Systems Innovation

Toolkit
From Si Network
 Overview
This Systems Innovation Toolkit is designed as an open-source set of modules that can be used
for enabling a systems change initiative in the context of addressing a wicked challenge.

The building blocks of this toolkit are the canvases. Each canvas deals with one key aspect of
systems innovation; the canvas will help you think through and develop a response to a key
question. For example how can we frame the challenge in a systemic fashion? Or where are the
places I should intervene?

The toolkit contains both the main canvas that represents the overall process and the four main
sections individually. These building blocks can be accessed and used as individual modules or
they can be strung together to form a process depending on the time horizon of the initiative.
The graphic on the next page illustrates the overall process.
 Frame
Rethinking the challenge as Map
systemic to create new insights Mapping the system and
and narrative identifying high leverage
places to intervene

Learn

Overall Process

Develop

Grow Change
Develop an ecosystem that Design and develop the new
connects the interventions and innovations to start to form a
actors towards growing the new new system
system
 1. Frame 2. Map
We start in the center circle where we Now we want to post up the set of
work on framing and gaining insight into factors affecting the situation and
the challenge from a human-centered and identify our intervention points.
systems-centered perspective

How to Use This

Canvas 4. Grow 3. Change
Finally we can look at how to grow For those intervention points we can in
these new innovations into an overall the third circle post ideas for the new
ecosystem, through enabling innovations we would like to create or
connecting, learning and creating. develop to over come the challenges
Si Canvas Learning
This is the full version of the toolkit How can we build shared intent to strengthen
compiled into one canvas with instructions real collaborations around shared purpose?
as to how to use it on the following slide.

Awareness
How can we develop a share narrative and
wariness around the challenge

Platform
What is the platform we will create to
support the ecosystem's development
Social Economic

System Centered
What does it look like from the perspective of the
system? What are the events we see, the trends,
the structures & mental models?

Frame Map Change Grow

Framing & defining the challenge by looking at it from the Mapping the facts effecting the issues and the Post up the intervention points we want to make &
How can we develop a network to connect and grow
perspective of the system and the people in the system specifics challenges around the factors ideate on how to develop these new innovations
the innovations in to an ecosystem for change

Human Centered
What does it look like from the perspective
of the individual? What do they feel, think,
do & say

Environmental Industry

Cocreate
How can we build shared intent to strengthen
real collaborations around shared purpose?

Connecting
How might we build connections between the
actors? E.g. host events, networking, etc.
Framing
This first section is designed to help us frame the challenge by integrating a
human-centered perspective with a system-centered perspective. The aim is
that we can create a better understanding by looking from the perspective
of the individual as well as the whole.

From here we can start to ask relevant questions from the viewpoint of both
- such as what is a functional system, what is the dominant paradigm and
narrative in the system and for the individual, what are the challenges
experienced on both levels, etc.

This should ultimately help us to develop approaches that are responsive to

and working for both levels. Rather than creating trade offs we can work to
create synergies between the whole and the parts.
 Trends Structures
What has been happening over time? What are the underlying systemic structures,
What are the trends we can identify? physical, information, rules, resource flows?

System Centered
What does it look like from the perspective of the system?
What does a functioning system look like?

Events Paradigm
What are the events we observe What are the mental models and
in the system? underlining values of the system?

System & Human Centered Canvas

Feels Does
What is the person What do we observe the
feeling? person doing?

Human Centered
What does it look like from the perspective of the
individual? What are their aspirations?

Thinks Says
What is the person What do we hear the
thinking? person saying?
 How to Facilitate This Section
1. Start by posting in the upper section what the system is currently like. Start with the
“events” and then move clockwise around the circle to “trends”, “patterns”, “paradigm”.

2. Now move to the human perspective and start with the question what the person
does, then move clockwise through the questions about what the person says, thinks
and feels.

3. Now try to summarize in the upper section what the system is like and what a
functioning system might look like.

4. Finally try too summarize the perspective of the individual and what a functioning
system might look like for them.
 Mapping
This section is designed to help us map out the set of factors
surrounding a given issue and to try to find leverage points in
the system that may shift the dynamic.

After having first defined what the challenge is, then map out
the key elements affecting it and how they are interrelated.

This should help us to gain a shared understanding and

representation of system before we start to ideate on
interventions.
 Social Economic

Challenge
What is the challenge? Mapping
What are the surrounding factors
effecting the challenge

Environmental Industry
 How to Facilitate This Section
1. Start by having members post up their ideas as to what they think are relevant factors
or actors affecting this system in the appropriate area of the canvas.

2. Now have members draw lines between different factors to illustrate the connections
between them. We can also have participants define the type of exchanges between
factors.

3. Finally have participants step back, observe the map they have created and discuss.
Changing
This section has been created to help us ideate on how to design
intervention points in a systems change initiative.

The designing of intervention points follows after the creation of

a systems map - from which you would have already defined the
set of places around which you wish to take action and influence
the system.

For each intervention point we would use this canvas to define

the outcomes we desire, the challenges in realizing these, how to
turn those challenges in to "how might we" statements, to
prototype a design and develop it through an iterative approach.
Framing Mapping Change
 Ideate
Challenge Now try to turn the challenge
What is the challenge we need into an opportunity by framing it
to over come to realize the as a “How might we… ?”
desired outcome?

1. 2.

Objective
First define what we would like to
achieve, what is the desired outcome?

4.
3.

Develop Define
How will we develop it through What is the intervention we
testing, iterating and will design and prototype?
assess outcomes?

Product Service Incentive Communications

Design Design Design Design
 How to Facilitate This Section
1. Now to add intervention points to the map. We want to look at each area & think
about what kinds of innovation would enable us to overcome the challenge.

2. We want to define what kind of intervention we will be designing; product design,

service design, communications design, incentive design etc.

2. For each of the ideas we generate we can then use the second canvas found in this
section to ideate on how we may develop that intervention point.
 Growing
This section is designed to help you ideate on the
development of a systems innovation ecosystem that
will connect different actors around a shared
challenge. Specifically it focuses on defining the overall
ecosystem and the different activities need to grow it.

As outlined here this involves working to answer a

series of questions around the activities we will do to
enable awareness, connecting, learning and co-
creation between actors of the ecosystem.
 Learning
How can we build shared intent to strengthen

Awareness real collaborations around shared purpose?

How can we develop a share narrative and

wariness around the challenge

Platform
What is the platform we will create to
support the ecosystem's development

Framing Mapping Growing

Cocreate
How can we build shared intent to strengthen
real collaborations around shared purpose?

Connecting
How might we build connections between the
actors? E.g. host events, networking, etc.
 How to Facilitate This Section
1. First, in the box titled "Platform" we can define the identity of the ecosystem, give it a
name and start to define the other features needed to organize the ecosystem.

2. Now in the section on “Awareness” we can define how the platform will grow
awareness about the challenge, the existence of the ecosystem and how people will be
kept up to date.

3. Now in the section “Connecting” we can different activities the platform will do to
better connect the actors in the ecosystem and to enable exchange.

4. Now in the section “Learning” we need to ask, what activity programs can we create
to enable the ecosystem to co-learn around the challenge?

5. Finally in the section “Co-creation” we can post up ideas on how to build shared intent
to strengthen real collaborations around shared purpose?
 Canvas Version 1.0
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