Ben Ramalingam of ALNAP was kind enough to get in touch with a link to a working paper he co-authored: "Exploring the science of complexity - ideas and implications for development and humanitarian efforts". I confess that so far I have only skimmed it but it seems really worth a read if you have any interest in developing your ability to take part in creating change. The context is international aid, but as with Jake Chapman's paper on UK governmental policy making the diligent application of control freakery and recipe driven programmes shines through like a stream of bat's piss, as Monty Python would say.
Here's a few lines from the executive summary: "Four changes seem to be [of] particular importance: the openness to new ideas, the restraint to accept the limitations of the approach, the honesty and humbleness to accept the limitations of aid efforts and to accept mistakes, and the courage to face up to the implications of these ideas." A pretty good description of the challenges facing those of us who think we have something to bring to the change party in the commercial world also - especially when contrasted with what's on offer here or here.
Comments (1)
I work for a Quality Improvement Organization with a contract with Medicare in the USA. One unintended consequence of utilizing a prescriptive solution to a perceived problem where the system is inherently complex is that you lose your credibility with your providers when the solution fails. An example may be to run a campaign for flu shots, saying everyone should get a flu shot. You show various doctors their immunization rates in comparison to their peers. You hear back from them comments like: not everyone shd get a flu shot; what about people whose immune system is compromised, as in AIDS or transplant patients, what about people allergic to feathers or eggs, what about people who have had a bad reaction in the past to the shots, what about people who oppose immunizations for ethnic, religious, or cultural grounds? If the target cannot be 100% of patients, what really IS the target?
WHen you start getting unanswerable questions you know you have strayed from a simple, linear issue into the complex. You have also blown your credibility with your audience.
Posted by Jim Grant | March 21, 2008 2:16 PM
Posted on March 21, 2008 14:16