Systemic development is a process of thinking about development which uses a systems thinking approach to create a solution to a social, environmental, and economic stress which the world is suffering from.
Overview
The core approach of systemic development is a process for thinking holistically while addressing complex issues and progressing towards a mutual goal with high participation rates. The process encompasses comprehension of current activities and future needs from a holistic perspective. For success, it is essential that the process moves from an integrated assessment to a sustainable assessment. The perspective must consider the many facets of the current and proposed development including the economic, social, environmental, political and ecological aspects. The idea behind a systemic development approach can be applied to many disciplines, similar to sustainable development. Systemic development is practice rather than sustainability, which is an end state.
History
General Systems Theory (GST) laid the foundation to systemic thinking. Ludwig Von Bertalanffy was known as the founder of the original principles of GST. Prior to 1968, when GST was introduced in Bertalanffy’s book, General System Theory: Foundations, Development, Applications, the traditional approach to development used linear thinking or cause-and-effect thinking. GST was influenced by many different types of theories such as “Chaos theory, complexity theory, catastrophe theory, cybernetics, fuzzy set theory, and learning matrices” In 1990, Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline, wove systemic thinking approach into development.
Concepts
The integration of ontology, methodology, epistemology, and axiology has formed an outline for GST. Together, these concepts and philosophies contribute to the theory of systemic development.
Ontological
Ontology is the most basic fundamental tool. In a systemic development approach, the first step is to define the boundaries, thresholds, and stakeholders. Understanding what is, is crucial to understand the layers of complexity of the development needs.
Methodological
Methodology in systemic development must consider all variables, values, and sustainability principles, and aim to ensure that no elements have been neglected. It is important to ensure completeness, comprehensiveness, and transparency of the assessment. Mutual feedback and interactions between stakeholders should be modeled and assessed using carefully designed specific methodologies.
Epistemological
Epistemology stresses how dialogue and communication by the stakeholders are the key tools to systemic development. This is when the verification and confirmation of the facets of the development process are discovered. Insight from each stakeholder is important to enhance and broaden the perspective of all involved. It is essential to take these viewpoints into consideration because they influence the process, the trends, the drivers of change, and the interactions between the parts. It is during this phase that learning is accomplished.
Axiological
Axiologology emphasizes the ethical and aesthetic responsibility during the development process. It is important because the solution manifested by the systemic development process needs to represent the values of the represented stakeholders.
Framework
Holistic Thinking
To successfully achieve development through a systems approach, holistic thinking is necessary. A holistic approach to a system thinks about each variable, the space between the variables and what defines the variable. “It’s the sum of the interaction of its parts” In this process each individual must learn from each other to understand the whole system in a multidimensional way to find a solution. To think about development with a systemic lens, one needs to be able to see the whole instead of parts and understand the relationship between the parts, the way the parts move, what drives the behavior of the parts, what influences the flow or direction, and to understand why there are no more or no fewer parts. The many factors that make up the whole can be a complex system.