Stewarding change in complicated systems is often about making something happen. But forcing change in complex systems doesn’t often work (Help It Happen). Instead of trying to drive change, we might need to influence the system to bring that change about. The Complexity Theory of Outcome Creation suggests that this involves three core organizational capabilities: coordination, stewardship, and adaptation that help to better balance Information and Agency. On an individual level the Motivational Engagement framework suggests that to help something happen you need to provide support and structure instead of trying to assert control.
Effective governance is also dependent on the way diverse groups come together to collaborate. Collective Impact offers a structured approach to multi-sector collaboration for solving specific social problems. The Diagonal Model suggests that transformation in healthcare requires considering both specific outcomes and general capacities. While some frameworks focus on collaboration (Collaboration Spectrum) others consider the interdependence between Competition and Collaboration.
Finally, no governance strategy can succeed if it is overwhelmed by the system it is trying to address. The Match Capacity and Complexity framework underscores the idea that for an organization or individual to succeed in a complex environment, the complexity of the response must match or exceed the complexity of that environment. If the environment shows more complexity than the organization’s own ability to respond to it, the organization is likely to be overwhelmed and fail.
Frameworks in this collection
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Collective Impact
The concept of collective impact was first outlined in a 2011 Stanford Social Innovation Review article by Kania and Kramer. The article… Read more
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Complexity Theory of Outcome Creation
The Complexity Theory of Outcome Creation (CTOC) was introduced by French and his colleagues in 2023 to explain how complex… Read more
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Diagonal Model
The Diagonal Model was developed for addressing complex health system challenges. It helps reconcile and integrate previously perceived dichotomies between… Read more
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Help It Happen
This framework is adapted from the work of Trish Greenhalgh on the diffusion of innovation. Her classic meta-narrative included the original figure from… Read more
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Information and Agency
In systems designed for complicated problems, information and agency are often not well balanced. High-level decision-makers usually lack detailed frontline… Read more
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Match Capacity and Complexity
The concept of matching capacity to complexity was described by Yaneer Bar-Yam, based on his study of living systems. He notes that… Read more
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Motivational Engagement
The Motivational Engagement model, adapted from Palsola and colleagues (2023), is a framework designed to help individuals—especially in health, education,… Read more