School of System Change

We know that growing a global community of change agents is our best chance to accelerate a transition to a sustainable future. Want to know more?

Stories of Change

How does change happen?-

See all upcoming Stories of Change events here.

ABOUT THE STORIES OF CHANGE

The School of System Change collaborated with foundations, academics, creatives and others to create the Stories of Change, a series of videos and tools for designing and delivering system change practices. In our development process for each story, we engaged a community of partners to transform these stories of change into multimedia videos and facilitated learning experiences.

The aim of this project is to create accessible resources to co-learn and help change agents to design more systemic strategies/action. This project supports system change facilitators to introduce systemic frameworks using stories of change in history to a wider audience.

We currently have developed three videos and their accompanying facilitation packs about a story of change as seen through a systemic framework. Each accompanying facilitation pack guides systems change facilitators how to prepare and facilitate group discussion using the Stories and Change and find more information about the story and framework. We are in the process of developing more Stories of Change with our funding partners.

Get involved to learn more

Understand change to create change

-01 MULTI-LEVEL PERSPECTIVE + THE BIRTH OF ROCK N ROLL

Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) explains how transitions manifest through interactions between different levels of societal systems. We can use the MLP for systemic diagnosis--such as diagnosing complex challenges within societal systems such as mobility, housing or food. This Stories of Change video focuses on the seemingly sudden rise of Rock ‘n’ Roll in the 1950s, and our resources discuss how the MLP can help us understand the story behind this radical shift in the American music industry.

Additional resources

MULTI-LEVEL PERSPECTIVE FACILITATION PACK (forthcoming)

Join us for our upcoming webinar

02 ICEBERG MODEL + THE RISE OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

The Iceberg Model, typically used in systems diagnosis, can help us explore blindspots, question assumptions and challenge mental models underneath pivotal events, such as Rosa Park's arrest in 1955 in the Civil Rights Movement. Only 10% of an Iceberg’s total mass can be seen above water—the remaining 90% exists below the waterline. As a society, the majority see and respond to events, happening at the tip of the iceberg.

Additional resources

ICEBERG MODEL FACILITATION PACK (forthcoming)

Join us for our upcoming webinar

03 REGENERATIVE MODEL + THE REGENERATION OF RESILIENT COMMUNITIES IN MEXICO CITY

Regeneration, as a mindset, is focused on building the capacity and capability in people, communities, and other natural systems to restore, renew or revitalize. How can regenerative design help us understand the whole systems to shift toward resilient and equitable systems that integrate nature?

Video forthcoming

Additional resources

REGENERATIVE MODEL FACILITATION PACK (forthcoming)

Join us for our upcoming webinar

Get involved to learn more

-

Join us for the Webinar Series (for Europe/UK/US-friendly times)

Join us to discuss the stories and practical frameworks to deepen your system change knowledge and facilitation.

This three-part series from the Stories of Change discusses how systemic frameworks can help us understand social change, and how you can facilitate group discussions using these frameworks such as Multi-Level Perspectives, Iceberg Model, and Regenerative Model.

Each Stories of Change webinar will feature a panel of researchers, academics, creatives that were involved in the development of the video and facilitation pack. Join us to learn more about how you can use their resources in your systems practice and for your team or organization.

Join us for the Webinar Series (for New Zealand)

New Zealanders are showing a growing interest in the field of System Change and local change makers are seeking more effective ways to address the intersections of global problems. Join us for a free, three-part webinar series to examine international systemic frameworks to deepen your system change knowledge and facilitation.

The webinar series will feature each of the Stories of Change, through the support from Vodafone New Zealand Foundation, the Todd Foundation, and the JR McKenzie Trust's Peter McKenzie Project.

Support the Stories of Change

We want to take the Stories of Change to the next level! We are developing more Stories of Change and a living-learning platform that is open-source and to facilitate systems change practice and make it fun! If you would like to learn how you can support our on-going work, please contact Laura Winn at [email protected].

ABOUT THE SCHOOL OF SYSTEM CHANGE

We are equipping people with the capabilities to lead system change initiatives addressing complex sustainability challenges. The School offers flexible access to the best learning experiences, tools, case studies from the field, while growing the community of practice.

More information about the School’s offering can be found under its Course page.

Learn more about the School

Latest

Future of Sustainability: Launch Events

The Future of Sustainability report will launch on 14 October, marked by two immersive events.
Cotton 2040: aligning sustainability impact metrics

As part of Cotton 2040, we are working with the major sustainable cotton standards, programmes and codes on greater alignment of sustainable cotton impact metrics. Creating more credible, consistent and comparable data will help brands and retailers to more confidently track the impact of their sustainable cotton sourcing decisions.
Quadratic voting captures how strongly voters feel about a policy or issue

An alternative voting mechanism aims to capture how strongly members of the public feel about a particular policy or topic, beyond simple approval or rejection.
Plans for a “self-reliant India” sacrifice ancient forest

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced plans to make India more self-reliant as part of its post-COVID-19 recovery plans, including the auction of 40 new coalfields of which 80% cover land home to ancient forests and indigenous tribes.

Cotton 2040: aligning sustainability impact metrics

As part of Cotton 2040, we are working with the major sustainable cotton standards, programmes and codes on greater alignment of sustainable cotton impact metrics. Creating more credible, consistent and comparable data will help brands and retailers to more confidently track the impact of their sustainable cotton sourcing decisions.
Future Plates: Transforming school lunches in the USA

Transforming school lunches in the U.S. by increasing the quality and quantity of plant-based protein options available in school cafeterias, and empowering students to be influential agents for change.
Circular Leap Asia

A new Forum report shines a light on the huge untapped potential of fashion manufacturers to contribute to the fashion sector’s circular transformation and highlights the opportunity to recalibrate industry power dynamics as the industry emerges from the COVID-19 crisis.
Stories of Change 1: Multi-level Perspective - The Birth of Rock N Roll

Join us on 29 September 2020 for the first in a new three-part webinar series called 'Stories of Change'. This session discusses the Multi-Level Perspective framework to understand transitions, such as the birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll in the 1950s.
Equipping today’s students to deal with tomorrow’s food future

Sophie Robins, Change Designer, on why the Future Plates initiative is betting on young and trainee chefs to transform the food sector.
Time to transform: how are you harnessing disruption to drive lasting change?

In the latest of our Corporate Leadership in the Time of Corona series, Dr Sally Uren explores how organisations are harnessing the disruption caused by COVID-19 to put us on a ‘Transform’ trajectory – one set to create a truly regenerative future in which we recognise human health equals planetary health and we deliver a just transition towards a net zero global economy.
A future where resilience and regeneration runs through every fibre

Dr Sally Uren discusses the context for the MMCF Vision and the plans to build on the existing MMCF Roundtable and the newer Hub in order to create a vehicle for accelerated action, faster collective innovation and problem solving as well as build resilience and regeneration.
Growing our Future

A new Forum report reveals 16 systemic barriers to scaling regenerative agriculture and a seven-point-plan to overcome them.
Aviation: no going back

Jonathon Porritt, Founder Director of Forum for the Future, examines the COVID-19 shock to the aviation industry, and what that means not just for a sustainable future for airlines, but their survival.
Building the future of food during crisis

Have we lost sight of a sustainable future for food? The food system is being tested, and people in the food industry are trying to manage short-term needs with essential long-term planning. Written by Lesley Mitchell and Roberta Iley.

The Five Capitals - a framework for sustainability

The Five Capitals Model provides a basis for understanding sustainability in terms of the economic concept of wealth creation or ‘capital’. Any organisation will use five types of capital to deliver its products or services. A sustainable organisation will maintain and where possible enhance these stocks of capital assets, rather than deplete or degrade them.
Reinventing the way the world works.

Forum for the Future is a leading international sustainability non-profit. We specialise in addressing critical global challenges by catalysing change in key systems, from food to apparel, energy to shipping. We do this by convening transformational collaborations to drive change, by partnering with organisations to help them lead by example, and by building a global community of pioneers and change makers.
Jobs
Sustainability and system change

Climate change, malnutrition, inequality, poverty, ecological degradation. The global challenges we face are so urgent and tricky that we need a solution to match their scale and complexity. This is where system change comes in. We use systems thinking to understand the web of interrelations that create complex problems, anticipate unintended consequences, and identify how and where to take action to meet the SDG goals.
What is a sustainable business model?

What is a sustainable business model? The term signals the need to go beyond innovating products or services, and change the fundamentals of how a business makes money.
Transformational strategies

Pioneering organisations create systemic impacts beyond their own boundaries. We help them understand the opportunities, and how to unlock them.
Protein Challenge 2040

The Protein Challenge 2040 is the first global coalition of its kind, aiming to tackle the question: How do we provide up to 10 billion people with enough protein in a way that is healthy, affordable and good for the planet?
Fashion Futures 2025

Working with Levi Strauss and Co using futures techniques to develop global scenarios for a sustainable fashion industry.
Net Positive

We reinvent strategies for a 1.5°C world. Our Net Positive approach helps business put back more into society and environment than it takes out. Unilever’s pioneering commitment to eliminate fossil fuels from its operations and directly support the generation of more renewable energy than they consume was driven behind the scenes by Forum.
Become a system change agent

Learn more about upcoming programmes and express your interest.