The presentation "Porfolios for system transformation" by Giulio Quaggiotto (Head of Strategic Innovation, UNDP) was held at Sitra's event Innovaatioportfolioryhmän luokkakokous on 5th of May, 2021.

1. Change with greater purpose
Portfolios for system
transformation
A journey of trials… and many errors!
@ gquaggiotto
Head, Strategic Innovation Unit

2. Being in the washing machine
Source: Charlie Leadbeater & Jennie Winhall

3. “We thought development was about
the science of delivery. We found out
it’s about the art of transformation”
Danny Sriskandarajah

4. Dominican Republic
Tourism in the wake of
COVID
Colombia
Improving quality of life for vulnerable
populations in select territories
Bolivia
Improving urban
governance
Ghana
Future of work: value
creation and jobs
Tunisia
Improving trust in
government
Serbia
Private sector development (small and
medium sized enterprises) post-COVID Burundi
Human security in
border
communities
Palestine
Inclusive economic development for
youth, women and marginalized groups
Vietnam
Micro, small and medium
sized enterprise resilience
in the wake of COVID
“Deep demonstrations”

5. Ripple effects ?

6. The big bet: building supply & demand at the same time

7. Intent
Mindsets
Portfolio practice

8. What is going on here?

10. Beyond single point solutions

11. Providing options for transitioning to a new system
Source: Berkana Center

12. Providing a system with new options

13. “A budget of possibilities”
Source: Playing with Time | Brian Eno and Will Wright

14. Intent
Mindsets
Portfolio practice

15. “As is” vs. “to be”

16. “In systems thinking, we define the ideal future state (the goal) and
try to get there, which only works when you have a high level of
predictability.
In complexity, we describe the present and see what is possible to
change, defining a direction, not a destination, setting ourselves on
a discovery journey”.
- D. Snowden

18. What is going on here?
Aka the evolutionary potential of the present
A Ministry of Possibilities

19. “Arrangements”
Source: Ideas Arrangements Effects: Systems Design and Social Justice, Design Studio for Social Intervention (2020)

20. The value of abstraction

21. Playing the infinite game

22. “There are at least two kinds of games.
One could be called finite, the other infinite.
A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game
for the purpose of continuing the play”
- James Carse

23. The infinite game

24. RESULTS EFFECTS
Desirable / Undesirable
PLANS EMERGENCE
SOLUTIONS PROBES
Impact / Outcomes
Outputs Interventions
Decisions and actions are based on system responses
CORE ATTITUDE
LEARNING
CORE ATTITUDE
MANAGING /
MONITORING
Predefined decisions and actions
OBJECTIVE INTENT

25. Practicing abductive thinking

26. Intent
Mindsets
Portfolio practice

27. “A set of connected
interventions that learn from
each other over time”
- T. Mitchell

29. Portfolio practice
1. Portfolio design (probes)
2. Portfolio composition (beyond single point solutions)
3. Dynamic management (plan > adapt)
Abductive thinking
Abstraction
Visual representation

31. Sense: from “laundry list of projects” to portfolios

32. Sense: testing for coherence

33. Sense: Deep listening

34. Sense: reframing as a key deliverable

35. Sense: Where do I want to be to understand the
system dynamics better? And why?

36. Position: What probes will I design?

37. The big bet: building supply & demand at the same time

38. CITIES POST
COVID
FUTURE OF
WORK
DIGITAL
TRANSFORMATION
SUSTAINABLE
TOURISM
CIRCULAR
Portfolio offers

39. The backstage and the frontstage

40. Developing a portfolio narrative

41. Intent
Mindsets
Portfolio practice

42. Get in touch!
Giulio.quaggiotto@undp.org
@gquaggiotto
Head, Strategic Innovation Unit