Insight and systems methodologies for precision activism
Organisations must actively engage the systems around them to enable transformation for sustainability — the climate, nature, and social emergencies can only be addressed effectively by addressing markets, policy, finance, and technology in an integrated way alongside business transformation. Yet doing so presents nebulous, complex challenges, and investment in systems-based approaches that can overcome these is frustrated by a lack of systems know-how.
To cut through the complexity, deep, actionable intelligence — or insight — on where to intervene and how is required. Below I explore three key cutting edge themes in this regard that are the focus of our work at 103 Ventures and touch on our future direction of travel.
Unearthing sensitive intervention points in industries
Organisations often point to other parts of their system as the barriers to change, with a prevailing view that the system around is beyond their control. The most progressive organisations are however now thinking more creatively about how they can enable systems change through collaborative action. When they approach how to do this, they are typically faced with a boggling array of information and options regarding their external environment. Identifying sensitive intervention points — places to intervene in a system for maximum effect — and clear strategies to action them in this context can be very challenging.
There have been some exciting developments in this arena that demonstrate how we can think about intervention points and the catalysing effect of synergies between technological innovations. The Breakthrough Effect for example highlights how three ‘super-leverage points’ — relating to green ammonia, alternative proteins, and electric vehicles — could trigger a cascade of tipping points for zero-carbon across the global economy. It argues that ‘tipping points’ are reached when the cost of disruptive technologies reaches parity with incumbents, but that these are modified by factors such as policy and consumer preferences.
Such macro-scale approaches, while very valuable, often leave individual actors such as corporations and industry bodies in the dark about how to practically bring about change on the ground. In a similar vein, by focusing on tipping points for technology proliferation (i.e. the desired destination), these approaches often overlook the complexities of the journey to get there. While the relative cost of new technologies undoubtably restricts their proliferation (which I am sure comes as no surprise to innovators), they typically require substantial support from institutions such as business, government, finance, and NGOs, alongside changes in markets and wider society, to bring to fruition.
The nature of sensitive intervention points are in practice often much more enigmatic and challenging to identify, which substantially restricts planning for and investment into systems-based approaches. The insights required to address these issues are embedded within the knowledge base of industry leaders and their stakeholders and need to be unearthed through rigorous, in-depth research and systems-based methodologies.
Examples of how systems thinking has been successfully used in practice are scarce. We are starting to address this at 103 Ventures by demonstrating new approaches with tangible real world outputs. Our work with the Urban Land Institute — which resulted in guidance to integrate transition risk into investment decision making (see coverage in the FT) and a portfolio of supportive interventions — shows how deep stakeholder engagement can be used to drill down into an industry context and identify precision interventions with maximum leverage. Having said that, this is the start of a long journey, and substantial work is required to develop and refine new approaches for different industry contexts.
Focusing inwards to create outward change
When organisations take ambitious action that requires systemic change, they will inevitably encounter organisational barriers. For example, investors and employees may be resistant to new business strategies, internal parameters such as investment time horizons and profitability criteria will likely be inappropriate, and the right skills and capabilities may be scarce or misallocated. While organisations therefore need to refocus their efforts externally towards their wider operating context and actively create change, they need to look inwards at the same time.
Cutting edge activity on sustainability tends to either focus on organisational transformation (see The Embedding Project and Business Transformation Group) or externally such as in industries and supply chains. Despite the fact that leading businesses are now increasingly placing sustainable outcomes for society in their sights through their stated purpose and endeavouring to transform in response, insights linking specific ambitious industrial change programmes such as demand-led innovation to internal barriers and enablers are uncommon.
If we are to reach our sustainability goals within the required timeframes, we need to think about change in a way that considers organisations as deeply connected to the systems they operate within. This will require strategies and change programmes that are truly holistic and ambitious — actively addressing the deep connections between organisations, their supply chains, and wider social, environmental, political, and financial systems (see CISL’s Net Zero Business Transformation report where we mapped this out). To deliver on this, we must look deeply at the barriers and enablers of change associated with organisational purpose, strategy, governance, culture, innovation and finance — in the context of industrial transformation programmes.
Re-organising for a VUCA world by focusing on the ‘spaces in between’
Collective intelligence explores how to create new, better combinations of people to effect change. It is particularly well suited to sustainability transitions work because it facilitates, via the development of ‘learning organisations’, more adaptive and agile ways of working that are open to multiple pathways of progress. This is critically important in the context of a VUCA world, where traditional linear plans and ‘roadmaps’ are unlikely to reflect reality and lead to failure.
Arguably the dominant narrative among sustainability consultancies and the wider business community at present centres on sustainable performance i.e. emphasising competitive dynamics. While this approach is essential for business success, industry bodies and businesses are increasingly realising the importance of collaborative, pre-competitive action for addressing complex systemic challenges. Collective intelligence enables the creation of spaces outside of organisations where barriers to progress can be challenged and enablers pursued.
There is a rich knowledge base on how to build collective intelligence, such as through developing a community of practice. But insights into how to do this at an industry level for sustainability are much more scarce. 103 Ventures is currently working with Laudes Foundation to develop such a community with a ‘cluster’ of partners to accelerate the flow of finance into decarbonisation of the built environment. Surfacing the insights as to what worked and why in this and similar contexts is important to advance activity in liminal spaces.
A critical inherent challenge in doing this work is the tension between emergent work and the preference for formulaic approaches in the business world. Much of the craft of facilitation, which underpins collective intelligence, is tacit in nature and therefore hard to define, formulate and repeat. It is also highly tactical, with approaches varying depending on factors such as who is in the room and what mood music is playing. As a result, much of the know-how on collective intelligence for sustainability exists within the ‘doing world’ rather than the ‘telling world’. Our methods development process at 103 Ventures is addressing this, but wider engagement from the business community is required for real progress.
The art and science of systems insight at 103 Ventures
The 103 Insight and Systems Methodologies practice addresses knowledge and know-how barriers and enablers of system change. We provide actionable insights for our clients and wider community of stakeholders on how to intervene in systems for greatest effect. Our approach to doing so is influenced by the experience of our founding partners, who have worked extensively across business, the arts, science and the third sector.
We unearth the insights required to enable change at an industry level through conversations with stakeholders — the custodians of knowledge in living systems — to harvest the raw materials for insight. This is underpinned by effective dialogue — the art of thinking together — which is enabled through qualities such as deep listening, respect, open mindedness, curiosity, and authenticity. At the same time, management and social studies and the science of complex systems provide the backbone for structuring investigations and the seeds for the development of industry specific approaches to change.
Our methods and approaches are refined through a continuous learning process, gathering intelligence from projects in real time as our methodologies are rolled out in new applications. We are committed to working out loud and sharing our methodologies, challenges and successes, and welcome engagement with businesses, NGOs and other practitioners who share this commitment, need support, or want to contribute. Do connect and drop me a message if you are interested in a discussion.
