Toolkit Library/

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.

More on this topic:

The power of perspective taking

  Article

  8 minutes

  By: Gillian Ku and Kathy Brewis, London Business School

Justice and fairness

  Article

  10 minutes

  By: Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Santa Clara University

A tale of two teachers

  Video

  12 minutes

  By: Melissa Crum, TEDx

How to teach divergent thinking

  Article

  20 minutes

  By: UT Austin Faculty Innovation Center

Values sort

  Tool

  30 minutes

  By: Principled Innovation® (PI)

Access our collection of +200 learning materials

PI toolkit library