Introduction to System Working in Practice
Methods and tools for “working together on our system”: the collaborative improvement of health and care service delivery in complex situations.
Creating and improving health and care service systems which work well – for both the people receiving and the people providing the service – requires a range of foundational skills in system working. During December 2023-March 2024, we are offering short learning set sessions on proven, easy-to-use methods and tools which will enable you and your delivery partners to understand your system better and to set up an effective collaboration for change.
What to expect
Running from December 2023 to March 2024, the sessions cover foundations for system change (methods for foundational co-learning about systems), setting up system collaboration (methods for setting up successful collaborations), and influencing your system (methods for identifying key factors and for influencing and communicating).
The sessions will help you to:
Work with an experienced systems practitioner, where the people learning about their system can receive coaching, guidance, and peer support, and where the implications of and opportunities from their learning can be explored and discussed in a safe environment.
Learn additional systems methods/tools.
Participants supported to ‘join up’ their learning about their system and enrich it by looking at it from a range of perspectives
Sessions Format
This is a mini-course of three workshops of three hours each intended for leaders across the South East who provide health and care support.
The learning set sessions will be “learning through doing”; you will apply the methods and tools to your work situation so you get immediate business value as well as learn how to use the method. The sessions will last from 3 hours each and will be delivered by two highly experienced systems practitioners John Rogers and Simon MacCormac via Teams. Each cohort/session can take up to 20 participants.
| Session A Foundations for system change | Effective system working requires appreciating relationships in systems and engagement with other perspectives, especially about the purpose of the system. This set will cover methods and tools for foundational co-learning about systems: rich pictures, perspectives and purposes [and power], framing and levels, and leveraging the relationship between perspectives and decisions about change. |
| Session A Methods and tools | Rich pictures; perspectives wheel including diversity of purpose; leveraging power and mitigating power differentials; framing and system levels; Worldview-to-change ‘chain’. |
| Session B Setting up system collaboration. | Effective collaboration between diverse partners doesn’t just happen. This set will cover skills and tools that people can use to set up successful collaboration with partners from across the system, for a range of co-working scenarios. |
| Session B Methods and tools | Spectrum and diagnostic: co-operation-collaboration-co-production; how to approach collaboration right (factors to consider); structuring effective collaboration: creating the right environment |
| Session C Influencing your system. | Effective system working requires appreciating relationships in systems and engagement with other perspectives, especially about the purpose of the system. This set will cover methods and tools for foundational co-learning about systems: rich pictures, perspectives, and purposes [and power], framing and levels, and leveraging the relationship between perspectives and decisions about change. |
| Session C Methods and tools | Control and influence mapping; structured storytelling for engagement and for updating on progress; Worldview-to-change ‘chain’ revisited – reflection on the interplay between evidence and perspective. |
Programme Dates
| Cohort 1(full) | Cohort 2 | Cohort 3 | |
| Session A | Wed 6th Dec: 9:30 – 12:30 | Tue 12 Dec: 13:30 – 16:30 | Wed 10th Jan: 13:30 – 16:30 |
| Session B | Wed 10 Jan: 9:30 – 12:30 | Tues 16th Jan: 13:30 – 16:30 | Wed 7th Feb: 13:30 – 16:30 |
| Session C | Wed 7 Feb: 9:30 – 12:30 | Tues 20th Feb: 13:30 – 16:30 | Wed 6th March: 13:30 – 16:30 |
Please click on the button below to book your place, dates as above:
Register here for Cohort 2 Register here for cohort 3