Module Five: System Thinking

TOPIC 5.1: What are Public Policy Problems?

Growing Complexity in Government

For many reasons, some foreshadowed in the preceding Modules, government has grown more complex and many of the traditional systems are struggling to maintain momentum. The reasons relate to:

  • Scale and scope of government
  • Technological advancement
  • Discontinuous change
  • Challenge of ideology/ideas
  • Globalisation.

Part of the rise of wicked problems is also “our tendency to treat them as problems to be solved rather than conditions to be endured” as was the case previously (Geuijen, et al, 2017).[1] As already commented, this has all placed huge pressure on governments around the world which face numerous seemingly intractable problems.

“Governments increasingly have to deal with complex and uncertain challenges, which are core characteristics of most public policy issues. All the components of such a complex situation are interconnected in multiple, complicated, and hard-to-define ways. Consequently, it is essential to consider it holistically before intending to alter it. Traditional analytical tools and problem-solving methods, characterised by linear procedures and the notion of isolated interventions, no longer work, leading to the failure of public policies to achieve the set objectives and deliver the expected and desired outcomes. Therefore, the current scale and nature of public policy issues require new approaches to problem-solving. Systems thinking (ST) offers governments a way of handling this increasing complexity in public policy problems, as it holistically traverses disciplinary boundaries. Multiple approaches to ST exist, each with a different emphasis on the system structure, mental models, and underlying cognition… Taking an ST approach encourages decision-makers to change the nature and quality of their thought processes regarding complex situations, widen their mental boundaries, and consider issues interconnectedly and holistically.”

(Nguyen, et al, 2023, pp. 64)[2]

Public Servants need to work meaningfully and effectively with people, communities, organisations and other government agencies to achieve greater impact over time.

At the same time, it is critical that we open our minds to alternate world views when considering the systems in which we operate. From an indigenous perspective, nothing exists outside a relationship to something else. As Tyson Yunkaporta highlights in his book ‘Sand Talk’, all areas of knowledge are integrated not separated. The relationship between the knower and other knowers, places and senior knowledge-keepers is paramount (2019, p169)[3].

Required
20 min

Systems Innovation. (2016, September 24). Wicked Problems. Systems Innovation. Youtube.

The above video, provides a useful overview of this concept. As you listen, consider the following reflection questions.

  • Can you name any wicked problems faced either by your work unit or the wider agency?
  • List the factors which you believe contribute to the problems.

Recommended
50 mins

Tackling Wicked Problems
The Australian Government has commented on the types of issues modern problems have raised for public policy in a paper on ‘wicked problems’ – problems that have no simple answers – and the limits of the traditional tools we bring to deal with them. The following paper from the Australian Public Sector Commissions overviews the nature of ‘wicked problems’ in order to give the concept an Australian context.
This module is not designed to argue that our traditional processes are outdated, or wrong, but to suggest that, for the types of problems highlighted in the reading by the APS, Systems Thinking may shine a light upon alternative modes of operating in these circumstances.
APSC. (2007). Tackling Wicked Problems: A Public Policy Perspective. Australian Public Service Commission.
Read only sections one and two.
Systems thinking for ‘messy’ problems
Jake Chapman’s (2004) pamphlet (written for the DEMOS think-tank) is a very accessible introduction to systems thinking and why and how systems approaches can help tackle ‘messy’ problems. It is written in the context of the reform of government policy-making in the UK, with an emphasis on the National Health Service (NHS). It contains many practical examples and enables us to understand how systems thinking can be applied. It provides an expanded introduction to systems, which complements the first reading.
However, Chapman’s essay is longer than our usual readings and we will break the reading in sections separated by learning activities to accommodate this greater length.
In the first section, Chapman introduces the context of policy making in a globalised and rapidly evolving environment. He highlights the processes by which reductionist thinking and simple solutions, when applied to complex systems, lead to unintended consequences and generate new problems.
Chapman, J. (2004). Executive Summary. In System failure: Why governments must learn to think differently (2nd ed., pp. 18–22). DEMOS.

Activity

Search recent news (on the web or in the press) for an article reporting a case of business or government policy leading to new challenges, due to unintended consequences.
For example, when a state government decided to support the installation of water tanks as a drought protection measure, they became breeding grounds for mosquitoes carrying dangerous viruses such as the Ross River Virus.

Deeper Learning
25 mins

For those who are interested, watch this interview between ABC’s Virginia Trioli and Tyron Yunkaporta as he explains the ideas of relationships and connectedness and the differences between complicated and complex systems. How might this be useful?

Trioli, V., & Yunkaporta, T. (2020). How Indigenous thinking can save the world. Mornings with Virginia Trioli (ABC Radio Melbourne).
Other Indigenous authors make the connection between Indigenous knowledge and systems thinking completely explicit as the following article demonstrates.

Glynn-McDonald, R. (2022, October 20). First Nations Systems Thinking. Common Ground.

 

  1. Geuijen, K., Moore, M., Cederquist, A., Ronning, R., & van Twist, M. (2017). Creating public value in global wicked problems. Public Management Review, 19(5), 621–639. ↵
  2. Nguyen, L.-K.-N., Kumar, C., Jiang, B., & Zimmermann, N. (2023). Implementation of Systems Thinking in Public Policy: A Systematic Review. Systems, 11(2), pp. 64 ↵
  3. Yunkaporta, T. (2019). Sand talk : how Indigenous thinking can save the world. Melbourne, Victoria: Text Publishing Company. ↵

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GSZ631 Managing within the Context of Government Copyright © 2024 by Queensland University of Technology. All Rights Reserved.

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