The practice of mapping allows us to build our understanding of the parts, people, and interactions that make up a system, which can then lead to generating more context-specific and productive innovations. Use these prompts and suggestions from the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Agency by Design initiative to engage a group of participants in mapping a system and digging into its complexities. This can be used in tandem with the Thinking Routines available on their website, in particular Parts, People, Interactions.
Toolkit Library/
Mapping systems
Making connections:
Principled Innovation asks us to work with others and recognize the limits of our own knowledge so that we can better understand and tackle the complex issues our communities face.
Moral imagination
Tool
120 minutes
By: Principled Innovation® (PI)
Teaming up to drive scientific discovery
Video
17 minutes
By: Brian Uzzi, TEDx
Got a wicked problem? First, tell me how you make toast?
Video
10 minutes
By: TED, Tom Wujec
Systems thinking: a cautionary tale
Video
3 minutes
By: Sustainability Illustrated
The power of perspective taking
Article
8 minutes
By: Gillian Ku and Kathy Brewis, London Business School