No More Quick Fixes: Pragmatics of Systems Change

Why does it seem so difficult to effect systemic change?

Why are we stuck at effecting incremental change?

What if there was a way to guide the transformation of organizations, both public and private, that unleashed their systemic capacity to improve the lives of people and the conditions for non-human life?

Randy Sa’d is the Executive Director of REFOCUS and the Flourishing Enterprise Institute (FEI). REFOCUS is a non-profit co-operative that enables senior leaders to smartly adapt to accelerating change and increasing complexity by developing systemic management practices and building new capabilities.  The FEI @Wilfrid Laurier University is an applied research institute that leads a diverse international community of practice dedicated to accelerating the development and mobilization of Systemic Management Innovations (SMIs). 

The current paradigm of departmentally siloed, financially focused, and short-term-oriented management practices tools was not designed for the complex challenges emerging. This session will profile Enterprise Evolution, a capability development program designed to enable municipalities to move beyond incremental change by transitioning from conventional to systemic management practices. 

With a practical focus on the transformation of management practices in the areas of planning, performance management and relationships, Randy will share his experiences applying Enterprise Evolution to develop a 20-year vision and strategic plan with the City of Kitchener and to measure sustainability performance against science- and ethics—based thresholds with the City of Nanaimo (the first Canadian municipality to adopt the Doughnut Economics model). 

Randy will also speak to the importance of applied research he is involved in conducting as part of accelerating the development and mobilization of disruptive innovation.

Join this session if you:

• Face challenges bringing transformational change to organizations, both public and private
• Are currently in H1, seeking how to get to H3
• Need a comprehensive methodology to support long-term systemic evolution
• Would benefit from a practitioner's evaluation of case-studies
• Are beginning to understand that mainstream sustainability approaches are insufficient to bring back human activity within planetary boundaries
   

Session Format: 

1. Speaker presentation 20-30 mins
2. Audience Questions 30 mins
3. Final Remarks 5 mins

Duration: 1 hour

BONUS!
After the session, we'll open up our AFTERPARTY space and invite participants into dialogue with each other