Systems Studio
From the emergence of blockchain-enabled processes for aggregating political and financial power, to innovations in democratic engagement and participatory decision-making, to the evolution of international law with reference to future generations, changes in the world are opening new opportunities to influence, alter, and wholly rethink entrenched systems, dislodging the core dynamics holding them in place.
LEVERS OF SYSTEMS CHANGE
There are numerous pathways for changing systems, backed by rigorous theory. While Horizon 2045 will explore all these levers, we've started with three.
RULES & NORMS
Laws, regulations, standards, and tacit and explicit expectations
POWER & DECISION-MAKING
Which actors hold formal and/or informal power over critical decisions
VALUES, BELIEFS & MENTAL MODELS
The paradigms, deeply held mindsets, and value structures out of which the system’s culture, goals, behaviors, and priorities arise
INTERDEPENDENCIES
Ways that different actors, different structures, and different behaviors consistently influence one another in the system
INFORMATION FLOW
How, why, from whom, and to whom information travels
AREAS OF INTERVENTION
Existential threats are rooted in systems; for threats to change, systems have to change. We're exploring promising pathways.
GOALS
The superordinate goal of the system and/or subordinate objectives of various actors in different parts of the system
VALUES, BELIEFS & MENTAL MODELS
MENTAL MODELS
How will our mental models be shaped or reshaped by our coming up against planetary boundaries and the intertwining of global concerns?
DESIGN PRINCIPLES
What new considerations should we bear in mind when designing for change?
RULES & NORMS
LAW
Momentum is forming around granting legal rights to future generations.
INTERGENERATIONAL JUSTICE TIMELINE COMING SOON
GOVERNANCE
In collaboration with Democracy 2076, we examined the interplay between democracy trends, rising authoritarianism, and other challenges.
FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS COMING SOON
POWER & DECISION-MAKING
NEW TECHNOLOGIES
New tech is influencing the dynamics of agency and power within systems.
PRIMER ON THE POTENTIAL FOR BLOCKCHAINS, AND THE DIGITAL OBJECTS CREATED AND EXCHANGED, TO SPUR SYSTEMS CHANGE COMING SOON