Understanding Local Systems
We use Systems Thinking to understand local systems.
Understanding local actors and the complex systems in which they operate is fundamental to the effective design, implementation, and measurement of locally led development. This is why systems thinking is one of the key elements and approaches that LINC uses in its work.
LINC’s systems thinking practice attempts to anticipate impacts to the maximum extent possible, designing projects and portfolio strategies based on the interest of local actors, maintaining flexibility to adapt to project success and failure, and measuring impact based on outcomes.
LINC has not only advocated for the effective understanding and practice of systems thinking in solving development problems, but has also used, developed, and successfully tested a suite of tools and resources that assist donors, program implementers, and local actors to design effectively, adapt accordingly, and measure appropriately using systems-based approaches. Examples include:
- In collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, the Resilient Africa Network, and the Global Knowledge Initiative, LINC authored the “Systems & Complexity White Paper”, a how-to manual for USAID missions, operating units, and partners on the application of systemic design, monitoring & evaluation practices into international development programming.
- As the lead implementer of the USAID Local Systems Practice (LSP) Activity, LINC developed the Systems Thinking User’s Guide, a dynamic online repository designed to assist international development practitioners in applying systems thinking approaches to their own project design, monitoring, and evaluation.
- Across LINC’s project portfolio, we regularly use approaches such as Social Network Analysis, Causal Loop Diagrams, Participatory Systems Mapping, and Structural Factor Analysis to understand the complex systems in which our partners work.
LINC is an innovator in systems thinking and in using it to promote locally-led development.
USAID-funded Global Labor Program – Inclusive Futures (GLP-IF) is a five-year program that aims to increase the inclusion of people with disabilities. LINC serves as the technical lead for two distinct components of the program: Systems Thinking and Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA).
