Engaging Stakeholders in Examining Complex Problems with Systems Mapping

Seminar summary

Systems mapping is a participatory approach used in the field of system dynamics to engage diverse stakeholders discussing perceptions of a problem, its causes, and potential mitigation strategies. The process of systems mapping elicits the mental models of participants and uncovers new insights about a problem through visually depicting its underlying system structure in causal loop diagrams. Systems mapping is particularly useful for understanding and conceptualizing complex problems that tend to have cause and effects which are interconnected and non-linear. A case study will be presented on how systems mapping was used to examine potential effects of carbon pricing on the Austrian agricultural sector. A causal loop diagram was constructed from the outputs of a systems mapping workshop with 14 participants, supplemented by text analysis of the discussions and a literature review. The main feedback loop reflects a concern that food prices would rise with the introduction of carbon pricing, leading to social unrest and political pressure to reverse the policy decision. However, through interventions like redistributing tax revenues to households to maintain social welfare, redistributing revenue amongst farmers to keep production costs from rising, and importing cheaper food, carbon pricing may be reinforced. This case study demonstrates how systems mapping could be used to identify potential unintended consequences of policy decisions and interventions that could help to reinforce new policies.

How to attend this seminar

We welcome you to join us online on Thursday 7 December at 1pm.

This seminar is free to attend with no need to register in advance.

Speaker bio

Belinda Li

Belinda Li, Co-Founder and Director of Innovation of the Food Systems Lab at Simon Fraser University, Canada.
Building on more than a decade of experience as an environmental engineering consultant and development worker, Belinda uses a combination of participatory design and data-driven approaches to develop, test, and evaluate solutions to improve food system sustainability from farm to fork. Since the lab’s beginnings in 2016, she has created and tested a repertoire of methods to explore complex problems with diverse stakeholders on the topics of food waste, bioplastics, farm-to-school programs. She recently completed a Joint International Master’s Programme in Sustainable Development with semesters in Austria, Germany, and Norway.