second and third levels of change—specifically the 3 less explicit conditions: Relationships and connections. Power dynamics, and Mental models.

Tips for using the too:

  • Try to avoid doing this exercise alone.
  • A facilitator may be a useful addition to the group to optimize for balance and reflection in the conversation and assessment.
  • Allocate 3-4 hours for the tool.
  • You may be tempted to skip Part II of this exercise—the assessment of what you and your organization might be contributing to the problem you are trying to solve. This is a critical part of the work, so we highly recommend you stick with it for Part II!

Read the full article about systems change by John Kania, David Garfunkel, and Hayling Price at FSG