Water of Systems Change Workshop
As a learning organization, we at the Foundation are committed to continuous knowledge–building about ideas and approaches that are shaping our work. This commitment to learning and growth helps ensure all the members of our team are “speaking the same language”—a key requirement for not only sustaining our work but also for walking together with our community in our collective efforts to improve the health outcomes of those who call St. Petersburg home.
One of our recent learning opportunities was a systems change workshop led by our Research, Evaluation, & Learning (REaL) Team in April. Systems change can often seem like a daunting, and abstract concept. This is in part because it’s a complex idea that takes time, as well as multiple stakeholders and resources, to enact. As such, before moving directly into systems change action, we must first understand what systems change entails and how it unfolds. Without this foundational understanding, we risk acting on false assumptions, inadvertently excluding key stakeholders, and even misunderstanding what is required to alleviate the problems we hope to solve. Therefore, the workshop’s primary objectives were to provide an interactive experience that assisted in demystifying systems change to make it more tangible and clarify commonly conflated terminology.
According to the post-workshop survey, all Foundation staff participants left feeling like they have a greater understanding of systems change and the social determinants of health we hope to impact through systems change. Ninety percent said that the workshop increased their confidence in applying the conditions of systems change to a real-world issue.
If you’re interested in organizing and offering your own workshop and need ideas, check out the summarized facilitation guide, resources, and activities below. Feel free to reach out to our REaL team to chat more about it.
Pre-Workshop Activity:
As prep work for the workshop, all staff were asked to read the FSG article on “Water of Systems Change.” The purpose of this prep work was to give staff a foundational introduction to systems change and it also allowed us to limit the amount of traditional instructional lecture material covered during the workshop. We wanted the workshop to be interactive, not a “sit-and-get” lecture.
Ice Breaker:
We began by asking workshop participants to engage in a quick icebreaker activity that allowed them to prime their minds for a discussion centered around systems change. We asked participants to answer the prompt:
- When you hear the phrase ‘systems change,’ what comes to mind? Take a moment to reflect and share a word or phrase that captures your initial thoughts.
We used a live polling software (Mentimeter) and shared responses on a projected screen for everyone to see and reflect on. Then we fostered a quick group discussion using the following prompts:
- How do you think systems impact the issues we work on? What makes systems change challenging?
- What questions do you still have about “systems change?
After reflecting on similar themes and patterns in these responses, we moved into the first activity.
Activity 1 – ‘Spot the Difference’ Sorting Challenge
This activity involved small group work that required each team to match sets of 15 cards into pairs of upstream systems change efforts and corresponding social determinant of health. They were also asked to identify which of the “six conditions of systems change” is represented by the systems change effort on the card. The objective here was to help participants distinguish between systems change efforts and social determinants of health, increasing their understanding of the conditions required to change systems, and identifying downstream effects. A printable version of the card deck can be found here.
To end this activity:
- Each team was asked to present 1-2 tricky examples and explain their reasoning.
- We went over the correct pairing for the cards and appropriate conditions that suit them.
- We also discussed downstream efforts related to the upstream examples provided on the cards.
Activity 2 – Mapping Systemic Conditions
This activity assigned each team a different health equity issue (e.g., access to mental health care, racial disparities in maternal health, food insecurity, etc.). Then, groups were provided a dry erase board or flip chart paper and markers to map out and discuss how the Six Conditions of Systems Change sustain the issue they were assigned. The objective of this activity was to allow participants to explore and discover the interdependence of conditions within a system and to realize that issues within a community are not isolated events.
After allotting ample time for group work, each group designated a group representative to share a 3-minute overview of their condition–mapping and explain their thought processes and/or insights. Probing questions for the share-out included:
- What patterns did you notice?
- Were there any surprises?
- Where do you think the greatest opportunities for change exist?
Activity 3 – “Ripples of Change”
Groups participated in a third and final activity designed to help participants think through how to put insights and learnings into action. the objective was to help participants internalize how systems change applies to their unique role—and how their efforts contribute to “ripples of change” that ultimately affect our larger Foundation system. The activity also asked participants to commit to a meaningful shift to foster continuous improvement of our collective work.
To bring this to life, we set up stations throughout the room labeled with a unique internal role/department. Each station showed an image of a pond experiencing ripples and came supplied with a stack of blank blue sticky notes.
Participants were asked to find the pond that most closely aligns with their role and answer the following two prompts as specifically as possible on their “ripple of change” sticky note.
Ripple of Change: “Insight”
- What’s one insight I gained today about how my role contributes to systems change?”
Ripple Card: “Upstream Action”
- What’s one small change I will try to make in my role to shift power, improve internal learning, or support systems change?
Once everyone placed their “ripple of change” sticky notes back on their respective ponds, everyone was encouraged to walk to each pond to see how their peers across roles are thinking about change. This activity closed with a brief share-out on the following prompts:
- What stood out to you from the ripples others shared?
- How does it feel to know we all have a role in shifting systems—from wherever we sit?
- What would it look like if our organization truly practiced internal learning and systems change every day?
Closing & Wrap-Up: Making a Commitment
Facilitators ended the workshop by emphasizing that each ripple they placed on a pond is a commitment—a shift in perspective, a willingness to learn, a way to reimagine their role. Validation was offered that although these “ripples” may seem small, they add up because systems change isn’t the work of a few bold moves—it’s the result of many aligned ripples, made intentionally, together.
For more information on this blog post or the training, reach out to Dr. Stephanie Rosado at srosado@healthystpete.foundation.