On 9th September 2020, Jonathan Nichols hosted our CECAN Webinar: ‘How can System Dynamics support policy evaluation?’.
System Dynamics is a mature, model-based policy design and evaluation method which has been used to harness the power of complexity on a wide range of policy issues, both in the UK and elsewhere, over the past 60 years. Jonathan’s webinar introduced the basic concepts and tools which underly the method and made the case that it presents evaluators with a “ready to go” complexity-appropriate toolkit. The webinar illustrated the kind of policy insights the method can generate by presenting the results of a CECAN Fellowship project conducted in partnership with the European Master in System Dynamics programme. In this project a System Dynamics simulation model was built to identify risks and opportunities for using natural capital investment initiatives to achieve DEFRA’s 25 Year Environmental Plan ambition of ensuring all soils in England are managed sustainably by 2030. The webinar concluded with suggestions for how the rich history and vibrant contemporary practice of System Dynamics can be drawn on to support methodological innovation in complexity evaluation and tackle the practical challenges of applying complexity-appropriate methods in policy practice, and thus contribute to the broader CECAN agenda.
If you were unable to join the webinar, you can watch the session via our YouTube channel below. We are also pleased to be able to share a PDF version of the PowerPoint slides, please click here to view.