Today’s challenges—climate change, freshwater management, biodiversity loss, and social inequality—are deeply interconnected. Traditional approaches often focus on isolated fixes, but real solutions require a broader view. Systems thinking and systemic design provide ways to understand complexity, identify leverage points, and create adaptive, collaborative solutions. This post explores how these approaches can help us work with uncertainty and design for long-term impact.
Building on these insights, this post explores how systems thinking and systemic design provide practical ways to bridge these gaps—helping us better navigate complexity and design responses that are more adaptive, inclusive, and effective.
If you’ve ever worked on a complex issue, you’ll know that solutions are rarely straightforward. Whether it’s climate change, freshwater management, public health, or biodiversity conservation, these are not problems with a single cause or an easy fix. They are deeply interconnected—shaped by shifting dynamics, competing priorities, and multiple perspectives.
Yet, despite this complexity, we often try to address just one part of the situation—or one element—searching for linear solutions. We focus on technical fixes, assuming that if we just solve one piece, the rest will follow. But real-world challenges don’t work that way. Climate policy decisions impact food systems. Changes in freshwater management affect land use and community livelihoods. Conservation efforts can unintentionally marginalise Indigenous peoples and other local groups if their knowledge and rights aren’t valued in decision-making. The more we look, the clearer it becomes: these problems aren’t just complicated, they are systemic.
To engage with this complexity, we need an approach that works with interconnectedness rather than against it. This is where systems thinking and systemic design come in. They don’t promise a single answer, but they do offer a way to better navigate uncertainty, understand relationships, and create adaptive, collaborative solutions.
Thinking in systems
At its heart, systems thinking is about seeing the whole rather than just the parts. Instead of focusing on individual issues in isolation, it asks: How do these different elements interact? and What patterns emerge over time?
Take catchment management as an example. Scientific analysis might tell us that reducing nutrient runoff is essential for improving water quality. But implementing that change isn’t just a matter of new rules or better technology—within any given context, it likely involves landowners, local authorities, Indigenous groups, businesses, and communities, each with their own interests, constraints, and perspectives.
A traditional approach might focus on enforcing regulations or investing in riparian planting. A systems approach, however, would look deeper—examining the economic incentives shaping land and water use, the governance structures influencing decision-making, and the relationships between landowners, policymakers, Indigenous peoples, and other stakeholder groups.
This broader perspective reveals leverage points—places where small shifts could create meaningful system-wide change. Rather than simply tackling the symptoms, systems thinking helps uncover the deeper structures and feedback loops that drive long-term outcomes.
It also acknowledges that change doesn’t happen in a vacuum. When we intervene in a system, we create ripple effects. Some of these may be positive, but others may bring unintended consequences. A well-meaning conservation policy, for example, might restrict access to traditional fishing grounds, creating tensions with local communities. By mapping out these interactions before acting, we make better decisions—not just for today, but for the long run.
Co-design: creating solutions with people, not for them
Systemic design shifts away from top-down, expert-led solutions towards co-design—an approach where solutions are developed with those affected by them, rather than imposed from the outside.
Co-design recognises that problems are experienced differently by different people, and that those most directly affected often have valuable knowledge about what will work in practice. This is particularly important in environmental management, community development, and policy design, where multiple groups—including Indigenous peoples, local communities, government agencies, businesses, and researchers—need to work together.
Rather than simply gathering input at the start or consulting stakeholders after decisions have been made, co-design involves ongoing engagement throughout the process. This can involve:
- Bringing people with different perspectives and expertise together to frame the problem.
- Exploring possible interventions collaboratively, rather than relying on pre-defined solutions.
- Testing and adapting approaches based on real-world feedback.
A key benefit of co-design is that it helps surface underlying tensions, assumptions, and power dynamics early, creating solutions that are more inclusive, practical, and sustainable. Systemic design integrates this thinking—combining systems awareness with co-design approaches to develop strategies that are not only technically sound but also socially and politically feasible.
From understanding to action
Recognising complexity is one thing. Designing solutions that work within it is another.
This is where systemic design comes in. While systems thinking helps us understand the problem landscape, systemic design moves us towards action. It integrates systems thinking with design thinking, allowing us to test ideas, involve stakeholders, and refine solutions over time.
Rather than trying to find the “perfect” solution upfront, systemic design works iteratively. It encourages us to engage, experiment, and learn as we go. Instead of following a strict plan, we adapt based on real-world feedback. This makes it particularly useful in adaptive management, where conditions are always evolving, and no single approach will work forever.
A typical systemic design process involves several stages. First, we work to understand the wider system, engaging with different perspectives and mapping key relationships. Next, we co-design interventions—bringing together stakeholders to explore possible actions and identify leverage points. From there, we implement solutions while staying open to learning and adaptation. This means regularly reflecting on what’s working, adjusting strategies, and ensuring that interventions remain relevant as conditions change.
In this way, systemic design provides a practical way to navigate complexity, making solutions more resilient and effective over time.
Key components in an adaptive learning cycle
Adaptive approaches like systems thinking and systemic design recognise that solutions must evolve in response to new insights and changing conditions. This requires a shift away from fixed, linear planning towards an iterative process of understanding, designing, implementing, and refining actions over time.
The diagram below outlines four key components of an adaptive learning cycle—a process that helps decision-makers and practitioners navigate complex challenges. Each of these stages is underpinned by ongoing dialogue, collaboration, and reflection, ensuring that interventions remain relevant and effective.
This cycle is not a rigid step-by-step process but a dynamic and responsive approach. In complex systems, change is ongoing, and learning happens through doing. By integrating structured reflection and continuous feedback, teams can refine strategies in real time—adjusting to new challenges and opportunities as they arise.
Rather than treating uncertainty as a barrier to action, adaptive learning embraces it. Engaging multiple perspectives and testing solutions in practice allows for more flexible, inclusive, and effective decision-making—helping to create solutions that are both practical and sustainable over the long term.
Tools that support systemic approaches
Systems thinking and systemic design are not just abstract concepts—they rely on practical methods that help us understand complexity, collaborate effectively, and respond flexibly to change.
- Making complexity visible
Before jumping to solutions, it’s useful to create a shared map of the system—helping people see how different parts connect. This might involve systems thinking tools: drawing rich pictures, developing causal loop diagrams to highlight feedback loops, or using stakeholder mapping to identify who is involved and where influence lies. - Engaging diverse perspectives
Collaboration is key when working in complex systems, but bringing different voices together can be challenging. Tools like facilitation techniques, active listening, and stakeholder engagement approaches help create productive conversations, ensuring that different knowledge systems and perspectives are included. - Co-designing solutions
Rather than designing interventions in isolation, systemic design involves the people who will be affected by them. Approaches like Theory of Change, scenario planning, and agile design methods help teams explore possible futures, test ideas, and refine strategies as they go.
By using these tools together, organisations and communities can develop more integrated, responsive solutions that reflect the real-world complexity of the issues they are tackling.
Embedding systems thinking in practice
Of course, shifting towards systems approaches isn’t always easy. Many organisations still default to linear planning, working within siloed structures and short-term funding cycles. Challenges often include time pressures, a lack of facilitation skills, or resistance to new ways of working. Some organisations struggle to make space for reflection and learning, fearing that adaptive approaches take too long. Others lack the institutional support needed to embed collaboration and systems thinking into day-to-day work.
But the reality is, change is already happening. More decision-makers are recognising that traditional approaches aren’t working—that complex challenges require more dynamic, engaged, and context-sensitive responses. For those willing to engage with complexity, systems thinking offers a way forward. It helps shift decision-making away from fragmented, short-term interventions and towards more joined-up, long-term strategies.
As Peter Senge famously put it: “A learning organisation is one where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire.” Ultimately, systems thinking and systemic design are not just technical tools—they are ways of working, thinking, and seeing the world. By embracing these approaches, we open up new possibilities for solving the challenges that matter most.
We live in a world where interconnected problems demand interconnected solutions. Systems thinking and systemic design don’t promise easy answers—but they do offer a way to navigate complexity with greater clarity, creativity, and collaboration. The IPBES reports highlight that tackling biodiversity loss, climate change, and inequality requires a fundamental shift in how we approach solutions. As WWF emphasises, we need more systemic, joined-up responses—ones that work across sectors and scales. Systems thinking and systemic design provide frameworks to do just that, helping decision-makers and communities move beyond quick fixes toward long-term, adaptive solutions that reflect the complexity of the real world.
Would love to hear your thoughts—how are you using systems thinking in your own work?
More resources on systems thinking and systemic design can be found on the Learning for Sustainability systems thinking page, along with additional links on pages covering systemic co-design, design thinking/co-design, and commonly used methods and tools. Related areas include adaptive management, social learning, and planning, monitoring and evaluation.
As part of this resource collection, you can also access the accompanying slide deck: An introduction to systems thinking and systemic design – concepts and tools. Developed for an interactive workshop, it presents a number of these key ideas visually, using structured frameworks and tools to support learning and discussion.
