Readable atlas · Release 0.35
The Hidden Power of Systems Thinking
Ray Ison and Ed Straw's account of systems thinking in governance, focused on institutional obstacles, systemic governing and practical principles for acting amid climate and biodiversity emergencies.
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Summary
The Hidden Power of Systems Thinking connects systems practice to failures and possibilities of governance under climate and biodiversity emergency.
Implications for practice
It moves systems thinking from diagnosis of complex problems to the design of governing relationships, institutions, constitutional arrangements and learning capacity.
Key distinctions
- government vs governance
- institutional reform vs isolated intervention
- whole-system change vs programme delivery
Historical development
- Systems Thinking in Practice
- systemic governance
- public administration and institutional reform
Ideas it depends on
- governance
- systems practice
- institution
- climate emergency
Further developments
- principles for systemic governing
- institutional innovation
- governance capability
Connections to practice
- public administration
- constitutional design
- climate governance
- collective action
Common confusions
- systems thinking itself supplies political legitimacy
- governance can be redesigned from one centre
Further checks
- map the stated principles
- add reviews and critical responses
- connect public-service cases
Recorded connections
Check the wording, direction, scope, sources, and status of a connection before relying on it.
The Hidden Power of Systems Thinking develops Systemic governance
Status: accepted · Relation: develops
The wording is limited to the named public sources. Authorship, methodological development, conceptual dependence and practical use remain distinct claims.
Locator: Release 0.13 public primary, institutional and publisher sources
The Hidden Power of Systems Thinking was authored by Ray Ison
Status: accepted · Relation: authored by
The wording is limited to the named public sources. Authorship, methodological development, conceptual dependence and practical use remain distinct claims.
Locator: Release 0.13 public primary, institutional and publisher sources
The Hidden Power of Systems Thinking puts into practical form Systems practice
Status: accepted · Relation: operationalises
The wording is limited to the named public sources. Authorship, methodological development, conceptual dependence and practical use remain distinct claims.
Locator: Release 0.13 public primary, institutional and publisher sources
The Hidden Power of Systems Thinking was authored by Ed Straw
Status: accepted · Relation: authored by
The wording is limited to the named public sources. Authorship, methodological development, conceptual dependence and practical use remain distinct claims.
Locator: Release 0.13 public primary, institutional and publisher sources
Sources and passage locators
Cite this entry
Taylor, B. P. (2026). The Hidden Power of Systems Thinking. The Necessary Tangle, release 0.35. https://transduction.systems/entries/publication_hidden_power_systems_thinking/
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