We help organisations understand and work within the complex systems that shape their outcomes.
From mapping relationships between organisations to modelling system dynamics, we bring practical systems methods to policy, health, environment, and community sectors.
Talk to us about your systems challenge
Most of the challenges our clients face don't sit neatly within one organisation, program, or sector. They involve multiple actors, competing priorities, and feedback loops that make cause and effect hard to pin down. Systems thinking gives us a way to work productively with that complexity rather than trying to simplify it away.
We've been applying systems methods in our consulting work for over a decade, across public health, emergency management, natural resource management, education, community development, and more. Our approach is grounded and practical. We use systems thinking where it adds genuine value, and we're upfront when simpler methods will do the job better.
We don't treat systems thinking as a standalone service. It's embedded in how we design evaluations, facilitate strategic planning, and support organisational learning. When we map a system, it's always in service of a decision that needs to be made or a question that needs to be answered.
We also bring a strong methodological foundation. Our team has published peer-reviewed research on systems methods, delivered training through the Australian Evaluation Society and universities, and developed original tools and approaches including System Effects, a structured method for exploring system dynamics.
Our systems work spans government departments, philanthropic foundations, local councils, peak bodies, universities, and community organisations. We've delivered projects for clients including VicHealth, Beyond Blue, Movember, the Paul Ramsay Foundation, Creative Australia, and multiple Commonwealth and state government agencies across Australia and internationally.
Three areas of deep expertise that we bring together depending on what the challenge requires.
Mapping and measuring the relationships between people and organisations within a system. We use SNA to understand how information flows, where influence sits, and how networks change over time.
Making the dynamics of a system visible. We use causal loop diagrams, System Effects, and participatory mapping to identify leverage points and unintended consequences before they play out.
Explore systems mappingSupporting organisations to embed systems thinking in their strategy, planning, and evaluation. We help teams move from linear plans to adaptive approaches that respond to how systems actually behave.
Explore strategic planningSystems work is inherently complex. No one approach is best suited to all situations. Instead, what's needed is a responsive approach that is continuously learning and adapting to the context at hand.
A snapshot of systems work we're proud of. Explore our service pages for more examples across each area.
VicHealth
We've partnered with VicHealth over multiple years to embed systems thinking across their organisation and partners. This has included supporting the development of their 10-year strategy, designing and delivering the Health Promotion Practice Fellowship for Local Public Health Units, and building systems capability within the VicHealth Local Government Partnership.
Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner
We worked with the VLSB+C to develop a Systems Theory of Change for their Lawyer Wellbeing Program, using our System Effects approach to explore the complex dynamics affecting wellbeing across Victoria's legal profession. The work has informed the regulator's ongoing strategy and evaluation, and we continue to support implementation through monitoring and mentoring.
Each area features project examples, case studies, and more detail on how we work.
We've developed Catalyst, a card-based systems thinking game designed for workshops and team settings. It's a hands-on way to introduce systems concepts and build shared understanding of how systems work.
Find out more about CatalystWe'd welcome a conversation about whether systems thinking could add value to your work. Get in touch and we'll talk it through.
Start a conversation
Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner
The VLSB+C is the independent regulator of the legal profession in Victoria. Their Lawyer Wellbeing Program responds to research findings that poor lawyer wellbeing is a persistent issue for the profession, and that solutions need to go beyond individual resilience to address systemic factors within the profession and legal ecosystem.
We were engaged to co-design a Systems Theory of Change for Lawyer Wellbeing. Our approach started with implementing the System Effects process to identify systemic barriers to wellbeing. System Effects allows for the identification of factors from an individual perspective, which are then coded and aggregated to provide a systems-level view. This process engaged over 1,100 legal professionals and mapped nearly 9,000 contributing factors, ultimately distilled into 45 influential drivers spanning sector, organisational, interpersonal, and individual levels.
Following this, we facilitated design workshops with participants from across the legal ecosystem, including students, lawyers, legal educators, professional associations, judiciary, and wellbeing specialists. Revisions through drop-in workshops and online surveys refined the model into a cohesive Systems Theory of Change that can underpin and inform actions and interventions across the sector.
Following the launch of the Systems Theory of Change, we are continuing to work with the VLSB+C through five strategic follow-up projects that translate the model into practice. These include a Role of the Regulator Analysis exploring what the VLSB+C can specifically do to support wellbeing, a Client Experiences System Effects Survey examining the drivers of good client experiences, and a Survey of Barristers to understand the relevance of the 45 wellbeing drivers in the barrister context and inform a VicBar-specific Wellbeing Strategy.
We are also providing design support, mentoring, and implementation guidance to translate the Theory of Change to different organisational settings across the sector. Together, these projects are designed to foster systemic change and enhance the wellbeing of lawyers across Victoria.
