tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/wicked-problems-15681/articlesWicked problems – The Conversation2021-11-01T18:53:59Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1677682021-11-01T18:53:59Z2021-11-01T18:53:59ZFrom the Amazon, Indigenous Peoples offer new compass to navigate climate change<p>Universities in western Canada began another school year under the cloud of two imminent threats: wildfires and the COVID-19 pandemic. These are not just local issues, but <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/09/fires-rage-around-the-world-where-are-the-worst-blazes">global issues</a>, not only because they are happening all over the world, but also because <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-disease-amazon-deforestation-t-idUSKBN2741IF">some of their root causes</a> — including ecological destruction and dispossession of marginalized, especially Indigenous, peoples — are not concerned with borders.</p>
<p>We know many wildfires aren’t just a result of <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-wildfires-affect-climate-change-and-vice-versa-158688">drier conditions and rising temperatures</a> from climate change, but also the forced removal of Indigenous Peoples from their ancestral lands and disregard for traditions that support ecological integrity, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-indigenous-burning-practices-can-help-curb-the-biodiversity-crisis-165422">prescribed burns</a>. And deforestation, which displaces human and other-than-human communities alike, makes pandemics like COVID-19 <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-02341-1">more likely</a>.</p>
<p>Many universities have committed to addressing global challenges. But society-wide, our universities are ill-prepared to help deepen our collective capacity to face today’s interconnected “<a href="https://theconversation.com/wicked-problems-and-how-to-solve-them-100047">wicked problems</a>” — those that are hyper-complex and cannot be solved with simple <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/the-white-savior-industrial-complex/254843/">individualistic solutions</a>. These problems include <a href="https://theconversation.com/environmental-laws-in-canada-fall-short-of-addressing-the-ongoing-biodiversity-crisis-162983">biodiversity loss</a> and our <a href="https://theconversation.com/rising-eco-anxiety-means-we-should-address-mental-health-alongside-food-security-123739">global mental health crisis</a>. </p>
<h2>Deeper changes needed</h2>
<p>As scholars of Indigenous studies, global education and food systems, we often get asked what kind of education and research are needed to address such wicked problems. This question usually comes from a well-meaning place; it’s also often motivated by a desire for ready-made alternatives. </p>
<p>But complex problems cannot be addressed with simplistic solutions. This is not due to educators’ or researchers’ lack of effort or ingenuity. Rather, our inability to address these problems with the depth of engagement required is a product of the educational models we have inherited and (mostly) reproduce. </p>
<p>We cannot solve wicked problems from within the same paradigms that created them. For example, many universities have <a href="https://www.universityaffairs.ca/opinion/in-my-opinion/when-good-intentions-are-not-enough-how-sustainable-development-goals-at-universities-can-perpetuate-the-issues-theyre-aimed-to-address/%22%22">embraced the UN Sustainable Development Goals</a> for addressing climate change and sustainability. However, the goals have also <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-new-sustainable-development-goals-wont-make-the-world-a-fairer-place-46374">been critiqued</a> for presuming that we can continue to operate within an economic system premised on infinite growth.</p>
<p>Undoubtedly, proposals to shift away from dominant educational models and viewpoints prompts a follow-up question: If not this, then what? </p>
<h2>Learning from mistakes</h2>
<p>Our own <a href="https://www.developmenteducationreview.com/issue/issue-26/mobilising-different-conversations-about-global-justice-education-toward-alternative">research has led</a> us to approach this question with caution. We have <a href="https://doi.org/10.7577/njcie.3518">learned that if we jump too quickly</a> to solutions, we rarely take adequate time to assess the mistakes that caused the problems. When this happens, we end up reproducing those mistakes and reproducing harm. </p>
<p>We first need to identify and <a href="https://blogs.ubc.ca/facinghumanwrongs/">learn from</a> <a href="https://decolonialfutures.net/portfolio/the-gifts-of-failure/">mistakes before</a> we can <a href="https://decolonialfuturesnet.files.wordpress.com/2021/03/decolonizing-he-workbook-draft-march2021-2.pdf">move toward truly different educational futures</a>.</p>
<p>This is a key insight from our community research collaborations <a href="https://blogs.ubc.ca/teiadas5curas">with the Teia das 5 Curas network of Indigenous communities in Brazil</a>. These communities offer a different diagnosis of the root causes of our current environmental and social crises, and propose different responses than those generally offered in mainstream academic debates. Yet Indigenous Peoples’ analyses remain under-addressed in research and practical approaches to wicked problems.</p>
<h2>Indifference as denial of interdependence</h2>
<p>The communities that make up the Teia das 5 Curas network suggest that the primary cause of both ecological destruction and colonial violence is an individualistic and extractive mode of existence rooted in a false assumption of separation — of humans from each other, and of humans from nature. </p>
<p>They argue that this denial of ourselves as interdependent beings, part of a living planetary metabolism, feeds indifference to the suffering of others that we also create. They also believe that what contributes to this problem is our intellectual and emotional incapacity to confront our complicity in a harmful, unsustainable system.</p>
<p>Indifference to violence against both Indigenous Peoples and the Earth is evident in events currently unfolding in Brazil, where the government has launched a <a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/democraciaabierta/if-we-lose-the-amazon-our-world-will-lose-its-future/">co-ordinated attack</a> against Indigenous rights and ecological protections. </p>
<h2>Perceiving root causes</h2>
<p>Despite centuries of genocidal efforts by governments around the world, many Indigenous communities have preserved their alternative social and educational systems. They have also preserved <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/can-indigenous-land-stewardship-protect-biodiversity-">80 per cent of the world’s biodiversity</a>, despite being only four per cent of the world’s population.</p>
<p>Increasingly, non-Indigenous researchers recognize the wealth of knowledge and practices <a href="https://doi.org/10.2993/0278-0771-41.2.144">held by Indigenous peoples</a>. Unfortunately, non-Indigenous scholars and policy-makers often <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/26372211">selectively engage</a> Indigenous knowledges and practices in order to bolster existing systems, <a href="https://www.kcet.org/shows/tending-the-wild/the-problem-with-the-ecological-indian-stereotype">or they romanticize</a> Indigenous communities in unrealistic and unsustainable ways. </p>
<p>The challenge that stands before us is to <a href="https://decolonialfutures.net/portfolio/mapping-indigenous-engagements/">unlearn colonial modes of engagement</a>, so that we might learn how to ethically <a href="https://decolonialfuturesnet.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/braiding_reader.pdf">weave together</a> the gifts of different traditions of human wisdom. Our collective survival <a href="https://news.trust.org/item/20210809135158-5sro6">depends on it</a>.</p>
<h2>The invitation</h2>
<p>Indigenous communities, especially those in the Amazon, are putting their lives on the line to protect everyone’s future. The Huni Kui people of Acre are part of the Teia das 5 Curas network. As part of their <a href="http://lastwarning.org/">Last Warning</a> campaign against deforestation and the attack on their rights, the Huni Kui caution, “if we lose the forest, we lose our future.” This is true for all of us: further deforestation of the Amazon <a href="https://www.livescience.com/amazon-rainforest-accelerate-climate-change.html">will accelerate</a> global climate change.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Last Warning campaign video on YouTube.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Although the Last Warning campaign has many suggestions about how people can support this fight for our collective survival, its primary offering is an educational invitation and accompanying call to responsibility. This is an invitation for us to wake up from the fantasy of separation and to un-numb to the pain we inflict on one another and the planet in order to sustain modern consumerist lifestyles. </p>
<p>We are asked to expand our capacities to hold space for <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/675703/hospicing-modernity-by-vanessa-machado-de-oliveira/9781623176242">difficult, painful and uncomfortable things</a>. These include the truth about our complicity in systemic violence and unsustainability, and how our socially sanctioned behaviours and desires contribute to the unfolding ecocide and genocide in Brazil and elsewhere.</p>
<p>Last Warning does not tell us how to shift away from our current paradigm and make space for a wiser one to emerge; it does not claim to have the answers. Instead, it offers a new educational compass — a way of orienting ourselves away from reproducing harm and toward fostering more generative possibilities for co-existence, without glossing over the difficult elements of this work.</p>
<h2>Reorienting ourselves</h2>
<p>This is a compass oriented by maturity (the imperative <a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/oureconomy/preparing-end-world-we-know-it/">to grow up</a> in order to become good elders and ancestors); <a href="https://decolonialfutures.net/portfolio/radars-i-learning-to-read-and-to-be-read/">discernment</a> (how we can most generatively intervene in any context to foster collective well-being) and responsibility. </p>
<p>Responsibility here is understood as an affirmation of our interdependence, including the debts we have to specific communities and to the Earth. It also involves facing humanity in all of its complexities and paradoxes: the good, the bad, the broken and the messed up within and around us.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-solidarity-during-coronavirus-and-always-its-more-than-were-all-in-this-together-135002">What is solidarity? During coronavirus and always, it's more than 'we're all in this together'</a>
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<p>For those seeking simple, universal solutions to wicked problems, this educational compass is unlikely to offer much guidance. </p>
<p>But for those seeing the raging wildfires and shape-shifting COVID-19 pandemic as indications of a deeper systemic illness in our institutions and ourselves, this work may offer some guidance for the divesting from harmful systems so we might learn to co-exist differently.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167768/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sharon Stein receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vanessa Andreotti receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Will Valley receives funding from United States Department of Agriculture Higher Education Grant program. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cash Ahenakew and Dallas Hunt do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The climate emergency can’t be addressed with simplistic solutions. A network of Indigenous communities in Brazil invites us to reorient colonial approaches and embrace deeper change.Dallas Hunt, Assistant professor of Indigenous Literatures, Department of English Language and Literatures, University of British ColumbiaCash Ahenakew, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples’ Well-Being and an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Studies, University of British ColumbiaSharon Stein, Assistant Professor of Higher Education, University of British ColumbiaVanessa Andreotti, Professor, Department of Educational Studies and Canada Research chair in Race, Inequalities and Global Change, University of British ColumbiaWill Valley, Associate Professor of Teaching, Sustainable Food Systems, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1106632019-04-30T10:44:18Z2019-04-30T10:44:18ZCollaborative problem solvers are made not born – here’s what you need to know<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271563/original/file-20190429-194609-mdphbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Group project experience doesn't automatically translate to competence at collaboration.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/g1Kr4Ozfoac">Brooke Cagle/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Challenges are a fact of life. Whether it’s a high-tech company figuring out how to shrink its carbon footprint, or a local community trying to identify new revenue sources, people are continually dealing with problems that require input from others. In the modern world, we face problems that are broad in scope and great in scale of impact – think of trying to understand and identify potential solutions related to climate change, cybersecurity or authoritarian leaders.</p>
<p>But people usually aren’t born competent in collaborative problem-solving. In fact, a famous turn of phrase about teams is that a <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=jO17AgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA359&dq=%22How+can+you+turn+a+team+of+experts+into+an+expert+team%22+Zsambok&ots=AXprcvw255&sig=OPr4vSa-NGPd70Q9Rw2us3MfEjE#v=onepage&q=%22How%20can%20you%20turn%20a%20team%20of%20experts%20into%20an%20expert%20team%22%20Zsambok&f=false">team of experts does not make an expert team</a>. Just as troubling, the evidence suggests that, for the most part, people aren’t being taught this skill either. A 2012 survey by the American Management Association found that higher level managers believed recent college graduates <a href="http://playbook.amanet.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/2012-Critical-Skills-Survey-pdf.pdf">lack collaboration abilities</a>.</p>
<p>Maybe even worse, college grads seem to overestimate their own competence. One 2015 survey found nearly two-thirds of recent graduates believed they can effectively work in a team, but <a href="https://www.aacu.org/sites/default/files/files/LEAP/2015employerstudentsurvey.pdf">only one-third of managers agreed</a>. The tragic irony is that the less competent you are, the <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/1999-15054-002">less accurate is your self-assessment</a> of your own competence. It seems that this infamous <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-385522-0.00005-6">Dunning-Kruger effect</a> can also occur for teamwork. </p>
<p>Perhaps it’s no surprise that in a 2015 international assessment of hundreds of thousands of students, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264285521-en">less than 10% performed at the highest level of collaboration</a>. For example, the vast majority of students could not overcome teamwork obstacles or resolve conflict. They were not able to monitor group dynamics or to engage in the kind of actions needed to make sure the team interacted according to their roles. Given that all these students have had group learning opportunities in and out of school over many years, this points to a global deficit in the acquisition of collaboration skills. </p>
<p>How can this deficiency be addressed? What makes one team effective while another fails? How can educators improve training and testing of collaborative problem-solving? Drawing from disciplines that study cognition, collaboration and learning, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100618808244">my colleagues</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=t3O2u3MAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">and I</a> have been studying teamwork processes. Based on this research, we have three key recommendations.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271566/original/file-20190429-194633-1qkwi4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271566/original/file-20190429-194633-1qkwi4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271566/original/file-20190429-194633-1qkwi4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271566/original/file-20190429-194633-1qkwi4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271566/original/file-20190429-194633-1qkwi4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271566/original/file-20190429-194633-1qkwi4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271566/original/file-20190429-194633-1qkwi4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271566/original/file-20190429-194633-1qkwi4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Specific skills lay the groundwork for successful collaboration.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/3V8xo5Gbusk">Kaleidico/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<h2>How it should work</h2>
<p>At the most general level, collaborative problem-solving requires team members to establish and maintain a shared understanding of the situation they’re facing and any relevant problem elements they’ve identified. At the start, there’s typically an uneven distribution of knowledge on a team. Members must maintain communication to help each other know who knows what, as well as help each other interpret elements of the problem and which expertise should be applied.</p>
<p>Then the team can get to work, laying out subtasks based upon member roles, or creating mechanisms to coordinate member actions. They’ll critique possible solutions to identify the most appropriate path forward. </p>
<p>Finally, at a higher level, collaborative problem-solving requires keeping the team organized – for example, by monitoring interactions and providing feedback to each other. Team members need, at least, basic interpersonal competencies that help them manage relationships within the team (like encouraging participation) and communication (like listening to learn). Even better is the more sophisticated ability to take others’ perspectives, in order to consider alternative views of problem elements.</p>
<p>Whether it is a team of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691617697078">professionals in an organization</a> or a team of <a href="https://doi.org/10.17226/19007">scientists solving complex scientific problems</a>, communicating clearly, managing conflict, understanding roles on a team, and knowing who knows what – all are collaboration skills related to effective teamwork. </p>
<h2>What’s going wrong in the classroom?</h2>
<p>When so many students are continually engaged in group projects, or collaborative learning, why are they not learning about teamwork? There are interrelated factors that may be creating graduates who collaborate poorly but who think they are quite good at teamwork.</p>
<p>I suggest students vastly overestimate their collaboration skills due to the dangerous combination of a lack of systematic instruction coupled with inadequate feedback. On the one hand, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-018-0363-y">students engage in a great deal of group work</a> in high school and college. On the other hand, students rarely receive meaningful <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100618808244">instruction, modeling and feedback on collaboration</a>. Decades of research on learning show that explicit instruction and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2011.11.003">feedback are crucial for mastery</a>.</p>
<p>Although classes that implement collaborative problem-solving do provide some instruction and feedback, it’s not necessarily about their teamwork. Students are learning about concepts in classes; they are acquiring knowledge about a domain. What is missing is something that forces them to explicitly reflect on their ability to work with others.</p>
<p>When students process feedback on how well they learned something, or whether they solved a problem, they mistakenly think this is also indicative of effective teamwork. I hypothesize that students come to conflate learning course content material in any group context with collaboration competency.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271641/original/file-20190430-194630-1hjqr20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271641/original/file-20190430-194630-1hjqr20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271641/original/file-20190430-194630-1hjqr20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271641/original/file-20190430-194630-1hjqr20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271641/original/file-20190430-194630-1hjqr20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271641/original/file-20190430-194630-1hjqr20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271641/original/file-20190430-194630-1hjqr20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271641/original/file-20190430-194630-1hjqr20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Educators can do better at helping students learn collaborative problem-solving skills.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/diverse-education-shoot-761566714">Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
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<h2>A prescription for better collaborators</h2>
<p>Now that we’ve defined the problem, what can be done? A century of <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/apl0000142">research on team training</a>, combined with decades of research on <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543069001021">group learning in the classroom</a>, points the way forward. My colleagues and I have distilled some core elements from this literature to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100618808244">suggest improvements for collaborative learning</a>. </p>
<p>First, most pressing is to get training on teamwork into the world’s classrooms. At a minimum, this needs to happen during college undergraduate education, but even better would be starting in high school or earlier. Research has demonstrated it’s possible to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1046496408317794">teach collaboration competencies</a> such as dealing with conflict and communicating to learn. Researchers and educators need, themselves, to collaborate to adapt these methods for the classroom.</p>
<p>Secondly, students need opportunities for practice. Although most already have experience working in groups, this needs to move beyond science and engineering classes. Students need to learn to work across disciplines so after graduation they can work across professions on solving complex societal problems.</p>
<p>Third, any systematic instruction and practice setting needs to include feedback. This is not simply feedback on whether they solved the problem or did well on learning course content. Rather, it needs to be feedback on interpersonal competencies that drive successful collaboration. Instructors should assess students on teamwork processes like relationship management, where they encourage participation from each other, as well as skills in communication where they actively listen to their teammates.</p>
<p>Even better would be feedback telling students how well they were able to take on the perspective of a teammate from another discipline. For example, was the engineering student able to take the view of a student in law and understand the legal ramifications of a new technology’s implementation? </p>
<p>My colleagues and I believe that explicit instruction on how to collaborate, opportunities for practice, and feedback about collaboration processes will better prepare today’s students to work together to solve tomorrow’s problems.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/110663/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen M. Fiore has received funding from federal agencies such as NASA, ONR, DARPA, and the NSF to study collaborative problem solving and teamwork. He is past president of the Interdisciplinary Network for Group Research, currently a board member of the International Network for the Science of Team Science, and a member of DARPA's Information Science and Technology working group. </span></em></p>From the biggest ‘wicked’ problems on down, finding solutions to challenges depends on working together collaboratively. Students think they’re good at this, but they aren’t. Here’s what could help.Stephen M. Fiore, Professor of Cognitive Sciences, University of Central FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1108442019-02-11T11:43:14Z2019-02-11T11:43:14ZVenomous yellow scorpions are moving into Brazil’s big cities – and the infestation may be unstoppable<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/256870/original/file-20190201-112314-1eweye0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Scorpions used to be a rural problem in Brazil. Now, residents of São Paulo and other urban areas are dealing with an infestation of these venomous creatures.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Associated-Press-International-News-Brazil-BRAZ-/aa703178a0e5da11af9f0014c2589dfb/1/0">AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>I live in São Paulo, the biggest city in Brazil, home to some <a href="https://g1.globo.com/sp/sao-paulo/noticia/2018/08/29/cidade-de-sao-paulo-tem-122-milhoes-de-habitantes-e-e-a-mais-populosa-do-pais.ghtml">12 million people</a> – 20 million if you count the outskirts, which have been <a href="http://www.newgeography.com/content/003054-evolving-urban-form-s%C3%A3o-paulo">sprawling for three decades</a>. </p>
<p>That makes it a good place to observe the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Hamilton_Carvalho/">phenomenon I research</a>: complex social problems. In academia, this concept refers to problems like corruption, crime and traffic – problems that, in practice, cannot be solved. They must simply be mitigated or managed.</p>
<p>São Paulo is a dense city, with scarce green space and little to no animal life – no squirrels, no raccoons, not even a lot of birds. So I was astonished when, in January, I learned that scorpions had infested my neighborhood. </p>
<p>It turns out, people across the city and São Paulo state were having the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/15/scorpion-deaths-rise-brazil-cities-urban-adaptation-risks">same problem</a> with these dangerous, venomous bugs. Statewide, scorpion stings have increased <a href="https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/brasil-46590813">threefold over the last two decades</a>. </p>
<p>Four kinds of scorpion live across Brazil, but historically only in rural areas. São Paulo residents are urbanites. We have conquered nature – or so we thought.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/256874/original/file-20190201-112389-afp3md.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/256874/original/file-20190201-112389-afp3md.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/256874/original/file-20190201-112389-afp3md.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256874/original/file-20190201-112389-afp3md.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256874/original/file-20190201-112389-afp3md.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256874/original/file-20190201-112389-afp3md.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256874/original/file-20190201-112389-afp3md.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256874/original/file-20190201-112389-afp3md.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">São Paulo is Brazil’s biggest city, with 12.2 million residents.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pixabay.com/en/são-paulo-center-architecture-1194953/">Pixabay</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Brazil’s urban scorpions</h2>
<p>Brazil’s scorpion infestation is the perfect example of how unpredictable modern life has become. It is a hallmark of what those of us in the complex problems field call a “VUCA” world – a world that’s <a href="https://hbr.org/2014/01/what-vuca-really-means-for-you">volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous</a>. </p>
<p>Some <a href="http://revistapesquisa.fapesp.br/en/2017/03/27/why-scorpions-are-now-more-worrisome/">2.5 billion people worldwide, from Mexico to Russia, live with scorpions</a>, which generally prefer <a href="https://www.ntnu.no/ub/scorpion-files/european_scorp.php">hot and dry habitats</a>. </p>
<p>But Brazil’s cities also provide an <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/31001891/ija_2012_v1_n2_p3_15_23.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1549294871&Signature=EJ%2BkPRzn%2FeKEW3A0RQCvZuLMpOg%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DAbundance_of_scorpions_Tityus_serrulatus.pdf">excellent habitat for scorpions</a>, experts say. They offer shelter in sewage networks, plenty of water and food in the garbage that goes uncollected, and no natural predators. </p>
<p>Scorpions, like the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-2251,00.html">cockroaches they feast on</a>, are an <a href="http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1678-91992006000100005">incredibly adaptable species</a>. As the weather in Brazil gets hotter due to climate change, scorpions are spreading <a href="https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/ciencia/2019/01/ataques-de-escorpioes-aumentam-80-nos-ultimos-cinco-anos.shtml">across the country</a> – including into its colder southern states that <a href="http://www.saude.rs.gov.br/vigilancia-reforca-cuidados-de-prevencao-ao-escorpiao-amarelo">rarely, if ever, had reports of scorpions</a> prior to this millennium. </p>
<p>The number of people stung by scorpions across Brazil has risen <a href="https://g1.globo.com/ciencia-e-saude/noticia/2019/01/11/brasil-teve-mais-de-140-mil-acidentes-com-escorpioes-em-2018-veja-como-se-proteger.ghtml">from 12,000 in 2000 to 140,000 last year</a>, according to the health ministry. </p>
<p>Most scorpion stings are extremely painful but not fatal. For children, however, they are dangerous and require urgent medical attention. Eighty-eight people died from their wounds in 2017, <a href="https://g1.globo.com/ciencia-e-saude/noticia/2019/01/11/brasil-teve-mais-de-140-mil-acidentes-com-escorpioes-em-2018-veja-como-se-proteger.ghtml">Brazil’s O Globo newspaper reports</a>, highlighting the lack of adequate medicare care available in small towns. Many of the dead are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/15/scorpion-deaths-rise-brazil-cities-urban-adaptation-risks">children</a>.</p>
<p>In Americana, a city with about 200,000 inhabitants in São Paulo state, teams that perform night searches for scorpions <a href="https://g1.globo.com/sp/campinas-regiao/noticia/americana-envia-15-mil-escorpioes-ao-butantan-para-fabricacao-de-soro.ghtml">captured more than 13,000 last year</a> – that’s the equivalent of one scorpion for every 15 people.</p>
<p>Worse yet, the species terrorizing Brazilians is the highly dangerous yellow scorpion, or <em><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26522893">Tityus serrulatus</a></em>. It reproduces through the miracle of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236013685_Parthenogenesis_in_scorpions_Some_history_-_New_data">parthenogenesis</a>, meaning a female scorpion simply generates copies of herself twice a year – no male participation required. </p>
<p>Each instance of parthenogenetic reproduction can spawn up to 20 to 30 baby scorpions. Though most will die in their first days and weeks of life, ridding Brazilian cities of scorpions would be a herculean, if not downright impossible, task.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/256873/original/file-20190201-103164-wwpriz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/256873/original/file-20190201-103164-wwpriz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/256873/original/file-20190201-103164-wwpriz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256873/original/file-20190201-103164-wwpriz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256873/original/file-20190201-103164-wwpriz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256873/original/file-20190201-103164-wwpriz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256873/original/file-20190201-103164-wwpriz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256873/original/file-20190201-103164-wwpriz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Yellow scorpions have a venomous, though not often deadly, sting.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/AFZwHY">José Roberto Peruca/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Wicked problems in a crazy world</h2>
<p>Brazil’s urban scorpion infestation is a classic “<a href="https://theconversation.com/wicked-problems-and-how-to-solve-them-100047">wicked problem</a>.” </p>
<p>This term, first used in 1973 by <a href="https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/wicked-problem/about/What-is-a-wicked-problem">design theorists Horst Rittel and Melvin Webber</a>, refers to enormous social or cultural problems like poverty and war – problems with no simple or definitive solution, and which arise at the intersection of other problems. </p>
<p>Wicked problems are a symptom of numerous other related problems, both natural and human-made. In this case, Brazil’s urban scorpion infestation is the result of poor garbage management, inadequate sanitation, rapid urbanization and a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/brv.12002">changing climate</a>. </p>
<p>It is likely too late to stop the spread of scorpions across Brazilian cities. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://hbr.org/2014/01/what-vuca-really-means-for-you">VUCA world</a>, my <a href="https://www.poder360.com.br/author/hamilton-carvalho/">academic research</a> and <a href="https://hbr.org/2014/01/what-vuca-really-means-for-you">other problem-solving studies</a> show, wicked problems should be identified and confronted as soon as possible, using an array of responses. </p>
<p>In a VUCA world, the more resources you throw at problems, the better. That could mean everything from public awareness campaigns that educate Brazilians about scorpions to exterminator task forces working to control their population in urban areas. Scientists should be involved. Brazil’s national public health system will need to adapt to this new threat. </p>
<p>Brazil’s government appears to be ill-equipped to tackle the scorpion infestation. </p>
<p>Despite <a href="https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/ciencia/2019/01/ataques-de-escorpioes-aumentam-80-nos-ultimos-cinco-anos.shtml">dogged press coverage</a>, federal health officials have barely spoken publicly about Brazil’s urban scorpion problem. And, beyond some rather tepid national and state-level efforts to train health officials in scorpion risk, authorities seem to have no plan for fighting the infestation at the epidemic level it is heading towards.</p>
<p>Nor are cities likely to see any federal money dedicated to fighting this scorpion infestation: Brazil has been in a deep recession since 2015, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/facing-unemployment-austerity-and-scandal-brazil-struggles-to-keep-it-together-71663">public health budgets have been slashed</a>. </p>
<p>Venomous yellow scorpions, I fear, have already claimed their place alongside <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/10/world/americas/brazil-murder-rate-record.html">violent crime</a>, <a href="https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_traffic/countrywork/bra/en/">brutal traffic</a> and other chronic problems that urbanites in Brazil must cope with daily.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article has been updated to correct errors of zoological language.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/110844/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hamilton Coimbra Carvalho does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Brazil’s scorpion infestation, which is terrorizing residents of São Paulo and other major cities, is a classic ‘wicked problem.’ That means officials must think outside-the-box to fix it.Hamilton Coimbra Carvalho, Researcher in Complex Social Problems, Universidade de São Paulo (USP)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1000472018-10-18T10:06:15Z2018-10-18T10:06:15ZWicked problems and how to solve them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241015/original/file-20181017-41129-nlz91v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/multicolored-tangled-colorful-needlecraft-silk-thread-778074544?src=cVco56mr3NpdPUbQTN34tQ-1-76">Bilanol/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.un-ihe.org/sites/default/files/inaugural_lecture_eddy_moors_5_october_2017.pdf">Wicked problems</a> are issues so complex and dependent on so many factors that it is hard to grasp what exactly the problem is, or how to tackle it. Wicked problems are like a tangled mess of thread – it’s difficult to know which to pull first. Increasing <a href="http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antibiotic-resistance">antibiotic resistance</a>, security of <a href="http://www.fao.org/economic/ess/ess-fs/en/">food</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/gas-crisis-energy-crisis-the-real-problem-is-lack-of-long-term-planning-74705">energy</a> supply, increasing <a href="http://report.ipcc.ch/sr15/pdf/sr15_spm_final.pdf">global warming</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/economic-and-social-rights-must-be-addressed-to-stop-violent-conflict-and-sustain-peace-97031">wars</a> can all be classed as wicked problems. </p>
<p>Since its <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01405730">first definition</a> in 1973, <a href="https://www.un-ihe.org/sites/default/files/inaugural_lecture_eddy_moors_5_october_2017.pdf">many authors</a> have associated the term “wicked” with water problems, which we research. Old water networks, bursting pipes, leakages, <a href="https://www.rte.ie/news/leinster/2018/0727/981463-irish-water/">hosepipe bans</a> – keeping the water supply running is a daily concern all over the world.</p>
<p>This shouldn’t be surprising – even in places where water seems abundant, small changes in rainfall patterns can affect local supply. For example, this summer in Ireland, there were less than sufficient levels of rainfall. The <a href="https://www.water.ie/water-supply/water-shortages/">dry spell</a> only could be compared to the one experienced by the country in 1976. </p>
<p>As a result, the country’s water reservoirs fell to such low levels that water authorities issued warnings of an imminent <a href="https://www.rte.ie/eile/brainstorm/2018/0718/979578-why-has-a-wet-island-ran-out-of-water/">crisis</a>. As in other places around the globe, the problem in Ireland is linked to multiple factors. These include the drier than expected summer, increased water demand, <a href="https://www.water.ie/projects-plans/national-projects/leakage-reduction-programme/">water leakage</a> – nearly 50% – and a chronic underinvestment in renewing local water distribution systems. Meanwhile, the <a href="https://www.dwr-uisce.eu/news/dwr-uisce-project-kick-off">water treatment industry</a> is the fourth most energy-intensive industry in the UK.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240628/original/file-20181015-165918-19fpl9w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240628/original/file-20181015-165918-19fpl9w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240628/original/file-20181015-165918-19fpl9w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240628/original/file-20181015-165918-19fpl9w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240628/original/file-20181015-165918-19fpl9w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240628/original/file-20181015-165918-19fpl9w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240628/original/file-20181015-165918-19fpl9w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A waste water treatment processing plant in North London.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sewage-farm-aerial-drone-photo-looking-619248506">Pxl.store/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Pumping money into researching water technology is not the answer here. Yes, we all know that research underpins new technologies, and that a common cycle of research and development happens in universities. Researchers identify a problem, compete for funding and go about finding a solution. But from there, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6456504316009156608">many factors</a> get in the way of applying research to wicked problems in practice. There’s a lack of appropriate guidance and incentive to researchers in how to apply research. Fixed mindsets push academics towards publishing, instead of making a contribution to business or society. Meanwhile, laboratory prototypes rarely reach real world end users.</p>
<p>New technology research and development alone do not solve wicked problems. But, combined with implementation in practice, there is a chance.</p>
<h2>Interdisciplinary research</h2>
<p>Wicked problems are complex and demand the input of multiple academic disciplines with relevant practical expertise. The key, then, is enabling these disparate experts to work together. Interdisciplinary research is an essential aspect of recent <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en/news/fet-living-interdisciplinarity">EU</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/cross-subject-research-finally-gets-recognition-in-the-ref-35694">UK</a> policies that <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/research/openvision/pdf/rise/allmendinger-interdisciplinarity.pdf">create an environment</a> for innovation in thinking about wicked problems.</p>
<p>We are currently engaged in a <a href="https://www.dwr-uisce.eu/water-energy-nexus/">project</a> on water supply, where engineering, environmental, geography and management researchers work together with a network of industry and water authorities. While the engineers, geographers and environmental scientists develop and progress the field trials of new technology, the management researchers bring the right people together to ensure adoption becomes reality. They facilitate learning in action by the network through critical reflection on the process of decision making, understanding the motivations and overcoming the barriers facing water authorities, users and industry. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240631/original/file-20181015-165921-rkr6x4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240631/original/file-20181015-165921-rkr6x4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240631/original/file-20181015-165921-rkr6x4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240631/original/file-20181015-165921-rkr6x4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240631/original/file-20181015-165921-rkr6x4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240631/original/file-20181015-165921-rkr6x4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240631/original/file-20181015-165921-rkr6x4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Research needs to be carried out in consultation with industry and users in order to have a real effect.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/team-teamwork-togetherness-collaboration-concept-343048862?src=JqZgSNXYe24HWf6vAi-Qxw-1-0">Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Collaboration is key</h2>
<p>But interdisciplinary research alone is not sufficient to deal with wicked problems. In order to make a dent in the global water and energy problem, and indeed any other wicked problem, researchers need to step out of the lab and work side-by-side with industry, local communities, decision-makers and legislators. Only by doing so will technology adoption be possible.</p>
<p>Early-adopters are critical. If early adoption works properly, researchers can learn from practice and amend the design. Insights gained can be shared initially within a <a href="https://www.dwr-uisce.eu/our-cluster/">specialised group</a> put together to exploit the opportunities and overcome the barriers. Industry members, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-scientists-can-help-make-the-sustainable-development-goals-a-reality-81488">policy-makers</a>, users, practitioners, and other researchers, should then collaborate to share their evolving understanding of the wicked problem.</p>
<p>As children we understand “show-and-tell”. This works in the case of wicked problems, too. One way to speed up technology adoption is through demonstration, a concept broadly explored by <a href="https://businesswales.gov.wales/farmingconnect/demonstration-sites">industry</a> and slightly less so by researchers. Demonstration sites are like an open air lab, where practitioners and researchers interact, question and co-create. </p>
<p>In the physical space, the “demonstrator” shows-and-tells a new technology to early-adopters. Demonstration sites have been a feature in <a href="http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001474/147490e.pdf">long-term eco-hydrology initiatives by UNESCO</a> to work with and teach local communities to be more resilient, healthy and sustainable. Such sites have the potential also to apply new research effectively by showing savings, advantages and obstacles to be overcome. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240632/original/file-20181015-165897-1gd6ai1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240632/original/file-20181015-165897-1gd6ai1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240632/original/file-20181015-165897-1gd6ai1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240632/original/file-20181015-165897-1gd6ai1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240632/original/file-20181015-165897-1gd6ai1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240632/original/file-20181015-165897-1gd6ai1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240632/original/file-20181015-165897-1gd6ai1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Penrhyn Castle, the site of one of our demonstration sites.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/penrhyn-castle-wales-united-kingdom-series-217477873?src=85QcjkTQ53qNNYWbVt5wow-1-4">Samot/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our wicked problem water and energy project, for example, features <a href="https://www.dwr-uisce.eu/demonstration/">three demonstration sites</a>. The first recovers energy from the water distribution network in a small Irish rural community for use in its water treatment plant. The second is in <a href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ty-mawr-wybrnant">Tŷ Mawr Wybrnant</a> a National Trust property in Wales using micro-hydropower to run this national monument. The third demonstrator is at <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-43782818">Penrhyn Castle</a>, owned by the <a href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/">National Trust in Wales</a>, and recovers heat from kitchen wastewater.</p>
<p>So, to make the wicked problems less wicked, researchers need to work across disciplines, to collaborate with end-users and to show-and-tell in demonstration sites. The idea is to ensure that what is developed in the lab “sees daylight”, something that is critical to address many such a wicked problem.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100047/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This study is part funded by the ERDF Interreg Ireland-Wales programme 2014-2020 through the Dŵr Uisce project. Dŵr Uisce is led by Prof. Aonghus Mc Nabola (Trinity College Dublin), Prof. Paul Coughlan (Trinity College Dublin) and Prof. Prysor Williams (Bangor University).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Coughlan is Professor in Operations Management at Trinity Business School, Trinity College Dublin. He receives research funding from the Ireland-Wales Co-operation Programme 2014-2020.</span></em></p>Energy-efficient water supply is a wicked problem – and we might have found a way to solve it.Ana Carolina de Almeida Kumlien, Research Fellow in Innovation, Networking and Learning in the Water Industry, Trinity College DublinPaul Coughlan, Professor in Operations Management, Trinity College DublinLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/720132017-02-01T10:26:00Z2017-02-01T10:26:00ZHow a poem removed two tonnes of nitrogen oxide from the surrounding environment<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154567/original/image-20170127-30424-66gzf8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">University of Sheffield</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The world’s first <a href="http://www.catalyticpoetry.org">catalytic poem</a> has been removed from the exterior wall of the Alfred Denny Building at the University of Sheffield, three years after it was installed. <a href="http://www.catalyticpoetry.org/#poem">In Praise of Air</a> was an original poem written by <a href="https://www.shef.ac.uk/english/people/armitage">Simon Armitage</a> as part of a collaborative project with physical chemistry professor, <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/chemistry/staff/profiles/anthony_ryan">Tony Ryan</a>. </p>
<p>The poem was printed on a banner 20 metres in height, coated with titanium dioxide (TiO2). When light shines on this photocatalyst, the electrons in the material are rearranged and become more reactive. They break the oxygen in the air apart to make two oxygen free radicals. In turn, these react with water to make peroxide, which oxidises pollutants in the atmosphere, making harmless molecules that can be washed away. In the time that In Praise of Air hung above the busy A57 in Sheffield, <a href="http://www.catalyticpoetry.org/#science">we estimate</a> that it removed around two tonnes of nitrogen oxide (NOx) – the toxic gas emitted in exhaust fumes which causes lung disease – from the surrounding environment. </p>
<p>But the air-cleansing properties of the banner were not the only reason that the catalytic poetry project was important. In Praise of Air was a unique, creative collaboration across the traditionally rigid boundaries between the arts and the sciences. Our main aim as a project team was to break down these barriers and to use poetry to give a fresh perspective on the problem of air pollution in our inner cities. This is because we believe that the solutions to environmental challenges such as air quality lie not just in the sorts of technological advances that the sciences can produce, but also in the power of the creative arts to inspire people, to alter perspectives, and to change minds.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154566/original/image-20170127-30413-kru3nw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154566/original/image-20170127-30413-kru3nw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154566/original/image-20170127-30413-kru3nw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154566/original/image-20170127-30413-kru3nw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154566/original/image-20170127-30413-kru3nw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154566/original/image-20170127-30413-kru3nw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154566/original/image-20170127-30413-kru3nw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">ASFW.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">University of Sheffield</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>New approaches</h2>
<p>Finding new ways to engage in meaningful dialogue with the general public about environmental science is critical in the present climate. The new US president has stated his intention to <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-paris-climate-change-deal-myron-ebell-us-president-america-pull-out-agreement-a7553676.html">withdraw his country from the Paris accord</a>, and a general mistrust of academic experts, and particularly scientists, is apparently becoming ever more pervasive. </p>
<p>A further challenge exists in the fact that a more sustainable future for the planet depends to a great extent on its populations adopting technologies and behaviours that are fundamentally altruistic in nature. Recycling plastic waste has no immediate impact on the individual doing the recycling. Turning down your central heating by a couple of degrees can actually reduce your comfort in the immediate term. Switching to a hybrid car is an expensive prospect for most. The sacrifices continue. But all of these individual altruistic choices have the potential collectively to have a massive beneficial impact on our planet and its sustainability. </p>
<p>Science cannot ensure a sustainable future for the world’s population on its own. A multi-disciplined approach – one which draws researchers and practitioners together from across a range of different backgrounds – is needed to tackle a complex and multi-faceted set of problems. In joining forces, artists and scientists not only increase their imaginative capacity to think up new solutions to the world’s environmental problems, but they have the opportunity to harness the potential of the arts to provoke and persuade people into adopting more pro-environmental behaviours.</p>
<h2>Crossing boundaries</h2>
<p>Surprisingly, perhaps, this is not as difficult as one might think. Just a little imagination is needed to begin to overcome the entrenched separation of the arts and the sciences – a separation which is embedded in our education system from primary school onwards. In the case of the catalytic poetry project, all it took was for me to introduce a polymer chemist to a poet in a pub in Sheffield during the Lyric festival of poetry and music in 2013. Once Simon and Tony started to share their ideas and formulate a vision for their collaboration, most of the rest of the practicalities took care of themselves. </p>
<p>Based on my experience of leading the catalytic poetry project, this is because artists and scientists share two essential traits. The first of these is curiosity: an insatiable drive to ask difficult questions of the world around us and an inability to apprehend that world at the surface level alone. Both scientists and artists are characterised by a need to look ever deeper, to discover, to understand. And for both disciplines, the asking of questions is only the start of the process, because the second trait which defines both scientists and artists equally is creativity. For a poet as much as for a chemist, questions exist as catalysts for new thinking, new expression, new invention. </p>
<p>Truly difficult questions, such as how we achieve a sustainable future for the earth and its <a href="http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/">7.5 billion inhabitants</a>, require the greatest levels of creative thinking, not just by academics but by the general population more broadly. It is only by working together, by collaborating across boundaries and borders, that we access our full potential to create positive and lasting change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72013/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joanna Gavins works for the University of Sheffield.</span></em></p>Science cannot ensure a sustainable future for the world’s population on its own. Artists are needed as well.Joanna Gavins, Professor in English Language and Literature, University of SheffieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/649492016-10-02T23:06:51Z2016-10-02T23:06:51ZWe’re failing to solve the world’s ‘wicked problems.’ Here’s a better approach<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139787/original/image-20160929-27030-l1yzmt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Migrants at the Greek-Macedonian border earlier this year: Is there a better way to deal with seemingly intractable problems? </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ognen Teofilovski/Reuters</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We live in a world burdened by large-scale problems that refuse to go away: the refugee crisis; terrorism; rising sea levels; frequent <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/19/us/houston-texas-flooding/">floods</a>, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/21/science/climate-change-intensifies-california-drought-scientists-say.html?_r=0">droughts</a> and <a href="http://www.climatecentral.org/news/western-wildfires-climate-change-20475">wildfires</a>; not to mention persistent inequality and violation of basic human rights across the world.</p>
<p>What do these problems have in common? They resist any simple solution. In policy research they are called “<a href="https://theconversation.com/too-many-wicked-problems-how-science-policy-and-politics-can-work-together-8990">wicked.”</a> This is because cause-effect relations are complex and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_problem">solutions unclear</a>; many of these problems are urgent, yet there is no central authority to solve them; their magnitude is often hard to estimate; and those trying to solve them may even <a href="http://www.reshape.se/files/8514/2071/1788/Overcoming_the_tragedy_of_super_wicked_problems.pdf">contribute to causing them</a>.</p>
<p>The EU refugee crisis, the topic of a recent <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/un-obama-migrant-crisis-summit-funding-plan-help-refugees/">U.N. summit</a>, is a <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-eu-unable-solve-refugee-problem-stephan-manning?trk=mp-reader-card">good example</a>: Driven by regional conflicts and poverty, and assisted by trafficking networks, people from Africa and the Middle East continue to take <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/29/700-migrants-feared-dead-mediterranean-says-un-refugees">enormous risks to enter EU territory by land or sea</a>. For several years now, thousands of refugees <a href="https://www.iom.int/news/mediterranean-migrant-arrivals-2016-204311-deaths-2443">have died on this journey each year</a> and <a href="https://organizationsandsocialchange.wordpress.com/2015/04/21/morals-vs-interests-why-the-mediterranean-tragedy-continues/">no solution is in sight</a>. EU member countries continue to blame their neighbors for either taking in too many refugees or for refusing to help, while there is little shared interest and limited capacity for <a href="http://www.voanews.com/a/refugee-crisis-totally-unmanageable-un-chief-says/3288070.html">actually addressing the sources of the problem</a>.</p>
<p>What’s the best way to effectively address these types of wicked problems?</p>
<h2>Grand solutions don’t work</h2>
<p>Facing the current refugee situation, U.N. member states got together two weeks ago to sign a <a href="https://refugeesmigrants.un.org/declaration">declaration</a> for a more coordinated response to the refugee crisis. Yet, critics have pointed out that the goals are too vague and the document is <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/09/19/world/ap-un-united-nations-refugee-summit.html?_r=0">not legally binding</a>. Such meetings have <a href="http://www.ibanet.org/Article/Detail.aspx?ArticleUid=23c6be9e-d959-4fc7-8bf8-dba874299bc1">happened several times</a> in the course of the EU refugee crisis – with very little outcome. In reality, “grand solutions” for large-scale problems either do not exist, or they are too vague or controversial to be of much value. </p>
<p>The Paris climate agreement is another example of an attempted grand solution to a large-scale problem – climate change. The goal was to get all nations to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/12/paris-climate-deal-key-points">agree on limiting temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels</a>. To reach consensus, all participants further agreed to assist developing countries technologically and financially to ease the transition to renewable energies. The agreement was signed by all participating nations – <a href="http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2016/04/parisagreementsingatures/">175 in all</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139790/original/image-20160929-27030-1l6pyzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139790/original/image-20160929-27030-1l6pyzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139790/original/image-20160929-27030-1l6pyzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139790/original/image-20160929-27030-1l6pyzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139790/original/image-20160929-27030-1l6pyzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139790/original/image-20160929-27030-1l6pyzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139790/original/image-20160929-27030-1l6pyzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139790/original/image-20160929-27030-1l6pyzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Grand solutions’ that emanate from centralized political organizations have proven ineffective in making substantial progress on so-called wicked problems.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/unicphoto/9924022313/in/photolist-g7X2fJ-aqCmdb-degdYk-ddALj4-p2Jz3E-p5Gzpe-g7PJyn-7Nsz8X-i2SkZb-gbTFDw-pmJji1-g7Xd5Z-kUsZr1-pmJUUa-rxKFwi-g9gL36-pk9yew-g5Epyg-kUrVrD-chFALf-qH36pA-g8uBpo-p6n9CW-aqzG84-gKbAHd-dewwrS-pKqwUF-p489nL-dguiCs-deW6Qk-g7WNJJ-dez9gC-8JB4EV-deWAV8-p8a3nR-p6iMvF-gahprP-bQLHAR-qz3ndS-gaT6yx-72bc3Z-9NxRVq-g8uAMw-aoXGN8-63C9gp-8QTs1P-7dDQs9-bQiNxP-gaoNHY-dQBAzR">United Nations</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But critics regard the agreement as <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2015/12/what-does-the-paris-agreement-say/419577/">too ambiguous and unclear about implementation</a> to be effective. Also, it <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/14/paris-climate-change-deal-cop21-oxfam-actionaid">leaves the door open for continuous exploitation of fossil fuels</a>. </p>
<h2>Are small wins an alternative?</h2>
<p>Indeed, many have argued that finding a single solution to climate change or the refugee crisis is too difficult because it is almost impossible to get multiple parties with diverging interests to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/nov/09/why-hard-stop-climate-change">reach a consensus</a>. We believe more nimble approaches are needed. </p>
<p>A number of development experts have argued that “<a href="https://www.business.uq.edu.au/momentum/sustainability-revolution">small wins</a>” might be a promising alternative to tackle large-scale problems. Small wins focus on smaller-scale independent projects with attainable and measurable objectives. For example, many firms independently develop solutions to increase energy efficiency or to avoid waste. Likewise, several EU countries have looked into better ways of processing asylum applications and easing the integration of refugees. </p>
<p>Such small wins may not solve the entire problem – in these cases, climate change or refugee crisis – but they have tangible positive outcomes in line with longer-term goals. Also, the more countries and parties deal with the same problem, the greater the number of innovative experiments.</p>
<p>The only problem is: How can such small wins add up to a larger-scale sustainable solution?</p>
<h2>Learning from sustainable coffee</h2>
<p>We argue in a <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048733315001821">recently published article in Research Policy</a> that there is a promising way of linking small wins to larger development objectives – the “modular” approach. We studied this by looking specifically at the development and adoption of so-called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability_standards_and_certification">sustainability standards</a> in the global coffee industry. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139792/original/image-20160929-27042-pg0olk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139792/original/image-20160929-27042-pg0olk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139792/original/image-20160929-27042-pg0olk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139792/original/image-20160929-27042-pg0olk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139792/original/image-20160929-27042-pg0olk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139792/original/image-20160929-27042-pg0olk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139792/original/image-20160929-27042-pg0olk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139792/original/image-20160929-27042-pg0olk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In only about one decade, sustainable coffee standards, which encompass environmental sustainability and worker health, have become broadly adopted. Why?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nestle/13058632784/in/photolist-kTWUz7-aHWyVX-8u6gKe-4FWtcb-93wYJ2-pVG1Go-77ces3-e1v91k-8WZwTp-3eZLms-brKLFZ-kEoLRn-kEoGp6-6b65Q1-6b1Vba-6b1Vc6-82UZWP-51CMDo-51yyFK-ag2XDn-51CML5-6b1V5Z-6b1Vii-gkSDWd-9zAzzv-oXSPs2-96BXjS-brKLTH-7GSFFk-9kybAm-5cE5kR-dZwfxN-96z1TM-brKKuV-51CMEw-g19Ep4-51yyDH-51CMSf-51CMNJ-aZHWbv-51CMFh-51CMQ5-51CMRN-6b65Xo-51CMHA-6b1Vep-bpkz2R-fUMMCb-6b1V4e-PAGjY">Nestle</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Such standards train farmers to apply methods and policies that protect the environment, increase productivity, improve labor conditions and secure incomes for themselves and their communities. Transnational standard-setters, such as <a href="http://www.fairtrade.net/">Fairtrade</a> and <a href="http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/">Rainforest Alliance</a>, have played an important role in this process.</p>
<p>Standards adoption is voluntary, but a combination of consumer and peer pressure and market incentives has led to rather rapid diffusion. Within a decade, the global coffee industry has become a pioneer in developing sustainable supply chain practices that address the twin challenges of endangered livelihoods and environmental degradation. Today, <a href="https://www.iisd.org/pdf/2014/ssi_2014.pdf">over 40 percent of the global coffee volume is certified or verified sustainable.</a></p>
<p>We show in <a href="https://www.academia.edu/18877363/A_Modular_Governance_Architecture_In-The-Making_How_Transnational_Standard-Setters_Govern_Sustainability_Transitions">our study</a> that one key to the success of sustainability standards in coffee has been their modular architecture. Each standard consists of multiple well-defined and measurable modules, such as soil conservation and elimination of child labor. Modules have their own independent objectives. Yet, they are also interconnected and build on each other.</p>
<p>For example, two basic modules across standards are elimination of banned pesticides and occupational health and safety. Each makes a tangible contribution to the environment and well-being of farmers. </p>
<p>But they also reinforce each other’s effect: For example, omission of pesticides has a positive impact on farmers’ health. Furthermore, doing without pesticides serves as a foundation for advanced practices, such as organic farming, which may increase the brand and market value of coffee beans. This helps private farms and cooperatives generate more revenue and make further investments into their workforce and production capabilities. </p>
<h2>Managing problems step by step</h2>
<p>In the case of coffee sustainability standards, the modular approach emerged over time and was not designed up front. But the modular principle can help develop solutions to various wicked problems, including climate change and the refugee crisis. This is because it tackles problems step by step, eases consensus among multiple stakeholders and promotes knowledge exchange and replicable solutions.</p>
<p>For example, as part of climate adaptation, today many coastal communities are trying to develop idiosyncratic solutions to <a href="https://organizationsandsocialchange.wordpress.com/2016/04/18/facing-the-rising-seas/">respond to rising sea levels</a>. Yet, while local experimentation is important, both costs and risks of failure of location-specific solutions <a href="http://www.wri.org/blog/2015/04/costs-climate-adaptation-explained-4-infographics">are very high</a>.</p>
<p>By contrast, a modular approach would prompt local communities to implement over time combinations of tangible and tested building blocks towards greater resilience. For example, Florida has been a <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/dmartin/2016/06/20/combatting-sea-level-rise-requires-a-long-term-view/#4bf5214d4b76">testing ground for resilience modules</a>, such as installing water pumps and raising the grade of entire streets. Online services, such as <a href="http://coastalresilience.org/resources/">Coastal Resilience</a>, disseminate such modular solutions and provide platforms for exchange of knowledge and best practice. </p>
<p>Similarly, EU countries are increasingly moving from idiosyncratic to modular solutions of refugee management and integration. For example, the German trade union organization IG Metall is currently developing <a href="http://www.rp-online.de/wirtschaft/joerg-hofmann-im-interview-ig-metall-will-integrationsjahr-fuer-fluechtlinge-aid-1.6256998">connected modules of language and professional training for refugees</a> that allow for faster integration into higher-skilled labor markets. These modules are designed to be transferable across industry sectors, and they serve as important foundations for more job-specific training. </p>
<p>Overall, modular solutions can reduce the complexity of climate adaptation and refugee integration. In developing and disseminating such solutions, intermediary organizations are very important – development agencies, standard-setters, consulting groups, NGOs, industrial relations partners. </p>
<p>Of course, modular approaches cannot eradicate today’s large-scale problems entirely. But they are more practical than grand solutions and more scalable than small wins. And they do not require reinventing the wheel. As a result, wicked problems may not look so wicked after all.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/64949/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Our institutions are not solving the world’s wicked problems, such as the refugee crisis and climate change. Can sustainable coffee – a bottoms-up, modular approach – provide clues to a better way?Stephan Manning, Associate Professor of Management, UMass BostonJuliane Reinecke, Professor of Organisation Studies, Warwick Business School, University of WarwickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/628022016-07-29T05:56:11Z2016-07-29T05:56:11ZAfrican philosophy of education: a powerful arrow in universities’ bow<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/131997/original/image-20160726-7023-154qoze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An African philosophy of education offers new ways of thinking about the continent.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>To understand what an <a href="http://www.sun.ac.za/english/Lists/news/DispForm.aspx?ID=3016">African philosophy of education</a> is and why it’s so important, consider the role that universities should play in any society. </p>
<p>Universities, no matter where they are, ought to be places where knowledge is internalised, questioned and considered. Such knowledge should respond to a university’s particular social, political and economic context. The pursuit of such knowledge happens in a quest for human development. What would a university be if its only purpose was to produce knowledge without considering its effects on a society and its people? </p>
<p>But it’s perhaps precisely this disjuncture – between what universities purport to do and what happens in society – that starts to explain why knowledge in Africa has become so misplaced. This has happened in several Arab and Muslim states, where some universities have seemingly become reluctant to encourage critical learning. Knowledge produced in such universities does not attend to public concerns, whether these are political, economic, social or cultural. </p>
<p>African knowledge can’t just be considered for some academic purpose. It must also keep in mind why and how such knowledge ought to affect society. This is why an African philosophy of education can be such a powerful tool for the continent’s post-colonial universities as they work to become producers of knowledge that has a public concern. This is particularly important for African universities. The continent’s citizens have to be initiated into ways of being and living that emphasise human cooperation, openness to debate and discussion, and responsibility towards one another. </p>
<p>Many of the continent’s political dictatorships could be avoided if citizens were encouraged to question and disagree. </p>
<h2>Search for meanings</h2>
<p>Simply put, an African philosophy of education is a way of asking questions about education in Africa. It allows education students to search for meanings that relate to their chosen field.</p>
<p>An African philosophy of education offers a discourse to address the continent’s many problems. These include famine, hunger, poverty, abuse, violence and exclusion of the other. One of Africa’s most common and major dilemmas offers a useful way to illustrate the approach I’m describing: the prevalence of <a href="http://mgafrica.com/article/2014-10-20-what-the-concept-of-democracy-means-in-africa">military dictatorships</a>. A student of African philosophy of education would ask how military rule affects education. How might education, in turn, address the restrictions of a military challenge?</p>
<p>When the military is in charge, a country’s institutions of learning are expected to toe the line. Coercion and control are the order of the day. There is no room for dissent and democratic engagement. How, if at all, should an African university respond to a society that is under military rule? When students are taught to deliberate – to talk back to others and to listen to them – they would be serious practitioners of an African philosophy of education. Such students would not only willingly engage with others and their differences, but also be prepared to listen to dissenting views. </p>
<p>But adopting an African philosophy of education isn’t about just analysing the continent’s problems. Instead a student will go on to envisage how these problems could be resolved by considering education as one possible medium. Then they’ll need to examine what both the problem and its solving might imply for education.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Professor Yusef Waghid explains what an African philosophical approach to education entails.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Theory vs practice</h2>
<p>As elsewhere, the idea of doing or practising an African philosophy of education is connected to bridging the pseudo-dichotomy between theory and practice. Some may claim that African philosophy is merely an act of theorising. They are wrong. It’s actually embedded with an energy and drive to change undesirable situations and conditions. </p>
<p>In any case, there is no separation between theory and practice. One cannot delink thinking from acting upon happenings in society. Any good theory on education should affect educational practices positively. What constitutes a positive theory of education? To my mind, the answer lies with practices that take shape through autonomous thinking, engagement and freedom made visible through deliberation. In this manner, theory and practice are intertwined.</p>
<p>An African philosophy of education also allows inquirers to look at how educational practices – teaching, learning, managing and governing universities on the continent – can be made to feel real. </p>
<p>Sadly, it’s rare for many of today’s universities in Africa to teach any philosophy of education. Philosophy of education is wrongly perceived as being some abstract exercise of the mind that’s not connected to real-life issues. Africa’s institutions of higher learning should seek to change this. </p>
<p>Any university that wants to advance its status as a knowledge producer ought to be responsive to knowledge claims. It’s here that the idea of an African philosophy of education can become so important. It’s a crucial element for enhancing the autonomy and freedom associated with university teaching and learning.</p>
<h2>Addressing injustice</h2>
<p>The other key feature of an African philosophy of education is that it’s invariably geared towards addressing the continent’s injustices and inequalities. A university education that is guided by a concern for educational justice – an advocacy for freedom, autonomy, democratic engagement and responsiveness to the other – is one that takes African philosophy of education seriously. </p>
<p>Africa’s concerns to move beyond its subjugation to repression and exclusion will gain considerably more momentum if its people can produce analyses and responses to the legitimate concerns that confront humanity on the continent. If this is allowed to happen, African philosophy of education would have acquired significant potency in its educational quest for justice.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/62802/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yusef Waghid does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Adopting an African philosophy of education can be a powerful tool to help the continent’s universities create real social change and justice.Yusef Waghid, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy of Education, Stellenbosch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/552372016-02-26T04:02:58Z2016-02-26T04:02:58ZMaths and science are the keys to unlocking Africa’s potential<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112511/original/image-20160223-16447-11f8azp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's time for Africa to produce the technology it needs, rather than being largely a consumer.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Nic Bothma</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Angelina Lutambi was born into a peasant family in Tanzania’s <a href="http://dthd.org/who-we-are/about-tanzania/">Dodoma region</a>, where HIV/AIDS has decimated much of the population. Her future could easily have been bleak – but Angelina had a keen aptitude for maths. She financed her own schooling by selling cold drinks with her siblings and was awarded a grant to study at the University of Dar Es Salaam.</p>
<p>In 2004 she went to the South African <a href="https://www.aims.ac.za/en/about/about-aims">centre</a> of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences <a href="http://www.nexteinstein.org">(AIMS)</a>. Since then, Angelina has obtained her PhD in epidemiology from the University of Basel in Switzerland. </p>
<p>Today Angelina is a senior research scientist at the Ifakara Health Institute in her native Tanzania. There, she devises mathematical, statistical and computational models to inform and advise public health decisions on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and other major diseases.</p>
<p>Africa has many other deep-rooted problems, including poverty, corruption and war. Could these also be tackled through the sort of work that Angelina and her colleagues are doing? Could Africa’s problems be solved through mathematical science?</p>
<h2>Africa must produce its own technology</h2>
<p>Such a proposal might sound outlandish while so many people still lack basic necessities like food, clean water and medicine. In the long view of history, however, mathematics and science have served as the foundation of modern society because they underlie every technology – from plumbing to telecommunications, medicine to satellites. </p>
<p>But the continent has another problem. It is largely a consumer rather than a producer of the technologies it needs. If this doesn’t change, Africa will remain dependent and subject to outside control, its economies dominated by others’ exploitation of its natural resources. Africa will never escape from its reliance on international aid until it builds the capacity to develop itself.</p>
<p>Computers, mobile communications, and medical technologies are the modern engines of commerce, prosperity and public health. Africa will remain sidelined in these areas unless it nurtures its own experts, pioneers, and innovators. </p>
<h2>Attitudes towards maths in Africa</h2>
<p>This is the motivation behind AIMS, a network of training centres across the continent created to empower brilliant young Africans to become agents of change through advanced maths and science.</p>
<p>Our slogan – that the next Einstein should be African – is a signal of how high we are aiming. </p>
<p>It is not an easy task. As a native South African, I have travelled widely in many parts of the continent. Across Africa, maths is often viewed as an ivory tower pursuit, an impractical study with little connection to the real world. University maths departments are often the shabbiest on campus. </p>
<p>Many students only take the subject as a second choice. From primary school onwards, maths is all too often taught by rote learning and memorisation. But it is critical analysis, independent thinking and creativity that are the <a href="http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/journals/ed_lead/el_196010_mallinson.pdf">real keys</a> to maths and science excellence.</p>
<p>These attitudes linger even beyond school and university. Elsewhere in the world, the most successful companies – Google and Facebook, for example – recruit top maths graduates straight out of university to write the complex codes that define our experience of the digital world. From big data to artificial intelligence to intelligent cities and communities, the gears of prosperity are increasingly powered by mathematical algorithms. </p>
<h2>Bringing African scientists together</h2>
<p>AIMS is a pan-African initiative. There are five centres so far, in Senegal, Cameroon, Ghana, Tanzania and South Africa. Ten more are planned over the next decade, creating a powerful network that will span the continent. </p>
<p>Every centre has a fantastic, highly motivated, pan-African student body. AIMS’ classes are incredibly diverse – a mosaic of languages, ethnicities, languages and religions. More than 30% of the students are women.</p>
<p>Through their common interest in maths, science and the future of Africa, the students are able to transcend the cultural and other differences that have historically divided them. </p>
<p>Over the past decade, AIMS has graduated a thousand students at Masters and PhD level. But its centres don’t just train brilliant young Africans in Africa. They also serve as a magnet attracting those who have studied abroad back to Africa, to work as scientific researchers. </p>
<p>Wilfred Ndifon from Cameroon is one: he took his PhD at Princeton but has returned to AIMS as a junior research chair. Wilfred has just <a href="https://theconversation.com/africas-answer-to-70-year-old-problem-of-how-to-beat-repeat-infections-50920">solved</a> a 70-year-old immunological puzzle called original antigenic sin, which has implications for improving vaccines. </p>
<p>AIMS also brings top international scientists to Africa to share and propagate their knowledge. This international reach is important, because the whole globe has a stake in Africa’s future. </p>
<p>Our globalised, interconnected world means that Africa’s challenges – whether starvation-driven migration or diseases like <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-africa-cant-afford-to-have-an-outbreak-of-the-zika-virus-53738">Zika</a> or <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/chikungunya/">Chikungunya</a> or terrorism – quickly become challenges to all. These problems will only worsen with climate change, population growth, unemployment and insecurity unless Africans are encouraged and empowered to improve their countries’ conditions.</p>
<p>In March 2016, more than 500 bright scientific minds and international leaders will gather in Senegal for the inaugural <a href="http://nef.org/">Next Einstein Forum</a>, organised by AIMS. The three-day summit will highlight emerging scientific and technical talent in Africa and elsewhere, and fuel collaboration which puts this talent to work in the cause of human development. </p>
<p>The summit’s theme is “Connecting Science to Humanity”. It will be an occasion for the most enlightened African and international scientists and leaders to strengthen their commitment to helping young people help Africa.</p>
<p>The problems facing Africa are complex and there are no easy answers. But one of the lessons we’ve learned in science is that the hardest problems are the ones that eventually yield the most important – and the most wonderful – solutions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/55237/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Neil Turok is affiliated with AIMS – serving as the Chair of its Board of Trustees.</span></em></p>Africa has deep-rooted problems: poverty, disease, corruption and war. Could these be solved through mathematical science?Neil Turok, Director and Niels Bohr Chair, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical PhysicsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/452542015-08-04T04:42:11Z2015-08-04T04:42:11ZUniversities need to adapt to become part of shaping a better future<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/90300/original/image-20150730-25773-1lrllz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There's a huge role for universities to play beyond the ivory tower.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">From www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Universities have three “missions”. The first two are teaching and research. The third goes by many names: community engagement, public service, knowledge exchange or sometimes the <a href="ftp://ftp.cordis.europa.eu/pub/improving/docs/ser-jones-paper.pdf">entrepreneurial periphery</a>.</p>
<p>But the idea that universities should serve the public good has come under strain in recent years. The cost of running universities has <a href="http://www.financialmail.co.za/features/2015/03/19/student-financial-aid-dropped-at-the-door">outpaced</a> the growth in government subsidies. The <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/8992136/Taxpayer-funding-of-universities-to-drop-to-100-year-low.html">“user pays”</a> trend is on the rise. </p>
<p>At the same time student enrolments <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/aug/31/consequences-increasing-access-to-education">are soaring</a>, particularly in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.</p>
<p>Academics are wholly consumed with fulfilling universities’ first two fundamental missions, so it’s seldom practical to ask that they invest sustained attention in projects dedicated to issues playing out beyond the walls of their institutions. </p>
<p>But in light of the increasingly complex challenges facing society at large, shouldn’t universities be modifying some of what they do so that public service is no longer an afterthought?</p>
<h2>Wicked problems require different thinking</h2>
<p>Today’s dilemmas are increasingly multifaceted. The breadth of their impact is unprecedented. Human society is assuming a size and fluidity that are in many respects beyond conventional regulatory control. </p>
<p>This means the current crises of economy, <a href="http://climate.nasa.gov/">environment</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/without-immigrants-none-of-us-would-be-here-41093">migration</a>, <a href="http://reports.weforum.org/outlook-global-agenda-2015/top-10-trends-of-2015/1-deepening-income-inequality/">inequality</a>, conflict and disease have ramifications that didn’t exist 50 years ago. The 2008 <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/schoolsbrief/21584534-effects-financial-crisis-are-still-being-felt-five-years-article">economic meltdown</a>, militant fundamentalism, refugee crises and climate change are immediate examples.</p>
<p>These challenges are typically associated with issues of sustainability and resilience. They have both technological and social dimensions and require systemic changes in society. They almost always imply social justice issues, too. </p>
<p>It would typically require multi- or trans disciplinary approaches from within universities to tackle these sorts of challenges. They can’t do it alone: governments, civil society and industry must get involved alongside higher education institutions. </p>
<p>There are a number of measures that can be taken to help this vital area of collaborative work succeed better into the future.</p>
<h2>Recalculate value</h2>
<p>Universities need to develop organisational platforms that are dedicated to researching complex issues of sustainability and resilience. These should typically be geared to multi-disciplinary participation and engagement with external partners. </p>
<p>They already exist in small pockets. The work of the Gauteng City Region <a href="http://www.gcro.ac.za/">Observatory</a> and the Agincourt Health Transitions Research <a href="http://www.agincourt.co.za/">Unit</a> at the University of the Witwatersrand, for instance, prove how sustained longitudinal research can add value to and inform public policy options. </p>
<p>These platforms should be structured to address themes for sustained periods of time because this is how deep expertise and powerful databases are accumulated. It’s a paradox, but the outfit that is geared for the long run is best able to respond with agility to demands that require a quick turnaround. This is because they have deep, enduring knowledge resources.</p>
<p>Universities should identify the thematic platforms which they are best suited to sustain. To do this, they need to draw from their distinctive niche intellectual strengths - for example, sustained attention to a particular domain by several fields of study, like mining or cities or socio-economic inequality. </p>
<p>It is also crucial to craft a revised social contract that properly values what universities deliver for society. <a href="http://www.epi.org/publication/states-education-productivity-growth-foundations/">Skilled graduates</a> and <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/20-new-ideas-from-uk-universities-that-will-change-the-world/2013812.article">sound research</a> contribute a great deal to society and this has long been undervalued.</p>
<p>Consider the business value that an engineer or chartered accountant delivers for industry over her or his lifetime. What about the economic value of technological changes derived from basic and applied research? Then there’s the value in societal well being that comes from a wide range of disciplines, from health sciences through to the arts.</p>
<p>We need a more clear-sighted calculus that shows the benefits of investing in talented people and powerful knowledge. Both the public purse and the deep reservoirs of accumulated capital need to reconsider how we provide for the future. </p>
<p>Evidence-based solutions to our systemic dilemmas won’t be conjured out of thin air. They require sustained investment in knowledge fields that address complexity.</p>
<h2>Invest in innovators</h2>
<p>Some academics are able to confidently, comfortably work across disciplines and with external partners. This kind of research is inherently more time consuming. It requires intellectual agility and personal resilience.</p>
<p>At the moment, audit cultures in universities tend to deter academics from throwing their energy into activities that have deferred or shared outcomes. The kind of multi-disciplinary, multi-actor knowledge work that’s required to trigger systemic change doesn’t fit well into the traditional modes of <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-peer-review-27797">peer reviewed publication</a>.</p>
<p>Universities need to map a career path for these scholars which acknowledges an academic identity that is geared towards innovative knowledge making, like public policy advice or solutions for complex industrial enterprises. </p>
<p>There must also be changes to universities’ administrative systems. The conventional bureaucratic systems of universities tend to support “business as usual” - teaching and research. They aren’t designed to cater for the responsive nimbleness that’s needed for real change. </p>
<p>Finally, change must happen beyond the higher education sector. Universities need adaptive approaches - and so do their partners in government and business. While universities need outward-facing scholars, government and business need university-facing capacity to ensure reciprocal flows.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/45254/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robin Moore is the Chair of the Board of The Conversation Africa. He benefitted from a residency provided by the Rockefeller Foundation at the Bellagio Estate while he was researching and writing on this theme. </span></em></p>Evidence-based solutions to our systemic dilemmas won’t be conjured out of thin air. Universities, governments and businesses all have to work together.Robin Moore, Director: Strategy and Innovation, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/388392015-04-07T02:24:21Z2015-04-07T02:24:21ZThe real leadership challenge: only six Liberals are suitable to be PM<p>With the topic of leadership de rigueur in Australia these days, it is important that we ponder not just the who but also the why and the how ought.</p>
<p>Attending to these other questions draws attention to the real leadership challenge. This is the challenge of finding a leader with the capacity to facilitate and guide change (or reform) in a world of no certain answers.</p>
<p>The US Army Staff College invented the acronym <a href="http://www.governing.com/columns/smart-mgmt/col-leadership-vuca-world-volatility-uncertainty-complexity-ambiguity.html">VUCA</a> to describe the contemporary Volatile world of Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. Issues and problems in such a world have been described as <a>wicked</a>, even <a href="http://chrisriedy.me/2013/05/29/climate-change-is-a-super-wicked-problem/">super-wicked</a>.</p>
<h2>Wicked problems are ultimate test</h2>
<p>Wicked problems cannot be solved by experts or by deferring to the judgement of an authority such as a government minister or a CEO. The diversity of perspectives and interests in wicked problems means that all the people involved in the problem need to be engaged and actively participating. </p>
<p>In particular, wicked problems are systemic; they are simultaneously social, economic, technical, environmental and legal problems. They require multi-faceted solutions, which are not always obvious. Where solutions are recognised, they often cannot be implemented simultaneously.</p>
<p>As a result, the easiest implemented solutions are often tried first. This very often then create new problems for which subsequent, more difficult-to-implement solutions may no longer be appropriate. That is, many preferred solutions to wicked problems often lead to unintended consequences, which demand totally new approaches. </p>
<p>Liz Skelton and Geoff Aigner argue in <a href="http://leadership.benevolent.org.au/publications/australian-leadership-paradox">The Australian Leadership Paradox</a> that European Australia’s history and culture have not prepared us well for the kind of <a href="http://leadershipforchange.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Keith-Grint-Wicked-Problems-handout.pdf">leadership needed to work through wicked problems</a> together. We are more used to command-and-control or technocratic <a href="http://theconversation.com/leadership-what-it-is-and-isnt-27019">types of leaders</a> – think Tony Abbott and Kevin Rudd, respectively!</p>
<p>From this perspective, the real leadership challenge is the mismatch between the leadership approach we’re familiar with and ethical mindsets that prize open-heartedness, the virtue of collaboration and the two-way communication needed for leadership in a VUCA World. Only by replacing the current leadership paradigm will there be any prospect of reaching a deep understanding of problems, alternative visions of the future, and consensus on decisions.</p>
<h2>What sort of leaders are there?</h2>
<p>In partnership with psychologist <a href="http://www.cook-greuter.com">Susanne Cook-Greuter</a>, a 30-year research <a href="https://hbr.org/2005/04/seven-transformations-of-leadership">program at Harvard</a> provides advice on the mindsets and approaches needed for such leadership. The Harvard team integrates mindsets and will to action into the concept of action logic: each of us has a particular action logic that determines how we see the world and, therefore, how we will think and act.</p>
<p>Analysing responses from a data set of many thousand senior leaders across all sectors on all continents (including Antarctica), they have identified seven broad categories of action logic among leaders:</p>
<p><strong>Opportunists</strong> who focus on their own immediate interests. They are often manipulative and believe that “might makes right” and “ends justify means”.
Source of power: coercion. How they influence others: control and authority.</p>
<p><strong>Diplomats</strong> who focus on being approved by everyone and avoiding conflict.
Source of power: persuasion. How they influence others: use conformity with existing norms to get others to follow.</p>
<p><strong>Experts</strong> who focus on their own expertise and prioritise proven technical competence. They seek rationality and efficiency. Source of power: logical argument. How they influence others: give personal attention to detail and seek perfection.</p>
<p><strong>Achievers</strong> who focus on the delivery of results, efficiency and success within the system. Source of power: Coordinating the sources of power of previous three action logics. How they influence others: provide logical argument, data and experiences; make task-oriented contractual agreements.</p>
<p><strong>Individualists</strong> who focus on their own abilities to offer original and creative solutions; they take more systemic and broader positions on issues than opportunists. Source of power: Confronting, often deconstructing other positions.
How they influence others: adapt (ignore) rules when needed or invent new ones.</p>
<p><strong>Strategists</strong> who focus on the interactions in systems and anticipate long-term trends. They believe in cultivating a shared vision and culture as first steps in a proactive approach to issues. Source of power: Integrative; consciously transformative. How they influence others: lead in reframing situation so that decisions support overall principles and strategy.</p>
<p><strong>Alchemists</strong> who focus on the interplay of awareness, thought, action and effects, and on transforming self and others. They value social transformation, environmental responsibility, equity and support for global humanitarian causes.
Source of power: authentic, values-driven leadership. How they influence others: reframe issues; hold up mirror to society; often entails working behind the scenes.</p>
<p>The leadership challenge is to elect a government capable of forming a cabinet composed of achievers, individualists, strategists and alchemists – and a prime minister who is, preferably, a strategist or alchemist. Opportunists, diplomats and experts do not make for effective leaders in a VUCA World of wicked problems.</p>
<h2>What are the odds of getting the right leader?</h2>
<p>The Harvard research indicates that 52.1% of leaders can be categorised as opportunists, diplomats or experts. So, leaving them out: of a combined House of Representatives and Senate membership of 226 people, that leaves 108 who could make decent cabinet ministers, at least if we had cross-party governments.</p>
<p>However, only 6.9% of leaders are strategists and alchemists. This severely limits the choice of prime minister to a pool of 16. But, as a senator cannot become prime minister and we do not have a tradition of cross-party cabinets, this translates to a prime minister chosen from possibly eight of the 90 Coalition MPs – or, more accurately, six as the Coalition always awards the top job to a member of the senior party – that is, the Liberals. </p>
<p>On this basis, we potentially have six members of parliament in Canberra capable – on the statistics – of being a good prime minister.</p>
<p>Overcoming the intra-party politics so that we get the best one of these is the real leadership challenge.</p>
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<p><em>John will be on hand for an Author Q&A session between 3 and 4pm AEST on Wednesday April 8. Post your questions about the article in the comments section below.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/38839/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Fien does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Analysis of the mindsets and responses of thousands of senior leaders tells us only about 7% are likely to have the right stuff to lead effective government responses to wicked problems.John Fien, Professor and Executive Director, Swinburne Leadership Institute, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.