Systems are all around us.  In fact, we cannot exist without systems.  Life itself is a system, a complex-adaptive system.  Systems exist at many levels and can range from simple to complex.  In order to affect system change, it is critical that we understand the dynamics and interdependencies of systems better because they often don’t behave as their stated purpose.  This workshop will introduce you to the fundamentals needed to understand systems and systems thinking as a process for transformation.  This is the second workshop in AdaptivePurpose’s Tools for Transformation series of workshops.  The workshop follows Systems Thinking for Transformation: an Introduction, however, that is not a prerequisite.  The workshop is geared towards change agents on the ground seeking to engage in systems change and analysis.  It is the prerequisite for AdaptivePurpose’s subsequent System Mapping workshops.

Systems thinking is one of the most powerful tools we have to understand and change the world around us. Many of the most persistent, complex problems we are facing today (poverty, inequality, climate change and environmental degradation) are systems problems. Systems thinking can help us develop the mindset and facilitate the profound, transformative change that is necessary to fully address these issues. 

This two-hour, online workshop is the first in the Tools for Transformation series of workshops AdaptivePurpose is developing to advance the applications of systems thinking and adaptive, complexity-aware practices in the social change sector.  The workshop is open to anyone interested in transformative change with little or no knowledge of systems thinking and its applications.