A Case Study in Community Care Using Systems Thinking

This paper uses a recent application of System Dynamics in community care to contribute to a clarification of the role of System Dynamics as a framework for strategic debate. A revised framework for System Dynamics within a philosophy of ‘modelling as learning’ is summarized. This framework is now referred to as Systems Thinking and combines knowledge acquisition and both qualitative and quantitative modelling, supported by microworlds and archetypes to aid dissemination of insights. The emphasis of the paper is on using qualitative models interactively with different groups of participants in the problem domain. The purpose is to assist the development of a shared understanding of how culture, power and politics combine to affect the behaviour of a process, when subjected to externally superimposed changes in responsibility.