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Systems practice: Managing sustainability
Systems thinking: managing sustainability is about systems practice and managing complexity in the domain of sustainable development. It introduces many examples from practitioners and you will be using systems ideas, and methods, for engaging with and developing your understanding of managing complexity. The unit begins by looking at the way some systems approaches in the domain of sustainable development have evolved, providing a chance for you to appreciate some of their strengths and weaknesses. Some different modes of systems practice are introduced, using the question of ‘who learns what?’ as an integrating theme. The unit continues by focusing on how you may use some of the material from the block in designing purposeful systems practice that could apply to your project. An example of process design for systems practice involving multiple stakeholders is introduced. You will also be given the opportunity to consider ‘learning systems’ and to extend your understanding of SS-method and methodology. The perspectives of the authors of this unit As recognition of multiple perspectives is an important skill to develop in relation to systems thinking you should note that this unit has been written by three authors who are referred to in the text – Chris Blackmore, whose background in education and environmental and rural development projects led to her use of systems ideas for exploring interconnections between environment, development and learning; Jake Chapman whose background in energy research, including campaigning for energy conservation and renewables, helped him develop an appreciation of systemic nature of these issues and Ray Ison whose experience of scientific approaches to natural resource management that historically excluded people from considerations led to his interest in more systems-based approaches to managing which enable participation by stakeholders in defining their systems of interest. This OpenLearn course provides a sample of level 2 study in Computing & IT
This free course, Systems practice: Managing sustainability, introduces ways in which systems thinking can help support processes of decision making amongst stakeholders with different, often contrasting, perspectives on sustainable development in order to generate purposeful action to improve situations of change and uncertainty. You will learn about systems practice for managing sustainable development, and find out how 'learning systems' are designed for purposeful action in the domain of sustainable development. First published on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 as Systems practice: Managing sustainability. To find out more visit The Open University's Openlearn website. Creative-Commons 2011
Systems thinking: managing sustainability is about systems practice and managing complexity in the domain of sustainable development. It introduces many examples from practitioners and you will be using systems ideas, and methods, for engaging with and developing your understanding of managing complexity. The unit begins by looking at the way some systems approaches in the domain of sustainable development have evolved, providing a chance for you to appreciate some of their strengths and weaknesses. Some different modes of systems practice are introduced, using the question of ‘who learns what?’ as an integrating theme. The unit continues by focusing on how you may use some of the material from the block in designing purposeful systems practice that could apply to your project. An example of process design for systems practice involving multiple stakeholders is introduced. You will also be given the opportunity to consider ‘learning systems’ and to extend your understanding of SS-method and methodology. The perspectives of the authors of this unit As recognition of multiple perspectives is an important skill to develop in relation to systems thinking you should note that this unit has been written by three authors who are referred to in the text – Chris Blackmore, whose background in education and environmental and rural development projects led to her use of systems ideas for exploring interconnections between environment, development and learning; Jake Chapman whose background in energy research, including campaigning for energy conservation and renewables, helped him develop an appreciation of systemic nature of these issues and Ray Ison whose experience of scientific approaches to natural resource management that historically excluded people from considerations led to his interest in more systems-based approaches to managing which enable participation by stakeholders in defining their systems of interest. This unit is from our archive and is an adapted extract from Managing complexity: a systems approach (T306) which is no longer taught by The Open University. If you want to study formally with us, you may wish to explore other courses we offer in this subject area.
In the increasingly complex world of change and uncertainty, particularly in the context of climate change, the notion of sustainability is often raised as the key issue for decision making in the 21st century. But sustainability is itself a contentious term and is often used in misguided ways depending on the context of use. This unit introduces ways in which systems thinking can help support processes of decision making amongst stakeholders with different, often contrasting, perspectives on sustainable development in order to generate purposeful action to improve situations of change and uncertainty. You will learn about systems practice for managing sustainable development, and find out how 'learning systems' are designed for purposeful action in the domain of sustainable development. First published on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 as Systems practice: Managing sustainability. To find out more visit The Open University's Openlearn website. Creative-Commons 2011