Finding (a theory of) Leverage for Systemic Change: A systemic design research agenda

Abstract

To search for leverage is to use systemic design to find ways to accelerate progressive systemic change. The theory of leverage was first conceptualized by Donella Meadows with “Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System” in 1997. Yet while Meadows’s typology of leverage points is popular and influential, little has been done to critique or substantially advance her ideas since they were first published. As a result, we lack a modern theory of leverage. In this article, I relate systemic change to the search for leverage and outline why leverage matters. I present a brief overview of Meadows’s original work. Then, I synthesize the major contributions that have built on Meadows’s theory of leverage in the last 25 years. Next, I present a critique of Meadows’s original work, highlighting what we know about leverage and what we have yet to learn. This includes the development of a framework identifying how the degree of leverage relates to the acceleration of progressive (or retrograde) systemic change. Finally, I organize these ideas into a research agenda featuring four areas: dimensions of leverage, methods for leverage, strategy with leverage, and execution on leverage. Meadows wrote about the metaphor of “dancing with systems.” By advancing leverage theory, I believe we can better learn to “dance with systemic change.”