Systems Thinking Resources

a man riding a skateboard down the side of a ramp
a man riding a skateboard down the side of a ramp

Omidyar Group Systems Practice Workbook
"This workbook is ideal for people working on complex problems across any field of social change who want to make sustainable social impact, whether working at a community or global scale. It will walk you through a rigorous version of a systems practice, which will prepare you to be a discerning user of other systems tools that can complement this approach."
The workbook is use in the Acumen Academy's free (pay what you can) on-demand course, Systems Practice.

black blue and yellow textile
black blue and yellow textile

System Mapping Toolkit
"The System Mapping Toolkit helps you to make sense of complex situations. The guided process visualizes complexity and makes your challenges more approachable. The Toolkit is free and collaborative and it is designed for everyone who works with complex systems. The toolkit guides you through the most important steps of framing, mapping and reflecting on your complex challenge."
Direct link to the Miro template

a man riding a skateboard down a street next to tall buildings
a man riding a skateboard down a street next to tall buildings
photo of white staircase
photo of white staircase

Strategic planning: systems thinking in practice
Strategic planning: systems thinking in practice is a free, two-part course introducing core ideas of systems thinking in practice for managing and improving complex situations. The ideas correspond with three core activities of, firstly, understanding inter-relationships, secondly, engaging with multiple perspectives, and thirdly, reflecting on boundary judgements.

System Mapping: How to build and use causal models of systems
"This open access book explores a range of new and older systems mapping methods focused on representing causal relationships in systems. In a practical manner, it describes the methods and considers the differences between them; describes how to use them yourself; describes how to choose between and combine them; considers the role of data, evidence, and stakeholder opinion; and describes how they can be useful in a range of policy and research settings. This book provides a key starting point and general-purpose resource for understanding complex adaptive systems in practical, actionable, and participatory ways."