Browsing » March 2012

Complexity in Reality

by Ann Griffiths Ann is currently Head of Policy at Ealing Council, where she leads on strategic partnerships and multi-agency efficiency projects, corporate policy, and innovation. She is writing in a personal capacity.   During questions at the 21st Century Policy Development event hosted by Synthesis and the RSA, an observer noted that what I […]

21st Century Policy Development

By Bridget Rosewell I spoke last week at a fascinating day on how policy development needs to be rethought, organised by Synthesis of which I am an Associate.  The day made clear that both the techniques now available to us (computer modelling, simulation techniques) and our understanding of the elements of our problems (dynamics, feedbacks, […]

A step in the right direction

By Greg Fisher On Thursday we co-hosted an event with the RSA called “21st Century Policy Development” (21CPD).  This blog is a sort of follow-up to that event, arising out of a number of the questions asked during Q&A. What I want to do is to illustrate quite how intractable social systems and the biosphere […]

Networks, smart government and the Overton window

By David Blake A fundamental feature of 21st century society is the way in which networks shape and determine outcomes.  This implies a radical shift in the conduct of public policy.  It does not mean ‘no government’.  But it means ‘smart government’. But the complex systems community needs to recognise what a huge change is […]