Systemic forms

What might systemic forms of organising be?

As we started to explore the idea of systemic forms, we kept coming back to a few key concepts or forms, which we felt could be expressed visually. There may be more. What follows is an initial attempt to draw these forms, and insights from this process. We were looking for how these express different flows, ways of relating, organising principles.

Networks

There are many representations of networks. These are inspired by Baran, 1962. The sketch on the right shows a distributed network, and the existence of network nodes at the cross overs between the different threads. The sketch on the left is an attempt to draw a partially distributed network, with orchestrated nodes at the centre of their own centralised (hub-and-spoke network). The nodes are networked, but not each of the members of each sub-network.

In distributed networks, the notion of equipotent access (potentially equal) is important. The members are free to interact with each other without the need for an intermediary (although there may be enabling roles). In a partially distributed network, the nodes are necessary intermediaries.

Insights from this sketch

• Part of a systemic mindset is an understanding of the world as networked, and of fractal patterns from neural networks in our brains up to the ordering of the universe
• A tension between spontaneous emergence and design
• Distributed networks are unequally distributed

Platforms

Inspiration — original

In researching visuals of platforms, I came across multiple diagrams representing peer producers on one side of the central platform, and peer consumers on the other. Recognising these two categories of user are indeed matched via the platform, I felt this nonetheless didn’t translate the multifunctional nature of users — many are both producers and consumers at different times. On a ride-sharing platform one person might offer a ride one day when travelling somewhere, and look to book a ride another time when not using their own vehicle, for example a one-way trip. This resonates with ecological system principles of multifunctionality — species will ensure more than one function in the ecosystem for example providing food for another species and also habitat or living conditions (shade) for yet another. Alongside this is the concept of redundancy — for the ecosystem to be resilient, more than one species will ensure each function, so that if a species disappears, the function is provided by others. This notion of redundancy resonates with the concept of critical mass necessary for the healthy functioning of a platform model.

I also wanted to represent how the users are distributed unequally around the platform — not equally from two “sides”. The platform is a territory enabling connections (nodes) for a distributed network.

Insights and musings from this sketch

• Platforms are complex distributed systems — the platform has a enabling & matching role
• At their highest potential, platforms become learning platforms increasing the multifunctionality of the users and therefore the resilience of the whole [is this right?]

Swarms

Inspiration: visuals of swarm behaviour — starling murmurations, slime mould development

Swarms are a living phenomenon, study of their behaviour comes from the field of biology. Some species are particularly adapted to this behaviour (startings, slime mould, locusts, bees…) and some aren’t (do large herds of mammals function as swarms?).

Why are swarms systemic forms?

• relationships between the elements are as important as the elements themselves (principles of equidistance and distributed leadership are key)
• they have a boundary
• they have emergent qualities (murmurations)
• Swarms self-organise by following a set of shared principles

Insights from this sketch

• Power is equally distributed [is this the case?], there is no leader or node
• one shared principle is minimum distance between members, which means we can see each member nested within a network of others, from whom they maintain a minimum distance
• Swarms can merge and become a bigger whole
• Movement is an important characteristic — rhythms of movement and stillness (when the starlings fall to roost, or the locusts descend on a crop)

Circles

This sketch was an attempt to explore the circle form as adopted in many decision-making and facilitation processes. In a circle, the web of relationships between the elements sits within the form itself, and is extremely dense (here I have only represented the relationships between two of the elements and the others). This is an equally distributed form — each member of the circle can see and is connected with all the others, without any intermediary.

The orange figures represent the interactions between multiple decision circles in a hierarchy, such as proposed in sociocracy. This is a non-nested hierarchical model. The higher level is not nested within the boundary of another circle. The “hierarchical” decision circle is composed of two members (redundancy, multiple views) of each of the lower decision circles.

Insights from this sketch

• Being able to see the whole (holopticism)
• Distribution of power at the edge (a leader in every chair)
• The hierarchy is ex-centric — i.e outside of the whole as opposed to nested

Labs

This sketch represents different scenarios for how innovation Labs are positioned in relationship to existing organisations, inspired by several researchers involved in the systemic design community. The Lab can be in-house, bridging across the organisation and an external positioning, or totally external to the mothership.

Why are labs systemic forms? Are labs systemic?

• Exploring boundaries and nestedness
• They take an intrinsically experimental approach which enable innovation and evolving

Insights and musings from this sketch

• Labs are small in relation to the organisations that engender them.
• They create a protective space for new forms of organising / ways of being to be nurtured and developed
• They some of the security that organisations provide
• Labs create a space to experiment — they are a transitional space — if they become static or cease to evolve they no longer systemic?