We discuss the emerging technology of digital twins (DTs) and the expected demands as they scale to represent increasingly complex, interconnected systems. Several examples are presented to illustrate core use cases, highlighting a progression to represent both natural and engineered systems. The forthcoming challenges are discussed around a hierarchy of scales, which recognises systems of increasing aggregation. Broad implications are discussed, encompassing sensing, modelling, and deployment, alongside ethical and privacy concerns. Importantly, we endorse a modular and peer-to-peer view for aggregate (interconnected) DTs. This mindset emphasises that DT complexity emerges from the framework of connections (Wagg et al. [2024, The philosophical foundations of digital twinning, Preprint]) as well as the (interpretable) units that constitute the whole.

Viewed from the perspective of public policy, behavioural public policy (BPP) faces challenges in four main areas: Systems, Impatience, Nudging, and Scaling. To address these challenges, several suggestions are proposed. First, understanding how BPP interventions unfold in complex systems requires better diagnostics and the development of predictive and generative models of human behaviour. Second, the rapid pace of policy processes necessitates a shift towards generating timely and fit-for-purpose evidence. Third, maximising the opportunities presented by BPP, beyond merely ‘nudging’, demands the early and proactive application of behavioural science in the policy cycle. Fourth, achieving widespread impact in BPP initiatives means considering scale-up from the start. Lastly, the consistent and comprehensive integration of behavioural science into standard policymaking practices would support sustainable progress in addressing these challenges.

Almost half of the global population lives with inadequate or unsafe water, sanitation or hygiene (WASH) services. The consequences of this situation include negative impacts on individual and public health, the environment and economic production. The WASH sector is linked with other international development sectors and is embedded within complex social, environmental and governance structures. This complexity led us to reflect on how WASH sector practitioners and researchers are applying systems thinking tools and techniques to progress an agenda of sustainable and universal WASH services. From this perspective, we then discuss the near- and long-term future needs of the sector in coming to a comprehensive understanding and application of systems thinking to progress the ultimate aim of universal access to safely managed, accessible and abundant water, sanitation and hygiene services.

Negative human–wildlife interactions are a growing problem, particularly for people living near protected areas and wildlife refuges. In Kenya, African savannah elephants Loxodonta africana threaten food security for subsistence farmers by crop foraging, which can jeopardize conservation efforts if farmers retaliate against elephants. To inform conservation and management, this study had three objectives: (1) to evaluate stakeholder participatory models of human–elephant conflict; (2) to note any novel or underrepresented variables in the models; and (3) to determine if there were indicators for assessing the success of mitigation programmes using a biocultural approach. We conducted participatory modelling sessions in six villages in rural Kenya using fuzzy cognitive mapping (n = 206 participants). Farmers created group visual models with variables related to conflict with elephants. A total of 14 variables were common across all six villages, with the two highest centrality scores (a measure of importance to overall dynamics) associated with income and feelings of security. Most variables fell into two categories: environmental interactions, and policy and management. Multiple variables such as road infrastructure (drivers) and soil compaction (consequences) were identified as aspects of conflicts that are under-reported or absent in scientific literature, as well as potential socio-cultural indicators. The participatory method used is a tool for gaining more refined insights into interactions with elephants, with implications for other complex conservation issues or wildlife interactions. A more holistic view of the impacts of human–elephant interactions as demonstrated here can lead to sustainable, co-developed programmes that benefit both farmer livelihoods and elephant conservation.

Early phases of the design process require designers to select into view elements of the problem that they deem important. This exploration process is commonly referred to as problem framing and is essential to solution generation. There have recently been calls in the literature for more precise representations of framing activity and how individual designers come to negotiate shared frames in team settings. This paper presents a novel research approach to understand design framing activity using a system thinking lens. Systems thinking is the way that we understand a system’s components and the interrelations to create interventions, which can be used to move the system outcomes in a more favorable direction. The proposed approach is based on the observation that systems as mental representations of the problem bear some similarity to frames as collections of concepts implicit in the designer’s cognition. Systems mapping – a common visualization tool used to facilitate systems thinking – could then be used to model external representations of framing, made explicit through speech, and sketches. We thus adapt systems mapping to develop a coding scheme to analyze verbal protocols of design activity to retrospectively represent framing activity. The coding scheme is applied on two distinct datasets. The resulting system maps are analyzed to highlight team problem frames, individual contributions, and how the framing activity evolves over time. This approach is well suited to visualize the framing activity that occurs in open-ended problem contexts, where designers are more focused on problem finding and analysis rather than concept generation and detailed design. Several future research avenues for which this approach could be used or extended, including using new computational methods, are presented.

Capacity development is crucial for enduring conservation success. Recent scholarship has called for a systems perspective based on input from local stakeholders to better understand and develop conservation capacity. However, few studies have adopted such an approach to explore interactions among capacities or how capacity development needs and priorities evolve. We address this gap through a case study from Bhutan, centred on perceptions from 52 local conservation practitioners, planners, funders and community members. We use mixed methods to identify which capacities have been important for conservation success, which capacities are needed for future success, which capacities are foundational and how capacities interact. We find that capacity needs have shifted from individual-level knowledge and skills to community- and societal-level capacities in response to changing political and economic dynamics. Participants identified political support and leadership, reliable and sufficient funding, strengthening the research base, and increasing community awareness and engagement as critical future needs. Investing in these capacities holds the promise of further augmenting capacity development, thus increasing the value of limited resources. Our results demonstrate that capacity development should be viewed as a dynamic process and supported by strategic investment even in countries with track records of conservation success.

Law Schools are now required to provide education to law students on bias, cross-cultural competency, and racism under ABA Standard 303(c). Law clinics, with their social justice orientation, have long taught about structural causes of bias and oppression and ways to intervene at system levels to prevent problems. Medical legal partnership (MLP) clinics have done so by employing concepts from social work and health science programs on structural competency. This article examines MLP and related curriculum to meet the ABA mandate.

In recent decades, the proliferation of single-use plastic products has significantly contributed to a surge in plastic pollution on a global scale. Researchers have extensively investigated the impacts of plastic pollution across various regions, yet a comprehensive holistic and location-based understanding of these impacts in the West African context is lacking. This study addresses this gap through a systemic assessment of the impacts of plastic pollution, in West Africa, particularly Ghana. Employing a qualitative system dynamics causal modelling approach, this study establishes linkages between pollution effects at the macro level, constructing a hierarchical outline of both high- and low-level impacts. The significance of this research lies in the application of pertinent systems thinking techniques to comprehend the broader impacts of plastic pollution. The outcomes of this study will inform the development of effective policies aimed at preventing or mitigating plastic pollution in Ghana, and potentially the wider West African context.

The evolving needs of customers and stakeholders necessitate the collaboration of diverse system elements within a cyber-physical, socio-technical network. Socio-technical systems are characterized by numerous complex interdependencies as well as by endogenous and exogenous influences. A key issue that developers must address is the mitigation of data and information uncertainties. The authors introduce an approach that operationalizes Design Thinking as a supporting sufficient condition within the context of designing system models in the realm of Model-Based Systems Engineering.

Designers’ roles are at a turning point of transforming design from an expert-driven design process within an assumed social and economic order to design practices that advocate design-led societal transition toward more sustainable futures. Design education should be adapted accordingly. Introducing the transition design concept into established design education promotes the sustainable society transition by involving more systems thinking from designers in various sectors. This study reports on a pilot practice and reflection on introducing the transition design concept to design students.

This study delves into Industry 5.0's Human Centric Manufacturing and Systems (HCM and HCS), emphasizing worker welfare and sustainability. Industry 5.0 advocates a human-centric approach, built upon three foundational pillars safety, inclusivity, and empowerment. The paper highlights the successful integration of Design and Systems Thinking in HCM and proposes a workshop at MADE COMPETENCE CENTRE proving the effectiveness in raising awareness and promoting Human-Centric principles throughout the system life cycle and in achieving Human-Centric Systems (HCS).

Multiple industries have hailed lightweighting promise to reduce the mass of their product at equivalent or improved performance. Lightweighting as a strategy encompasses lightweight end-product desired attributes and through-life processing decisions. Assessment of lightweighting gathers information for decision-making towards the optimization of these strategies. An exploratory study, using systems thinking is conducted, to identify requirements of lightweighting and its assessment in terms of holistically defining its impact on the sustainability of its background system, the Earth.

Social problems are becoming increasingly complex. Policymakers, thus, cannot solve these issues with a single policy instrument. For example, while decades of research have examined the individual factors that influence financial stress, less is known about how organisations, social structures, policies, social norms, and large-scale events interact to affect one’s financial wellbeing. Using a systems approach as the basis of our conceptualisation, we put forward a theoretical model to help policymakers and practitioners to address the root causes of such complex issues. We argue that extant literature does not adequately conceptualise the complex relationships between the micro, meso, and macro-level drivers of financial wellbeing. As a result, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners are under-resourced when it comes to designing interventions to improve individuals’ financial situations. We use the examples of affordable housing and social security policy to highlight the utility of a systems approach. In doing so we contribute to ongoing debates by putting forward a model of financial wellbeing in the context of Western countries (specifically Australia) that can better incorporate the moderating, mediating, and reciprocal relationships between financial wellbeing and its drivers.

Medical-legal partnerships (MLPs) have the potential to address racial health disparities by improving the conditions that constitute the social determinants of health. In order to live up to this potential, these partnerships must intentionally incorporate seven core racial justice principles into their design and implementation. Otherwise, they are likely to replicate the systemic barriers that lead to racialized health disparities.