We now find ourselves as a systems thinking community inquiring into planetary governance for climate and ecological politics. The Anthropocene demands a planetary response, and yet we often find even our fellow travelers tethered to discourses of technological management, cultural change, and right action. We might now advocate a stronger role for social systems design as a process for continual engagement of citizen stakeholders, and between these citizens and policy makers, as advocated by Christakis, Ulrich and others. As we have seen power (economic and political) separate from its cultural histories, and become globalized, we may find ourselves in trajectories of action but with marginal power to effect societal outcomes. We are faced with a dual mandate of restorative system design, recovering human needs in our communities, and policy system design, restoring the long historical arc toward democratic governance. And as these are both designable contexts, systemic design can integrate ecological, technological and design thinking to guide policy in more productive ways. • We find ourselves captured in the politics of solutionism. Most presentations of the “problems” as stated before us reveal a trajectory of preferred solutions and their possible shortcomings. • Climate change, even the entire Anthropocene aeonic perspective, represents a problematique of multiple effects systems. We are bound up in political discourses of “system change” and do not share a compelling common view of a flourishing world. We seem unable to reregister the most compelling societal choices and drivers save carbon mitigation. • We have not conducted, to my knowledge, a substantial stakeholder discovery that extends beyond the immediate and obvious primary combatants in the climate change wars. • As citizens and political actors on the planetary stage, we have been afraid or unable to present a clear view of the risk scenarios, possible governance strategies, or a normative plan for serious global investment. If the planet were a business concern, it would be in receivership by now.

1. Designing a Futures
for Flourishing
Peter Jones, PhD
OCAD University, Toronto
Dialogic Design International
2015 International Society for the Systems Sciences, Berlin

2. Reframing the
long crisis
of the
Anthropocene

3. Pope Francis, June 17, 2015
INTEGRAL ECOLOGY
“Since everything is closely interrelated, and today’s problems call for a vision
capable of taking into account every aspect of the global crisis, I suggest that we
now consider some elements of an integral ecology, one which clearly respects its
human and social dimensions.”
“We urgently need a humanism capable of bringing together the different fields of
knowledge, including economics, in the service of a more integral and integrating
vision. Today, the analysis of environmental problems cannot be separated from
the analysis of human, family, work related and urban contexts, nor from how
individuals relate to themselves, which leads in turn to how they relate to others
and to the environment”

4. 4

5. Training new Systems Thinkers & Designers.
MDes STRATEGIC FORESIGHT & INNOVATION
• Business & Design Thinking
• Human Factors
• Systemic Design / Systems Thinking
• Innovation Research Methods
• Strategic Foresight
• Innovation Strategy
• Business Model Innovation
• Strategic research with faculty & students

6. Kelly Kornet (2015) Causing an Effect. Major Research Project, OCAD University.

7. William Georg (2015) From the Bottom of the Pyramid to the Bottom Line. Major Research Project, OCAD University.

8. If we are all entailed within a long crisis
(or “emergency”)
Then, the creation of hope …
(as Andy Stirling said) becomes critical.
Harness fearlessness & novel experience of
students & new stakeholders.

10. Hasan Ozbekhan, Toward a General Theory of Planning, 1967

11. “Matters of Concern”
Modes of Existence
The Bad Anthropocene

13. Kelly Kornet (2015) Causing an Effect. Major Research Project, OCAD University.

16. Shearing layers
Multiple sources: Stewart Brand (1994),

18. All connected – But different timescales
18
Communications & Coordination
Community Projects & Arts
Policy & Social Services
Ecological Stewardship
Community Stewardship
Resources Stewardship
Socio-ecological Stewardship

19. Rich Picture Modeling
CHANGE
PREDICTION &
FORESIGHT
UNDERSTANDING
DESIGN
Team
Syntegration
Simulation
Systemigrams
Boundary
Critique / CSH
GIGAmap
Scenario
planning
Soft Systems
Methodology
Dialogic Design
Appreciative
Inquiry
SYSTEMS THINKING METHODS BY DESIGN INTENT
Novel – Future or unknown
Reform of the known system
System
Dynamics
Developmental
Evaluation
Design or Visual
Cybernetic
Evaluative
Social, Participatory

20. Systemic Design adapts methods to problem
20
Strongly Sustainable Business
Model adapted to future design
of “Flourishing Cities”
5-10 year foresight (2nd Horizon)
Canvas + Generative workshop
- Ontological Design
- Convergent & redirective
- Foresight (Anticipatory)
- Boundary Critique
- Rich Picture Models

22. Tetrad (foresight) method to (futures) problem
22
Tetrad cycle adapted to civic
engagement for “transition to
resilience”
5-10 year foresight (2nd Horizon)
Tetrad + Panel + dialogic workshop
- Stakeholder discovery
- Redirective practice
- Foresight (Anticipatory)
- Boundary Critique
- Transition design models

23. Collaborative foresight method adapted to
strategic policy
23
Dialogic Design adapted for
stakeholder inquiry for SSHRC
Imagining Canada’s Future
20 year foresight (3rd Horizon)
SDD (Dialogic workshop +
Influence map + strategic research)
- Structured Dialogic Design
- Stakeholder discovery
- Collaborative Foresight
- Boundary critique
- Strategic advisory
OCAD University
University of Windsor
York University
Ryerson University
UOIT

24. "In the face of intensified urbanization worldwide, what are
the highest impact social & human challenges for Southern
Ontario, now through 2030?”

25. 13 Challenges by Leverage + Vote

26. Top Ten social challenges for social sciences policy funding
(what SSHRC wanted) represented from influence map:
1. Advancing a diverse and inclusive society
2. Enabling equitable access to ICT
3. Governing ourselves responsively
4. Designing sustainable cities
5. Overcoming fear of change
6. Including indigenous rights in planning
7. Transitioning to a digital economy
8. Upgrading transportation systems
9. Stewarding regional ecosystems
10. Supporting our aging population

27. Systemic design methods for strategic policy
27
Stakeholder workshop series for SSHRC
3rd Horizon policy finding:
Canadian Governance in the Digital Era
Stakeholder workshops + Gigamapping
- Foresight (3 Horizons)
- GIGAmap visual model design
- Open Space + Small group work
- Transition design
- Strategic advisory

28. Governance in the Digital Era

29. Reinventing Democracy in the Digital Era
29
reinventdemocracy.info
• Future Worlds Center (Yiannis Laouris) and UNDEF
• SDD workshops held in 5 different cities across 4
continents
• 1000 young people design action plans and lay the
foundations for coordinated actions
• Plans & media co-production
• 5 awards will be offered for participating groups
Bears striking consonance with SSHRC interests in
mobilization and partnership

30. Stakeholder coalition formation
Stakeholder discovery
Harnessing commitment & continuity across events

31. Plenty of Questions for the Early Anthropocene
• If scientific institutions are at risk of the political sphere, how
might we best apply knowledge to action?
• Can an Action Design pedagogy & program result in better
policy & governance?
• Given the trends, how might we …
- Better enact long-horizon actions from creative planning?
- Envision & enact approaches to coalition formation?
- Engage systemic methods across differing cultures & “Modes
of Existence”?
• The “cathedral” layers of ecodemocracy are pure feedforward.
How will we track, guide, & facilitate bioregion design plans?