Challenging What We Know - Save the Children’s Resource Centre

Toolkits
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Toolkit Two: Challenging What We Know
Toolkit Two: Challenging What We Know
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Current social-ecological trajectories paint an alarming picture while changemakers, a hopeful breed, refuse to give up and are working hard to change things. Yet, there’s often a sense that despite all efforts, larger forces continue to drive us in directions that aren’t helpful. How can we really get ourselves onto a different track? 
It’s not news to anyone that we first have to imagine it. But are we imagining transformations deeply and widely and audaciously enough? If not, what’s holding us back?
In this toolkit, we’ll examine the question of what we know – or think we know – and how this can impede imagination. We’ll begin to explore the immense topic of mental models, how they drive us, how we can examine them, and how we can change them. Here, we can only make a start. But until we make a start, our thinking will continue to be automatic, mostly invisible to us, and unlikely to imagine the futures we need.
Acknowledgements: This toolkit was created by the Interaktiv kapacitetsutveckling för systeminnovation i utvecklingssamarbete/Interactive capacity development for system innovation in development co-operation​ (IXUS) collaboration, supported by a grant from Sida, and building upon thought leadership in a number of changemaker programmes from the Stockholm Resilience Centre, University of Cape Town, Adapt, Southern Africa Food Labs, University of Waterloo, and University of Victoria.
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Chapters
Interrogating our thinking
Changing our thinking

Chapter 1Interrogating our thinking
A core skill of changemakers is to be aware of and to interrogate their own thinking. In this chapter, we’ll explore two topics of immediate relevance:
Mental models. We are in thrall to our mental models, which tend to stay beneath the surface, nudging us without our awareness. We’ve all heard that the first step to recovery is awareness. So, how can we become aware of our mental models? It’s hard enough to spot others’ mental models, much less our own. Here are just a few of the many resources that can help.
Stories we tell ourselves. We tell ourselves (and each other) stories about nearly everything that happens to us or that we interact with. Like mental models, we’re often not even consciously aware of them. Certain stories float through our culture and conversations with such pervasiveness that we may not even think to question them. Here, we examine – and challenge – some very common ones for changemakers.
Section 1: Mental modelsDifferent mental models that we have
7 resources
Buzzwords and fuzzwordshttps://oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/bitstream/handle/10546/118173/bk-deconstructing-development-buzzwords-010910-en.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Words can illuminate and words can obscure. In this classic publication from Oxfam (downloadable for free), the authors deconstruct development discourse and challenge us to think much more deeply and carefully about the words we use.
One hundred biaseshttps://collabfund.com/blog/100-little-ideas/
How many cognitive biases might we have? No one’s ever been able to catalogue them all, but they are legion. You’ll notice that in this article, they're called ‘ideas to help explain how the world works’. When such ideas are absorbed and held unconsciously, they can easily become biases. 
Cognitive biaseshttps://thedecisionlab.com/biases
Here’s another take from The Decision Lab, in the field of behavioural economics. This is an attempt to focus on some of the most important and explanatory cognitive biases which, the lab says, should be applied to educational reform, poverty reduction, and other large social issues.
The cognitive bias codexhttps://www.sog.unc.edu/sites/www.sog.unc.edu/files/course_materials/Cognitive%20Biases%20Codex.pdf
In this framework from the field of psychology, cognitive biases are shown in relation to each other.
Cognitive biases (2024): complete list of 151 biaseshttps://gustdebacker.com/cognitive-biases/
The biases listed in "The cognitive bias codex" are all explained here.
The thinker’s toolkithttps://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/88516/the-thinkers-toolkit-by-morgan-d-jones/9780812928082
You may be asking: now that I’m overwhelmed with how many biases I likely have, and how unaware of them I likely am – what on earth should I do about it? This classic book suggests fourteen thinking strategies.
Single, double, and triple loop learninghttps://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/library/single-double-and-triple-loop-learning-tool
With respect to social change, The Tamarack Institute suggests using classic single, double, and triple-loop learning in a specific, intentional way. Find out how in this resource. 
Section 2: Stories we tell ourselves
 
Clichés are a type of buzzword or fuzzword (see section one) that can mask meaning. Because we know what the cliché means, we easily think it applies to a specific situation in question, without stopping to interrogate that assumption. The thought just slides right in with the cliché. This short article examines some common thought-terminating clichés and reasons why (perhaps even subconsciously) they may be used.

This story goes along with another common one that persists, despite being thoroughly and consistently debunked, which says that more and bigger is better. But what is ‘scaling’? In the context of transforming systems, we need to think about scale differently. There are times when more is better – but when are those times? And what else is needed? The article, Scaling Out, Scaling Up, Scaling Deep: Advancing Systemic Social Innovation and the Learning Processes to Support It suggests a different story.

And/or capitalism is the best we can imagine. The ubiquity of capitalism not just as an economic system in which we’re embedded, but as a core metaphor (mental model) we use for understanding ourselves and our relationships – our very nature as human beings – can make it seem inevitable. Unchangeable. Ha-Joon Chang is just one thinker who has studied this. You can get a quick overview of his book, “23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism”, in this online summary. He argues that, in many ways, we should do the opposite of the received capitalist wisdom. You can watch a short talk from Chang here.

Huge, complex problems can create a sense of helplessness – how can I, just one person, possibly have an effect in such unpredictability and mind-boggling entanglement? The honest answer is: you can’t. Not by yourself. This sense of helplessness is fed by another cultural myth: that of the sole heroic figure. But almost nothing ever gets done by just one person. And when it comes to complex, adaptive social-ecological systems, the ones that produce the big issues of our time, the work must be done collectively, by many people and movements working together. Explore the website, Tackling Heropreneurship, for some myth busting and read this very short article from the Social Planning Council, Oxford. Then check out all the resources on the Collective Impact Forum, which recognises the need for collective action to address complex problems.

Those of us lucky enough to have extensive education have likely been steeped in the thinking of the global north (even if we’re not from there) which includes, among other things, an underlying Newtonian paradigm. One thing this paradigm teaches is to break things into parts in order to understand them. This works in some domains, but in others is destructively reductionist – and hugely inadequate for addressing complex problems. Read about why in Problem Solving Desperately Needs Systems Thinking. But how do we switch from reductionist to complexity thinking and acting? Biggs, et al have suggestions, captured in the short review, Habits of a complex mind. So how can we cultivate the curiosity and openness we need to think in a more nuanced, complex way? David Eagleman offers clues in his talk on Possibilianism.

Our age both reveres technological innovation and is deeply ambivalent about it (think of the plethora of stories of tech gone awry). Can we rely on tech to solve big problems? Read this provocative article for an argument that we’re thinking about this all wrong: ‘[I]t requires little exaggeration’, says the author, ‘to say that all of human history – its civilizational progress and setbacks – is a story of love scaling or failing to do so.
Then, explore the website and excellent resources of the Center for Humane Technology, which builds awareness about tech within complex systems. What does their Framework for Changing Complex Systems imply about the role of tech in transformations? Next, check out their infographic, The Drivers of Extractive Technology. Note what is below the surface: behaviours, mental models, and structures. These are driving the system, but cannot be addressed by technical solutions.

Impact is everything – it’s the ultimate measure of everything that has gone before.
Isn’t it? Of course, impact is important. We want to make positive changes and be able to show it. But what does impact mean in a complex, adaptive, ever-changing, unpredictable system? Read Toby Lowe’s short article, Explode on Impact, for a counter-intuitive perspective that takes the realities of complex systems seriously. And this tongue-in-cheek article makes the point that counting things and crunching data doesn’t necessarily enlighten us in any way at all!
For an example of how some are trying to address this issue and some lessons learned, read Measuring Impact and Performance in Complex Systems. One thing that all who are grappling with this issue agree on is the need for collective, collaborative learning.

This concept implies a known standard against which something can be compared, and which can be emulated. But in a VUCA world (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous), what does this mean? What could it mean? Review the concepts of simple, complicated, and complex in this short video, then listen to what David Snowden has to say about the appropriate kinds of responses in each domain. He maintains – and working in complexity confirms – that the term ‘best practice’ is not appropriate outside the simple domain. Go further with the article Best Practices are Useless in Complex Systems.
Working in complex systems demands something different from us: probing, experimenting, and learning. Or, in Donella Meadows’ words, we must ‘enter into dialogue with a system’.

Chapter 2Changing our thinking
Now that we understand how fallible our thinking can be, how can we change it when we discover mental models that no longer serve? For this chapter, we’ve collected some examples and tools from others who are making real attempts to change thinking. There are five sections:

1. Reimagining economics. We are so embedded within a global capitalist system of economics that we can find it hard to imagine anything else – except, perhaps, in limited domains or geographies. Let’s explore some ideas about how we can challenge and spur imaginative thinking on economics.

2. Using lenses. Using diverse lenses is critical for changemakers, to be able to see and understand the system and its dynamics as fully as possible. Here are some useful resources for helping us to use different lenses.

3. Decolonising development. In addition to all its terrible consequences in the real world, colonisation is a vector of beliefs and ideas that have pervaded our cultural waters for centuries. The development sector is not exempt. How can we decolonise the work? This is a growing area of discussion and activity. Here, we offer just a few explorations.

4. Paradox. Life is full of paradoxes – especially life in complex adaptive systems. How can we deal with them? ‘Dealing’ with a paradox is, itself, a paradox, since paradoxes, by nature, cannot be resolved or made to go away. But there are some ideas and examples that we can learn from.

5. Finite and infinite games. In his short, philosophical book, "Finite and Infinite Games", James Carse proposes a paradigm for thinking about life and our part in it – and this idea is very relevant and useful to changemakers.
Section 1: Reimagining economics
5 resources
Seven ways to think like a 21st century economisthttps://www.kateraworth.com/animations/
In this series of seven very short, animated videos, economist Kate Raworth challenges our default thinking.
Doughnut economicshttps://www-cdn.oxfam.org/s3fs-public/file_attachments/dp-a-safe-and-just-space-for-humanity-130212-en_5.pdf
This economic approach focuses on economic growth within planetary boundaries, which equitably meets peoples’ needs – and argues that we need a new, distributive economic model.
A renegade solution to extractive economicshttps://www.humanetech.com/podcast/29-a-renegade-solution-to-extractive-economics
Go further on doughnut economics in this podcast with Kate Raworth, discussing how to move from an extractive economic model that promotes addicted, narcissistic, polarised behaviours to one that values healthy, loving, and collaborative relationships.
Radical uncertainty: decision-making for an unknowable futurehttps://soundcloud.com/lsepodcasts/radical-uncertainty-decision
Now listen to a challenging perspective on economics in our complex world. Traditional models are based on thinking from the simple or complicated domains. But since our most pressing problems – and the world as a whole – are complex, how should we think about economics? According to economists John Kay and Mervyn King, we need to account for the radical uncertainty at the heart of complexity.
Radical uncertaintyhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Radical-Uncertainty-Decision-making-unknowable-future/dp/0349143994/ref=sr_1_1?crid=G9FA4MN7035Y&keywords=radical+uncertainty+john+kay&qid=1703427252&sprefix=Radical+Unc%2Caps%2C143&sr=8-1
Go deeper with Kay and King’s book of the same name.
Section 2: Using lenses
5 resources
Lenses Reference Worksheet2015 · Waterloo Institute for Social Innovation and Resilience,
We all have default lenses that we use, based on our backgrounds, experiences, and subject matter expertise. But our expertise can also make us blind to things outside our usual... View Full Abstract
PDF (396.9 KiB)
Four lenses to better understand your cityhttps://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2023/5/16/four-lenses-for-better-understanding-your-city
Here is one example from urban work, suggesting four lenses to help see and make sense of different information and dynamics in a city. You can begin to see how each is likely to lead to different insights – the reason why changemakers should never rely on only their default lenses.
SDGs as connected lenseshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7WUpgPZzpI
The SDGs are, in themselves, a set of lenses. Often, people work and report on them separately; but if we don’t integrate our lenses and apply them repeatedly (since systems are always changing) we’ll have very inadequate understandings of our systems dynamics. In this short video, Ola Rosling shows how we can’t understand the progress we’re making on the SDGs – or lack, thereof – without connecting our lenses.
SDG interlinkages toolhttps://sdginterlinkages.iges.jp/visualisationtool.html
Go further by exploring the SDG interlinkages analysis and visualisation tool from the Institute for Global Environmental Studies.
Examining interlinked SDGs in your work2024
Use this worksheet to examine your lenses and to think about some of the connections amongst the SDGs you’re working on the most.
PDF (350.3 KiB)
Section 3: Decolonising development
7 resources
Decolonizing development is difficult. It is also overduehttps://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/decolonizing-development-is-difficult-and-overdue/
This very short article argues why, despite the difficulties, we must decolonise development.
Decolonising development with Frantz Fanonhttps://www.google.com/url?q=https://mondediplo.com/outsidein/fanon-development&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1710419588156134&usg=AOvVaw3jZBiSKUBYrG637x9v22Pr
This article contextualises current efforts of decolonisation by discussing its history, through the lens of the work of Frantz Fanon. 
ODI bites: Decolonising developmenthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liyeK8wnsI0
In this recording from the Overseas Development Institute think tank, a panel discusses the meaning of decolonising development, and how we might rethink our practices. 
Beings seen and unseenhttps://emergencemagazine.org/interview/beings-seen-and-unseen/
In this interview, writer Amitav Ghosh argues that decentring our stories from humans, to include the stories of other beings and entities with whom we share the planet, is critical work for those who seek justice and equity.
Decolonising development – what, how, by whom, and for whom?https://blog.gdi.manchester.ac.uk/decolonising-development/
This blogpost from the Global Development Institute encourages us to ask probing questions – and suggests what some of them might be – so that we decolonise development thoughtfully. 
Ten efforts to decolonise aidhttps://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/feature/2022/08/12/10-efforts-to-decolonise-aid
You may now be thinking: I get it and I’m going to keep learning more – but what should I do? Here’s a brief overview, from The New Humanitarian, of some of the many efforts underway, as examples and jumping off points for your own work. Note that this article is also full of many links to other useful resources. 
Decolonising aid: a reading and resource listhttps://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/feature/2022/08/12/Decolonising-aid-a-reading-and-resource-list
This list from The New Humanitarian is a valuable resource for getting started with the study and understanding of decolonising aid.
Section 4: Paradox
4 resources
Face your Paradoxes2024
Complex systems often throw up paradoxes. After struggling with them for a while, we realise we can&#8217;t make them go away. So, what should we do? This worksheet offers one... View Full Abstract
PDF (359.2 KiB)
You can make a difference/you can’t make any differencehttps://www.dailygood.org/story/2855/born-on-third-base-chuck-collins/
Here is just one meditation on this paradox, in an excerpt from "Born on Third Base" by Chuck Collins. He tells the story of his awakening to his privileged position, his decision to do something about it as an individual, and his realisation that everything important to be done happened in community.
I want a better catastrophehttps://flowchart.bettercatastrophe.com/
This infographic think-piece challenges us to deeply question ourselves in how we think about the climate emergency. Spot the many paradoxes the author discusses as you go through. This is a 52-minute listen that you can do in small chunks over time.
Embracing the paradoxes of innovationhttps://ssir.org/articles/entry/embracing_the_paradoxes_of_innovation
In this article, the authors discuss the tension that exists between the seeming turmoil of change and the stubborn continuity of organisational structures, pointing to three in particular: 1) Innovation vs. cultification; 2) Collaboration vs. compromise; and 3) Breakthroughs within organisational conventions.
Section 5: Finite and infinite games
4 resources
Finite and infinite games—what’s it all about?https://bjornsbooklab.com/quick-review-finite-and-infinite-games-by-james-p-carse/
Quickly see the basics in this very short book review, to get started. 
The infinite game with James Carsehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6ME0_iXr4M
Now that you have the basics, settle in to learn from James Carse, himself, in this interview with Simon Sinek. You’ll notice some familiar complexity concepts: novelty and emergence, unpredictability and surprise, and play and discovery. 
Finite and infinite games in changemaking2023
How are these concepts relevant to changemaking? Complete this short worksheet to relate them to your work. 
PDF (842.1 KiB)
Infinite-minded metricshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6yvvu1uNb0
In this short discussion, Simon Sinek unpacks our fascination with metrics and places it within the context of the infinite game.

Interrogating our thinking
Changing our thinking