1.
This series of questions helps you to understand
how to create systems change.
You can use it as a personal aide, or with other
people and organisations within the system within
which you are acting.
The first page collects together your exploration into
a ‘canvas’ which maps out the system you are
working in, and your personal role in it, what needs
to change, and how this can happen. The following
pages provide more detailed questions.
We imagine this will evolve over time, these will be
printed out, scribbled over, re-drawn. Be as messy
as the systems we work in.
It was created by The Point People, bringing
together our collective practice around systems
change and drawing on our own experience and
guides and techniques developed by others.
We’d love to hear how you are using it, and get
feedback on how we could improve how we ask
questions of ourselves and others to get to a path
of change.
Systems Canvas

2.
Mapping the current Bridging actionImagining the future
What is happening currently?
Factors & flows; Feedback loops and
delays?
‘Invisible’ dynamics?
Current system paradigm, narratives &
principles
Future system paradigm, narratives &
principles
Metaphor or story that encapsulates the
change
Who is in the current system? What are
different values & beliefs?
What needs to change?
Loops/delays?
People’s values, behaviours/power?
Who becomes relevant? How will you build the community?
How does the system reinforce itself?
What can you harness?
What can you prototype/ test out?
How can you measure feedback?
What action can you take to help the
system make that change?
Why are you doing this? What is
motivating you?
What is your role in the system? What is
your authority?
Where will there be most resistance?
Self reflection

3.
Self reflection: of the system and your role in it
What type of system are you working
with?
What stage are you in the process? Who do you need to involve?
How much do they know about systems
change? Do you need to do some groundwork
first, and/or reduce jargon?
Tools to use:
OU Guide to Rich Picturing
Multi-stakeholder Partnerships guide to rich pictures
Why are you doing this?
What is motivating you?
Are there any specific life experiences that have
shaped your desire to do this work?
What is your role in the system?
Eg are you embedded in it, or are you
introducing the change?
What is your authority?
How disruptive/systemic do you want to/can you
be?
What action can you take to help the
system make that change?

4.
Types of systems
B.Embed a disruptive change in an existing
system
E.g. Implementing Family Story: a case
management system that puts information in the
hands of the families so they can see and own it
alongside the social workers
C.Creating a new whole systems approach to
a stubborn problem
E.g. Increasing physical activity - which has
remained low through a ‘sports only’ approach,
by using all the assets in the system
A.Balancing out an existing system where
there are unintended consequences
E.g. Homelessness where there are many
causes and effects in tension or making things
worse.
D. Another type of system you are working
with
There are different types of systems that you might be working in. These are a few examples, but
not exhaustive. It’s helpful to reflect on what type of change you are wanting to make, where the
‘system’ is in the process of change, and how radical it wants to be.

5.
Mapping the current: structures and dynamics
Who is in the current system?
What are different values, beliefs, cultures & mindsets?
What are their different agendas?
Who holds power?
What are they feeling?
What is everyone talking about? What is not being said?
Who is at the table? And not? What does that say?
What is our own experience of the system and what is that telling us?
Tools to use:
Systems Practice: A Guide Omidyar Group
Systems Change: What it is and how to do it NPC/LK
What is the current paradigm or principles that best sums it up?
What are the dominant stories that feel foundational/ like they lock the
system in place?
What are some metaphors for the system? What does it feel like?
Map the ‘invisible’ dynamics:
What incentives/power dynamics/relationships/rules/
behaviours/values that are keeping it problematic?
And what is driving those?
What is happening? What is causing the problem or imbalance?
And what is holding it in its place?
Map the factors, demand, causes and flows:
What are the causes and relationships?
Where are there financial and information flows? Where are there missing
flows?
Where is there a delay in the system?
Where are there feedback loops? (balancing or reinforcing)?
What is the root cause of the issue (rather than the symptom)?
OU Guide to Rich Picturing
Multi-stakeholder Partnerships guide to rich pictures

6.
Start with the problem, and map what is holding it in its place
(You’ll need lots of sheets for this)
Tools to use:
Systems Practice: A Guide Omidyar Group
Systems Change: What it is and how to do it NPC/LK
OU Guide to Rich Picturing
Multi-stakeholder Partnerships guide to rich pictures
Mapping the current: structures and dynamics

7.
Tools to use:
OU Guide to Rich Picturing
Multi-stakeholder Partnerships guide to rich pictures
What does a future system look like?
What does the new paradigm look like?
What are the new system principles?
Who becomes relevant?
Where will there be resistance in the system?
What gets lost/who ‘loses’?
How will you cope with this resistance?
What needs changing to get there?
Feedback loops to stabilize, amplify or reduce?
Delays to reduce?
Information flows to fix?
Narratives to change
Connections to make?
Changes in behaviour?
Changes in power?
New values?
What is this going to look and feel like?
How do they need to act, behave and believe which is different from now?
Who is giving up power? Who is taking it?
Do they have the right skills to take on responsibility?
How does governance, incentives and accountability need to change?
Imagine the Future

8.
Start with the new principle of paradigm, and map out what needs to be true
Tools to use:
Systems Practice: A Guide Omidyar Group
Systems Change: What it is and how to do it NPC/LK
OU Guide to Rich Picturing
Multi-stakeholder Partnerships guide to rich pictures
Imagine the Future

9.
Bridging action
Tools to use:
OU Guide to Rich Picturing
Multi-stakeholder Partnerships guide to rich pictures
What is the shared mission?
What are the shared mission and values?
What is the metaphor that encapsulates that change?
What is the story that encapsulates that change?
How will you build the community?
How are they welcomed in?
Who needs to be connected? And how?
How does the system reinforce itself?
What does the ‘community’ feel like?
How can we empower the actors in the system to change the system by
themselves?
How to catalyse, predict and test and measure the change?
Where is the system frozen (avoid these)?
What shifts can you harness or leverage? (i.e. where positive change is
happening, or could catalyse other change)?
What ideas or insights can you build on?
What resources can you use?
How can digital be harnessed?
What is the greatest expression of the new principles that you can test?
How can you quickly prototype and test this?
What is a quick win?
What is an intervention which will have wider ripple effects?
What is an iconic idea that encapsulates the narrative for change?
What short-term and long-term metrics can you measure that you can feed
back to the system?