Community Based System Dynamics

3 units

This course introduces students to community based system dynamics (CBSD) as an approach for engaging communities, organizations, and trans-disciplinary teams to understand and represent complex social, health, and policy problems through the diagramming conventions of system dynamics. The course introduces students to the background and theoretical foundations of community based system dynamics; qualitative causal mapping; the practice of group model building for working with organizations, communities, and teams through structured small group exercises or “scripts”; tools for designing, facilitating, and evaluating CBSD interventions; and techniques for managing group dynamics involving power, interpersonal conflicts, and working with marginalized stakeholders. Learning is structured around problem-based and experiential approaches, including simulated group model building exercises, facilitation practice, case study activities, and guest presentations by CBSD practitioners working in the field. The course draws on methods being developed and used by the Brown School's Social System Design Lab and explores current CBSD applications in both domestic and international settings.