Systems Thinking and Food Security Dr Alex Arnall
- Slides: 27
Systems Thinking and Food Security Dr Alex Arnall Reading IFSTAL Principal Investigator and Dr Harley Pope Reading IFSTAL Educational Coordinator #IFSTAL
What are the food system challenges? To achieve food security for a growing, wealthier, urbanising population while minimising further environmental degradation against a background of Ø natural resource depletion and Ø many stagnating rural economies and Ø changing climate and Ø social and socio-cultural changes
Human systems are: 1. Global in scope 2. Dispersed and interlinked 3. Complex 4. Reflect patterns of socioeconomic inequality
‘Tame’ problems: complicated but solvable • Well-defined and stable problem statement • Definite stopping point • Solutions can be: – Objectively evaluated – Solutions can be generalised to similar problems – Tried and abandoned
‘Tame’ problems: complicated but solvable • Well-defined and stable problem statement • Definite stopping point • Solutions can be: – Objectively evaluated – Solutions can be generalised to similar problems – Tried and abandoned When n% of plants survive under a particular set of abnormally dry circumstances
‘Wicked’ problems: complex and intractable • Solutions are poorly-defined and contested, thus commonly defying attempts at resolution • Transcend disciplinary, organisational, institutional, and geo-political boundaries
‘Super-wicked’ problems. . ? • Time is running out • No central authority • Those seeking to solve the problem might also be contributing to it • Policies discount the future irrationally
Overfishing • Major food producing activity • 90 million tonnes wild capture per year • Integrated into global food systems • Fish: livelihood, dietary and culture significance • Up to 85% of world’s fisheries over-exploited / depleted or recovering
Tackling overfishing Three possible strategies: 1. Authoritative: enforcement of laws 2. Competitive: consumer awareness 3. Collaborative: awareness in fishing industry
1. Unexpected / unwanted outcomes • Lose sight of the bigger picture • Particular solutions, when implemented, can cause problems elsewhere in the system
2. Incomplete knowledge Fishing – population dynamics Impacts on fishing communities Fishing stock recovery Cultural attitudes towards seafood Adapted from: Leach, M. , Scoones, I. , & Stirling, A. (2010). Dynamic sustainabilities: technology, environment, social justice. Earthscan.
3. Power dimensions • Tackling complex problems is essentially a political process… • …Something often denied or downplayed • Reliance on bureaucratic, rationalist decision-making frameworks • Exclusion of groups from decision-making processes
What is a System? • System – ‘a complex whole of related parts’ • Systems Thinking – Thinking about thinking – The consideration of something in its totality, its interaction with the wider environment, while also considering its constituent parts and their interactions • Systems Methods – Includes concepts, frameworks and methods that support our ability to think systemically in different contexts
A Representation of a Food System
System Properties • Systems can have levels • System parts can be ‘nested’ in each other • Individual agents or system parts can aggregate to form patterns of behaviour such as selforganisation and new functions - emergence
System Dynamics System behaviours can form patterns: – – Fixed Periodic Complex Chaotic (random)
A Representation of a Food System
Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) • Systems with multiple elements adapting or reacting to the patterns these elements create • Interesting properties of CASs: – Time / Distance separation of outcomes – Path Dependence – Resilience – Tipping Points (selforganised criticality)
Nine Meals From Anarchy • New Economics Foundation (NEF) report • Average person in UK has three days of food available • ‘Just in time’ supply chain management: – Minimises waste – Maximises profit • BUT: – Assumes tomorrow largely same as today – Dependent on functional transport system, electricity & oil Source: Simms, A. (2008). Nine Meals from Anarchy: Oil Depletion, Climate Change and the Transition to Resilience. Schumacher Lecture.
Analysing Systems • The literature on systems thinking is well established and vast • A simplified synthesis exists! DSRP
Distinctions, Systems, Relationships & Perspectives (DSRP) • We can consider systems through four interrelated patterns of thinking • DSRP stands for: – – Distinctions Systems Relationships Perspectives Source: Cabrera, D. & Colosi, L. (2008). Distinctions, systems, relationships, and perspectives (DSRP): A theory of thinking and of things Evaluation and Program Planning, Volume 31, Issue 3, August 2008, Pages 311 -317
DSRP 4 Interrelated Patterns of Thinking. . . Consisting of 2 contrasting Framing Questions elements. . . Making Distinctions identity �other • What is ___ ? • What is not ___? Organising Systems parts �whole • Does ___ have parts? • Can you think of ___ as a part? Recognising Relationships cause �effect • Is ___ related to ___? • Can you think of ___ as a relationship? Taking Perspectives point �view • From the perspective of _____, [insert question]? • Can you think about ______ from a different perspective? Adapted from: Cabrera, D. and Colosi, L. (2009) Thinking at Every Desk: How Four Simple Thinking Skills Will Transform Your Teaching, Classroom, School, and District. Ithaca, NY: The Research Institute for Thinking in Education.
Food Waste - Distinctions • Definitions – What it is and what it isn’t (boundaries)
Food Waste - Systems • Who is creating it? Where is it created?
Food Waste - Relationships • How, why and when is waste being generated? • Who bears the cost? Can it be distributed?
Food Waste - Perspectives • To what extent is waste a problem? • How do individuals, groups and organisations see it? • Is food waste linked to other problems?
Doing Systems Thinking • There is no definitive vision of the food system to discover • When looking at systems we have to deal with incomplete knowledge, power dynamics and different perspectives • We use systems thinking to enhance our understanding through uncovering relationships and identifying opportunities to intervene and communicate • Systems methodologies can help us apply our systems thinking
- Provate security
- Food safety food security
- Unit 2 food food food
- Food chain food chain food chain
- Positive thinking vs negative thinking examples
- "metacognition"
- Linear thinking vs holistic thinking
- Perbedaan critical thinking dan creative thinking
- Thinking about you thinking about me
- Wireless security in cryptography and network security
- E commerce security policy
- Monroe lock
- Systems thinking tools
- Aspects of systems thinking
- Barry richmond systems thinking
- Food and nutrition security definition
- The center for food security and public health
- Food security concepts and frameworks
- Emergency food security and vulnerable livelihoods
- Decision support systems and intelligent systems
- Osi security architecture with neat diagram
- Guide to network security
- Visa international security model
- Electronic mail security in network security
- Nstissc security model
- Software security touchpoints
- Security guide to network security fundamentals
- Security guide to network security fundamentals