Systems-Thinking: The Key to Innovation
In the quest to create more sustainable institutions, systems-thinking is key. We define systems-thinking as the generosity of vision that makes all the parts relate to the whole—the meta-logic that amplifies the intelligence of each individual unit. The idea of silos within an institution (traditional separate entities) is no longer relevant. Sustainability, for example, cannot be distinct from academics. In this new paradigm, sustainability principals are interwoven through every aspect of an institution, including academic, operational, organizational, cultural, and fundraising strategies.
As Bradshaw Hovey and Robert Shibley, codirectors of University of Buffalo’s Urban Design Project say, “[Systems-thinking] takes seriously the imperative to change our culture as much as the urgency to transform our policies. It works from the bottom up and from the top down. It works to connect the ‘silos’ of the bureaucracy even as it acknowledges the traditional autonomy of units in a university.”
As sustainability becomes synonymous with interdisciplinary approaches, the possibilities of ways for each “unit” to support and inform each other become more obvious.
Nothing in isolation
One of the first mistakes that organizations often make is to create a special designation for sustainability. This in effect boxes sustainability into a silo, instead of encouraging sustainability across all departments and branches. In a systems-thinking approach, sustainability does not belong in its own department. It becomes embedded in the job and behavior of every employee.
To promote responsibility and accountability, invite people from all areas to weigh in on key decisions. Peter Senge of the Society for Organizational Learning advises, “Look for small steps of things you can do together with people with whom you traditionally would never have cooperated—and do something useful, no matter how small.”
Creating bridges rather than walls is the basic tenet of systems-thinking. Broadening the scope of identified participants both on and off campus to be included in development planning is one of the most important ways to transcend traditional boundaries. All sectors have something to contribute to the overall vision. Keep asking: "Who's being left out?" and "Who should be in the room?" to make sure nobody gets overlooked. Department boundaries need to get crossed, responsibilities shared, and interdisciplinary solutions brainstormed. When disparate systems come together, collaboration naturally occurs. Collaboration is the human face of systemic change, says Senge. In other words—innovation is a team sport.
Systems-to-buildings approach
The systems-thinking perspective also works for buildings, as in the practice of Integrated Design. Integrated Design has evolved at the conjunction of multidisciplinary architecture firms and sustainable design. In this approach, engineers, developers, architects, landscapers, builders, and other subcontractors view the building as an interdependent system, as opposed to an accumulation of its separate components (site, building framing, interior envelope, systems and use). When you solicit feedback from every party involved in the building process, the systems are much more likely to not only work in harmony but also to enhance each other.
Whether you apply systems-thinking to universities or buildings, the outcome is similar—it’s a more nimble, more complex, more collaborative, and ultimately more effective strategy to implement sustainability. And while it’s still fairly new on both fronts, thought leaders across all disciplines are quick to recognize its central importance to creating significant sustainability impacts.