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Tackling wicked problems through deliberative engagement

Talking with others about values (PI Practice M1) sometimes strays into the territory of moral dilemmas (PI Practice M2) or “wicked problems”—problems that, according to this article from the Colorado State University Center for Public Deliberation, “have no technical solutions, primarily because they involve competing underlying values and paradoxes that require either tough choices between opposing goods or innovative ideas that can transcend the inherent tensions.” Wicked problems often factor into thinking about the systems changes envisioned by Principled Innovation. This reading proposes deliberation as an approach to navigating wicked problems and effecting PI’s “positive change for humanity.”

   Article

   10 minutes

   By: Center for Public Deliberation at Colorado State University

   Leader-prep | Lifelong learners


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.

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