We make the dynamics of complex systems visible. Using participatory mapping methods, we help organisations see how factors interact, where feedback loops create unintended consequences, and where the best opportunities for change sit.
Our mapping work is always in service of action. We map systems to inform strategy, guide investment, and help teams work more effectively within the complexity they face.
Talk to us about mapping your system
Most complex challenges involve dozens of interacting factors, feedback loops, and competing priorities that are difficult to hold in view at once. Systems mapping gives organisations a structured way to make those dynamics visible, so they can see how their system actually works rather than how they assume it works.
We use a range of mapping methods depending on the context. Sometimes that means causal loop diagrams developed through facilitated workshops. Sometimes it means our System Effects methodology, which centres lived experience in the mapping process. And sometimes it means simpler approaches like rich pictures or influence diagrams that help a team build shared understanding quickly.
System Effects is a structured approach to systems mapping based on fuzzy logic, cognitive mind mapping, and graph theory. It centres lived experience in the mapping process. Individuals identify the factors that influence a particular issue from their own perspective, which are then coded and aggregated to produce a systems-level view. This means the resulting map reflects the real experiences of people within the system, not just expert assumptions.
We've used System Effects across a wide range of contexts: from mapping systemic barriers to lawyer wellbeing across Victoria's legal profession (engaging over 1,100 legal professionals), to understanding barriers to physical activity in school settings, to mapping the drivers of electronic waste behaviour in the UK. The methodology is particularly well-suited to situations where you need to understand a complex issue from the perspective of the people experiencing it.
Beyond System Effects, we regularly design and facilitate participatory mapping workshops that bring diverse stakeholders together to build a shared picture of how their system operates. These workshops use causal loop diagrams, systems maps, and other visual tools to surface assumptions, identify leverage points, and build collective ownership of the model. The process of mapping together is often as valuable as the map itself.
We choose and combine methods based on the questions that need answering and the context we're working in.
A methodology we apply extensively. Centres lived experience using fuzzy logic and graph theory to map systemic barriers and enablers from the perspective of people within the system. Produces quantitative models from qualitative data.
Visual maps of cause-and-effect relationships within a system, showing reinforcing and balancing feedback loops. Developed through facilitated workshops, they help teams identify where interventions are most likely to create lasting change.
Bringing diverse stakeholders together to collectively build a picture of how their system operates. The process builds shared understanding and ownership, while the outputs identify leverage points and areas for coordinated action.
Once a system is mapped, we work with stakeholders to identify where small changes could produce disproportionate effects. This analysis translates systems maps into practical guidance for strategy and investment decisions.
Using System Effects or other methods at multiple time points to track how a system changes in response to an intervention. This turns systems mapping into a rigorous evaluation tool, not just a planning exercise.
We support teams to design and implement their own systems mapping processes, building internal capability through mentoring, training, and co-facilitation so the approach can be sustained over time.
A selection of our systems mapping work across different sectors and applications.
Alcohol and Drug Foundation
We are working with ADF and local providers to map the factors contributing to disadvantage in Geelong and identify opportunities for coordinated action. A series of workshops builds systems thinking capability while developing a shared map that participants can revisit as their understanding and local responses develop.
Read about the Geelong pilot
McAuley Community Services for Women
We worked with McAuley and agencies across Victoria’s family violence system to map the changes needed for women and children to remain safely at home. Consultations and review workshops identified seven contributing outcomes, with an interactive map and action plan connecting the barriers, enablers and areas for action.
Visit Safe at Home
City of Casey
We worked with the Casey Futures Partnership to map the factors affecting integrated service delivery. Twenty-one participants developed a map of 33 factors and 104 connections. Combining network analysis with the Action Scales Model helped identify opportunities for local action and issues requiring wider influence. The study is published in Systems.
Read the published paper
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (UK)
We designed and delivered a mentoring program for DEFRA staff to implement System Effects themselves, mapping the barriers and enablers to seeking repair of small electronic goods. Through a series of tutorials and training sessions, the team built the capability to apply the methodology independently within their policy work.
Feed Opportunity (Ontario, Canada)
Using the System Effects approach to understand non-economic barriers to food security in Ontario and identify key leverage points for change in priority populations.
Deakin University, with City of Greater Bendigo and North Central CMA
Facilitating a multi-stakeholder workshop with the City of Greater Bendigo and North Central CMA to apply causal loop diagrams to the complex challenges of regional land use planning.
Read the paper
World Wellness Group
Designing and implementing System Effects across a three-year collaborative program supporting children exposed to domestic and family violence. We're training staff across three partner agencies to collect data and providing ongoing analysis to understand the systemic drivers of child wellbeing.
Systems mapping is one part of our broader systems capability. See how we combine it with other methods.
Whether you're facing a complex policy challenge, designing a new program, or trying to understand why change isn't happening, systems mapping can help make the dynamics visible.
Start a conversationAlcohol and Drug Foundation
The Geelong Systems Thinking pilot brings together local networks and services addressing disadvantage. FPC is supporting participants to examine how the factors affecting community wellbeing interact and where coordinated action may help.
We are facilitating a series of participatory mapping workshops with local systems champions. The approach progresses from facilitator-led to co-led and locally led sessions, building participants’ ability to update and use the map themselves.
Participants identify gaps and opportunities for action, then revisit the map to examine progress. The pilot also uses participant feedback and comparisons between maps to assess the process and inform future development.
McAuley Community Services for Women
McAuley engaged FPC to examine the systemic barriers to a Safe at Home approach in Victoria. The aim was to understand what would need to change so women and children experiencing family violence could remain safely in their homes and communities.
We drew on nearly a dozen consultations with agencies across the family violence system, including prevention organisations, government and victim-survivor advocacy groups. Thematic analysis and iterative review workshops informed a map of the barriers and enablers, organised around seven contributing outcomes.
Working with stakeholders, we connected these areas of change to an action plan and interactive systems map. In 2023, we updated the map to include factors affecting particular populations and communities.
The Safe at Home website describes the approach now being trialled in Geelong and the Barwon region. It provides further information about the coordinated support available to households experiencing family violence.
City of Casey
The Casey Futures Partnership brings Council and community service organisations together to improve service integration. We facilitated a participatory mapping workshop and consolidated the group models for participant review.
The resulting map contained 33 factors and 104 connections. Analysis combined network measures with the Action Scales Model to examine each factor’s influence, depth in the system and scope for local action.
Funding conditions were central. Opportunities for action included shared understanding of community needs, communication between organisations, relationships with funders and advocacy. The published paper explains the method, findings and limitations.
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (UK)
Electronic and electrical waste is a massive environmental issue in the UK. DEFRA, wanting to explore alternative approaches to understanding how to drive behaviour change around e-waste, engaged us to design and deliver a mentoring program to implement the System Effects methodology within their team.
Through a series of tutorials and training sessions, DEFRA staff designed and implemented the System Effects method themselves to map the barriers and enablers to seeking repair of small electronic goods. Rather than producing a report for DEFRA, we built the capability within their team to apply systems mapping to their own policy challenges.
This project demonstrated that System Effects can be effectively taught and applied by policy teams who are new to systems methods, and that the methodology translates well across international contexts. The resulting systems map gave DEFRA new insights into the behavioural and systemic factors that influence whether people repair or replace small electronics.
