Doing Strategy in a Complex World
What’s it all about?
With all the crises that are going on, we all want to be effective in our organising. We want to be strategic with the limited resources we all have. A lot of the time though, strategic planning can be difficult, especially as once you have a strategy, the whole context can change and things may not feel as relevant as they did only a few days ago.
There are whole academic fields of “systems thinking” or “complexity” which have lots of useful ideas about how different ways of thinking about strategy could be more effective - but much of it is completely inaccessible. On the other hand, concepts such as “emergent strategy” are appealing but it’s not clear what it means in practice.
In our workshop we want to bridge these gaps. We’re going to play games and share tools to explore and experience concepts such as “complexity”, “iteration”, “prioritisation” and “strategy” – in ways that we hope will feel useful and accessible. We’re going to discuss how these ways of thinking can be practically useful for your groups, and help you achieve your goals.
Aims
Explore the idea of “systems thinking” - and understand how it’s relevant to your group
Practise at, and improve, your approach to strategising
Learn concepts and frameworks which you can take back to your group
Logistics
The workshop will be held on Saturday the 19th and Sunday the 20th of October, at Toynbee Studios. It will run from 10:30 - 17:30 each day.
Snacks will be provided, and we can provide food for a basic lunch. Feel free to bring food to share! We will include vegan and gluten free options.
Costs
This workshop is offered on a sliding scale of £0-£50. Any donations on top of this fund our work with grassroots groups.
Access
Toynbee Studios is accessible to wheelchair users.
All of the toilets are gender neutral. Wheelchair accessible toilets are located on the ground, first and third floors.
In the first floor disabled toilet, there is a wheelchair-accessible shower with a fold-down shower seat and an ergonomic sink that is adjustable in height.
In the third floor disabled toilet, the accessible toilet has a shower with a hoist, which is an Opemed OT200c and has safe working weight of 200kg, and a powered nursing bench with safety rail.
There is a quiet space on the third floor.
We welcome guide, hearing and assistance dogs. A drinking bowl is located in the café foyer.
COVID precautions:
Please test before coming and don’t come if you have any new symptoms, even if you test negative
We will be asking people to wear masks throughout the workshop if that’s possible.
We will have an air purifier and ventilate the space if possible.
There will be regular breaks throughout the workshop.
Please let us know if you have any other access needs you would like us to share with us.