Human-centred Design Beyond COP26: Shifting systems
“We are at imminent risk of hitting 1.5 degrees in the near term. The only way to prevent exceeding this threshold is by urgently stepping up our efforts, and pursuing the most ambitious path.” — UN Secretary-General António Guterres, statement on the IPCC Working Group 1 Report, August 9, 2021
With the release of the 2021 IPCC report and the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow this November, debate in the UK on the climate and ecological emergency has felt widespread and the sense of impatience for action palpable. Research by Pew Research Center and other organisations has shown that public concern in so-called advanced economies has increased dramatically in recent years — there is willingness to change as ever more people awaken to the idea that it’s “code red for humanity.” (António Guterres)
The complex and interconnected crises of our times, from the climate emergency to growing inequality, requires every industry to step up their contribution towards a more green and just transition. Including human-centred designers like me.
Next Practice: Beyond Human-centric Design
Eco-communicator and Author Leah Thomas popularised a term that sums up what I’m working to model through my design practice and activism — Intersectional Environmentalism.
My ongoing inquiry is: how can I better contribute to climate and social justice in my design work, and support the wider paradigm shift needed in human-centred design? The UK’s Design Council and The Point People recently recommended “system-shifting design” practices as the way designers can better contribute to human and planetary thriving for current and future generations. My desire to more deeply align my approach with my values led me to the School of System Change and its course for intermediate practitioners — Spark 2021.
“We are making choices that will affect whether beings thousands of generations from now will be able to be born sound of mind and body.”
— Dr Joanna Macy, Scholar of Buddhism, Systems Thinking and Deep Ecology
Introducing Spark 2021
I was excited to see the course description was a perfect match for both the interpersonal facilitation skills, system change practices and capabilities I believe it’s vital for 21st century designers to develop to be system-shifting. The course is not only theoretical, it guides practitioners towards contextual inquiry and action right away.
It has been thoughtfully planned and facilitated by the School of System Change Director Dr Anna Birney, Associate Director Charlene Collison and Senior Administrator Jasmine Castledine. Huge thank you to the team for creating such a warm and inspiring learning environment that left me hungry for more classes!
I’m enjoying exploring how to apply my learnings within Futurice’s culture and projects. I hope that sharing my key insights so far will benefit other practitioners who are on a similar journey.
Reflection questions posed to the cohort:
- What is systems change to me?
- How do we intervene, cultivate and catalyse systems change?
- How do we understand our own leadership and practice?
- How can people make the best of the system they are in? E.g. make ripples, first steps or work with resistance.
Part 1. Key learnings — system change overview
Insights below are based on Charlene Collison and Dr Anna Birney’s presentations. For deeper insight I recommend reading their publications.
- Systems change means dancing between outcome and process: Groups need a flavour of the outcome to bring people on board [if it’s a new initiative]. From then on it’s about dancing between knowns, unknowns and the emergence of what could be. Maintaining a hopeful space for long-term change whilst outcomes remain dynamic and evolving i.e. moving targets. [Thanks to cohort members Marion Birnstill and Jaakko Porokuokka who inspired this phrasing!]
- It’s about people: Pay attention to social processes and relational dynamics as you facilitate e.g. differences in power and privilege.
- To work on others we need to work on ourselves: The cohort are all here for each other — sometimes the most important thing we can offer is to witness the experience of each others’ growth.
Part 2. Key learnings — system change projects
- The value of personal relationships and network building can never be underestimated (because it creates trust, connection and taps into personal motivation). Learn about people, what questions they are bringing, how the challenge or question can be reframed to integrate their interest.
- The right question is a magnet: Organising for systemic change often starts with quiet convening — conversations between a small number of people. Growing to a larger group can be done by finding the right question that will bring them together. Questions welcome uncertainty and can change paradigms, whilst pre-prepared solutions and assumptions can create divides.
- Working with limited budgets: Go where the energy is, do one thing well and in budget. Be honest about what’s manageable. We all play a role in upholding or nudging the systems that lead to short-termist and underfunded system change work. It requires having conversations, negotiations with potential funders — educating them and ourselves.
- Be thorough with the problem diagnosis phase: Spending an outsized amount of time on the diagnostic phase in system change is valuable and important, leading to more effective progress in the following phases.
“If I had an hour to solve a problem I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.” — Albert Einstein
Part 3. Key learnings — Facilitation practices
- The body is our best teacher in facilitation: Learn to listen, your body will respond to group dynamics and energy telling you what to be aware of e.g. tension.
- Considerations for holding the space: Acknowledge where you’re coming from — your identity and privilege. Invite participants (in a large group) to support the facilitation with specified roles e.g. community keeper, sensemaker or wellbeing tender. Make space for dialogue and processing in pairs or small groups.
- Consider time equity: Though the facilitator prompts on timekeeping, everyone is responsible for considering the time they take to speak, so they don’t take time away from others.
- When there are big differences of power or opinion: It’s possible to help make strong opinion or power differences explicit and hold it in a way that creates more trust and constructive dialogue.
- Creating intimacy in facilitation: This is about knowing whether it’s a time to step forward or step back depending on the group, creating space for emotion and grief-tending, loss and pain in challenging topics. However, as a facilitator aim not to take the group into emotional places you’re not comfortable with yourself.
Next Steps — Learning as a Community
One of the most valuable aspects of Spark 2021 is the community, which is full of people willing to share their wisdom from different systemic challenges, industries and contexts around the world. We form buddy groups and undertake peer-to-peer coaching. This has been a supportive way of processing learnings and working through problems together.
Spark 2021 kicked-off on November 2nd, coinciding with COP26 which meant it set a backdrop to our thinking at the beginning of the course. With the inequitable processes and mostly unambitious outcomes of COP26, the course has been an inspiring antidote. Providing an inside glimpse of the many different ways people around the world are boldly addressing complex, systemic challenges head on — with vision and determination.
I look forward to the next steps and sharing learnings down the line! If you’re inspired or interested in chatting about any of these ideas feel free to get in touch.
