21603 Chap.6 Advocating within Systems: Six Conditions
Advocating within Systems: Six Conditions
Problems that outlast programs
Week 2 asks why so many well-meant programs leave the underlying problem untouched.
The answer offered by systems thinkers Kania, Kramer and Senge is that problems are held in place by a set of conditions, and lasting change means shifting those conditions rather than adding one more service.
Six conditions at three depths
Policies, practices and resource flows are the explicit layer that can be read in documents and budgets.
Relationships and power dynamics sit a level down, partly visible and partly hidden. Mental models, the beliefs about how a system ought to work, lie deepest and change most slowly.
From analysis to an ask
For advocates, the framework is a way to decide what to request.
A campaign that names the condition it is targeting, and checks which other conditions could undo a win, is more specific and easier to judge than one that simply calls for change.
What this chapter covers
- 01
What a system is
- 02
Policies, practices and resource flows
- 03
Relationships and power dynamics
- 04
Mental models
- 05
Explicit to implicit levels
- 06
Choosing a precise campaign ask
Worked example · free
Place three sports-ground asks in the systems-change bands
- 1Ask (a) changes how the existing allocation rules are carried out by staff, so it targets practices, in the explicit band.
- 1Ask (b) changes who takes part in decisions and who answers to whom, so it targets power dynamics, in the semi-explicit band.
- 1Ask (c) builds a working tie between two groups in the system, so it targets relationships and connections, also in the semi-explicit band.
Key terms
- Systems Change
- Deliberate work to alter the conditions that keep a social problem in place, rather than treating its symptoms one program at a time.
- Resource Flows
- The money, staff and other means allocated to a system, which shape what it is able to do.
- Power Dynamics
- Who actually makes decisions in a system and who answers to whom, which formal charts may not reveal.
- Mental Models
- Deeply held beliefs about how a system should work, often unexamined, that make other changes easier or harder.
Advocating within Systems: Six Conditions FAQ
What are the six conditions of systems change?
Three are explicit: policies, practices and resource flows. Two are semi-explicit: relationships and connections, and power dynamics. The sixth, mental models, is implicit. Kania, Kramer and Senge describe them as the conditions that hold a problem in place. Advocates use the list to work out which part of a system their campaign is trying to shift and what else might resist that shift.
What is the difference between explicit and implicit conditions?
Explicit conditions, namely policies, practices and resource flows, can be observed in documents and budgets and changed fairly directly. Implicit conditions are mental models, the assumptions underneath a system, which are hard to see and slow to change. Relationships and power dynamics sit between the two as semi-explicit conditions.
Why is a mental model so hard to change?
Because people often do not notice they hold it, and some are unaware that such beliefs can shift at all. A belief about how a service should be funded or whom it should serve shapes expectations quietly, so campaigns usually need sustained storytelling and new experiences, not a single decision, to move it.
How can I use the six conditions in an assessment?
In the personal project, or in the contest report only as a supplement to your Week 3 theory, the framework helps you explain why an issue persists and what exactly your campaign asks for. Identify the conditions holding the problem in place, say which one the campaign targets and why it is within a decision-maker’s reach, then note what could undermine success.
Is a new law enough to change a system?
Often not. A law changes the policy condition, but practices, funding, relationships, power and beliefs can still pull outcomes back towards the old pattern. That is why the framework encourages advocates to check the other conditions and, where needed, pair a policy ask with one aimed at implementation or resources.
Assessment move
Pick a system you use every week, such as a transport network, a sporting competition or a council service, and fill in the six conditions for one problem you see in it. Mark each entry explicit, semi-explicit or implicit. Then write three possible campaign asks, one aimed at an explicit condition and two lower down, and decide which you would lead with and why.
Bring the table to your tutorial and compare where classmates placed similar items. For Assessment 3, use the same table to show the decision-maker exactly what your campaign wants changed. When two conditions seem to blur together, ask Sia to help you tell them apart with a fresh example.
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